Gas comes to the Deepings

Gas comes to

the Deepings

Ever wondered why dusky hues were the colours of choice in Victorian living rooms? They covered up the soot that was emitted by oil lamps which lit the rooms, albeit dimly, in the late 18th century replacing the tallow candles by which the majority of homes had previously been lit. The tallow was animal fat, sheep or cow ideally, as that of ‘hogs gives an ill smell and a thick black smoke’. Nevertheless the candles were an unattractive brown colour, gave out a meaty smell and unless trimmed every few minutes would smoke. Only the wealthy could afford beeswax candles.

So it was no surprise that in 1845, when Mary Brown moved into Caudle House with her husband, well-to-do solicitor Francis, that she complained that there was no gas lighting in her home or in the streets, unlike in Peterborough where gas lighting had been introduced in the 1830s.

Francis set about rectifying this situation and in September 1853 a meeting was called at Market Deeping Town Hall by the Revd William Hildyard. An engineer, Mr Penny, explained the principles of gas lighting. He dwelt upon the necessity of the proposed works to the town and expressed his opinion that a very superior gas could be provided for a capital outlay of £2000 to lay the main and work the concern. It was suggested that this capital could be raised by shares of £10 each and Mr Penny further promoted the cause by proffering £500 for shares in the proposed company. There was some hesitation in the room but it was proposed by John Perkins of Welby House and seconded by Surgeon James Kelly of Mill Lane, that the Market Deeping Gas & Coke Company be established and a committee of gentlemen and tradesmen be formed to carry out the intentions of the company. After a vote of thanks to Mr Penny, the meeting disbanded while the promoters assessed people for their eligibility to form the committee.

Local opinion was doubtful that the capital could be raised and many thought that the old shopkeepers would rather keep their penny candles than invest in the new technology. Indeed it took 15 years before the Company was limited in 1868, the main shareholders with 20 shares being Distiller, William Holland, Brewer, Henry Stapleton, Chemist, George Linnell and plumber John Wyles.

Work had progressed after that first meeting though, and on 15th October 1853 the sum of £130 was raised from local ratepayers; 1854 was the first winter that the Market Place had lights. The Stamford Mercury reported on a dinner at the New Inn (The Stage) which was given by the principal inhabitants in honour of the completion of the Gas Works in 1855 for Francis Brown the proprietor. J.T. Marston presided and everyone expressed their gratification for the refined quality of the gas and the very great improvement it had made to the town.

William Bannister (b.1815) was appointed as Gas Manager and it was his job to keep the retort filled with coal to produce the gas which lit the High Street. In 1861 William Petty of the Queen’s Arms in the High Street was sued by Francis for his non payment of his gas bill of three pounds two shillings and was ordered to pay within a month at Bourne Sessions.

After the formation of the limited company, William Bannister left and a letter appeared in the Stamford Mercury, ‘As compared with that made previous to the formation of the company, the present gas is said to be much inferior in quality, far less brilliant, not so clean and pure, not so regular and plentiful in supply but the same price is charged. This is retrograding and as the long and dark nights are coming on and the pathways in the town are particularly irregular, better public lights are needed. It is hoped that the company take the matter into consideration and it finds better gas.’ A gas consumer and a ratepayer.

At this time 300 tons of coal a year were consumed in the production of the gas and it arrived from Newcastle by water and rail. A gas fitter from Beverley, Yorkshire, Robert Tomlinson, took over as manager, living in the house next to the works with his wife Harriet and four children. The house had two bedrooms, two sitting rooms and a central door; later it had a kitchen and bathroom added. The small garden ran down to the river but there was no gas supply! It

was built in the same dark industrial bricks as the retort house. When Robert left to go to a bigger gas works at Sculcoates, William Bland took over. He was a local man born in 1852 and had been an apprentice at the Gas Works. The promotion meant that he was able to marry his sweetheart Eleanor Towns and they went on to have eight children. One, John, was seven years old when he was rescued from the river having slipped in while watching the swallows overhead. His father went to an opening in a neighbouring garden to pluck his son from the water which was rapidly taking him away.

The Company continued to prosper and in 1877, in a meeting of the shareholders and directors at the Town Hall chaired by Mr Linnell, the accounts laid before the meeting by the secretary, Samuel Sharpe, Solicitor, declared a dividend of 6%. Directors Mr Linnell and Mr Stapleton were both reelected and Mr Dean was re-appointed auditor. The price of gas had also been reduced during the year. In 1878 Messrs Richardson sold shares in the company at the Crown Hotel in Stamford for £10 each.

The extension of the gas pipes to serve Towngate became too small at half an inch thick, and resulted in a defective supply. So in January 1880 the Company employed 40 unemployed men to take up the old pipes, proving a godsend to the men who were paid two shillings and sixpence per day. In 1881 at the annual general meeting of shareholders the dividend was reduced to 4%. In August 1886 tenders were invited for the construction of a brick gas-holder tank. Ten years later when an examination took place, all was found to be in good condition except the retort house: ‘the front had bulged by the bad backstays which were quite useless in resisting the expansion which takes place when the retorts are first fired’. This it was claimed was ‘highly dangerous’. As a result improvements were carried out; a new shallow generator on a concrete bed was placed in the retort house by the Leeds Clay Co. who owned the patent. It was thought that the new generator would make more gas with less coal. In July 1899 tenders were invited for carting 100 tons of coal from Tallington Station to the Gas Works.

