HOW DID THE GASWORKS WORK?
The process to create gas was developed by William Murdock in the 1790s, and a network of Gasworks was soon lighting up all major towns and cities across the country, as well as smaller estates and villages such as Sudbury. Below you can learn more about how the gas was created at Sudbury, as well as how gas came to be the preferred method for energy.
Why gas?
The first gas street lights were installed in London in 1807. Gas lighting revolutionised daily life, changing how people experienced day and night and allowing work and social activities to continue long after dark, especially in towns and cities.
By the 1840s, gas lighting was becoming increasingly common in urban homes and streets, yet this technology was still luxury technology in 1874, particularly in rural areas.
There may have been a risk of explosion, yet gas was still a welcome alternative to candles, which posed a greater (and more common) fire risk. The illumination provided by gas lighting was also a great improvement to candlelight, while gas could also be used for cooking and ironing – surely a welcome invention for many of the staff at Sudbury Hall.
Read below to find out how gas was created in Sudbury.
1. Coal delivered from Poynton, Cheshire
Firstly, the coal would be delivered by cart and stored ready for use in the retort house. The coal would have been brought down from mines at another Vernon estate in Poynton, Cheshire. This was the site of the largest coalfield in the county, featuring over 74 pits.
2. Gas created in the Retort House
The retort house was the industrial heart of the site. Inside were iron or clay retorts — sealed horizontal chambers heated externally by furnaces. Workers shovelled coal into the retorts and heated it to very high temperatures in the absence of oxygen. This did not burn the coal normally. Instead, it “cooked” the coal and released gases including, hydrogen, methane and carbon monoxide. These combined to form coal gas.
Below is an image of Richard “Gassy” Taylor, one of the known men to work in The Gasworks.
3. Gas cooled and cleaned
Fresh coal gas was dirty and full of tar, sulphur and ammonia, and so the gas was then cooled and cleaned, a process that likely took place in a part of The Gasworks that no longer exists.
The cleaned gas then passed into the round gasholder building, also known as the gasometer.
The gasholder worked like a giant storage tank with a moving iron bell floating up and down depending on gas volume. Its weight also helped maintain pressure in the pipes.
4. Gas piped to Sudbury Hall
From the gasholder, the gas was then carried to Sudbury Hall and its estate buildings, which would have powered gas lighting, kitchen ranges and heating stoves. In the 1880s this would have been considered very modern technology for a country estate.
By 1914, the works reportedly served 40 customers and four street lights. This map, dated 1923, shows the site of The Gasworks in green; the red indicated surviving pipework; and the yellow indicated gas lamps.