At this time William Bland resigned the position and was succeeded by Reece Jones, night foreman at the Peterborough Gas Works. He arrived with wife Caroline and four children; Daisy (b.1886), Reece David (b.1888), Jessie (b.1893) William (b.1897), all born in Peterborough. When war broke out the family returned to Peterborough. They were followed by Henry Worthington who had been gas works foreman at Sunning Hill, Berks. In 1915 they learnt that their son Bertie, just 24, had been killed while serving on HMS Agamemnon in the Dardanelles; he was buried at sea. In 1927 Henry retired aged 65 and moved with Martha to Horncastle.

In December 1899 an extraordinary meeting of the shareholders was called at the Town Hall to consider a request from Lady Exeter of the Manor House in Deeping St James to have gas laid on and to also reach the vicarage and church before the winter. Mr Stapleton was in the Chair and it was unanimously agreed to lay the mains as far as the Cross. It was agreed that a sum of money be raised to meet the expenditure as the parish was badly lit by oil lamps. The decision was endorsed by Kesteven County Council who agreed that the mains could be laid in Bridge Street and Church Street so each house could have gas for heating and lighting. This meant that larger pipes had to be re-laid again in Market Deeping.

The fire engine was kept in the old retort house.

In March 1900 the Company issued a catalogue showing examples of Eureka gas cookers, made of enamelled steel and retailing between £4. 14s. 6d and £13.10s according to the size and number of burners. There were also gas stoves of the tortoise type which could be purchased for12s 6d. Condensing stoves were also available for shops and halls where it wasn’t possible to have a flue. The forerunners of coal-effect gas fires were the incandescent gas fires starting at 18s. A small shop was built on the site to showcase the items.

In 1901 the increase in the cost of coal meant that there was no dividend for shareholders. In 1902 the Company erected an incandescent lamp in the Market Place of 300 candle power, and on seeing this Deeping St James Parish Council applied to the Company to put a lamp on the Cross.

At the annual shareholders’ meeting in 1917, after a loss of the past years, no dividend was paid and the price of gas was raised to 6s. per 1000 cubic feet. In 1922 a contract was made with Market Deeping Town Council to light the town for the winter months for £115. In January 1923 the Directors allowed a 5% discount on bills paid within the month.

In 1927, James Bourne from Navenby took up the post as Manager with his wife Mary, née Armstrong, and his three youngest children, Lillian (b.1904), Leslie (b.1908) and Leonard (b.1910). Just a year later, Mary was found in the river by army pensioner, William Spooncer who took her body to the Waterton Arms. At the inquest Dr Stanton testified that Mary had suffered from a nervous breakdown and the verdict given was suicide due to depression. Shortly after her mother’s death, Lillian emigrated to Freemantle, Australia. Leonard became a painter and decorator and in 1931 James married Clara Clay (née Clifford) widow of James Clay. Leslie worked at the gas works as a stoker and married Hilary Measures, setting up home in Bridge Street. When his father retired in 1939 he took over and moved into the Manager’s house.

The Annual General Meeting of shareholders in 1932 was held in the Town Hall with Dr Benson presiding. The balance on the year’s trading was £606 and a dividend of 6% was agreed, with £4 directors’ fees for Mr Medcalf and Dr Benson. Auditors were Messrs Stephenson and Smart. James Bourne received special recognition for the way in which he had conducted his work and there was a 5% reduction on gas bills.

In 1934 Market Deeping Parish Council received estimates for lighting the streets from Market Deeping Gas Co. and Mid East Lincolnshire Electric Co. and it was decided to accept the former at £105.

After the Second World War the local company was unable to keep up with demand and so gas was supplied from Stamford which involved the marathon task of laying pipes between the two towns. In 1948 the defunct Deeping Gas Works and the Stamford Gas Works were subsumed by the East Midlands Gas Board with Charles Illingworth, previously of Sheerness, taking over as Manager.

In 1956 the works hit the headlines of the national papers when Alice Sandall, 79, and her cat were killed as a result of a gas leak outside her house at Bridgefoot. In an inquest at Stamford Hospital lasting five-and-a-half hours and hearing from ten witnesses including District Nurse Sheila Lambert from East End, Langtoft, who had found Alice unconscious, the jury returned a verdict of accidental death, the coroner Mr M Stanton ruling out the possibility of criminal negligence. In evidence it was found that the gas pipe had been pulled up by Buchan & Co while laying sewerage pipes.

In 1965 East Midlands Gas sold the land and property to Geoff Ellis and the gas works were demolished, leaving only a large barn, the old retort house, which housed Market Deeping’s fire engine. Cars owned by Mr Ellis were stored around the barn awaiting servicing and were eventually sold at his car showroom in Church Street. The small purpose-built shop on the pavement became a florist. Eventually when Geoff Ellis sold the site to Peterborough Cost Sale Housing seventeen flats for the elderly were built at 51-57 Bridge Street, completed in 1987.

Research: Joy Baxter, Doug Ellis, Chris Notley. Words: Judy Stevens