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Gas lamps and gas lighting in London
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London: two centuries of gas lighting
Gas lighting in the capital
(Photos/words © urban75, 27th Jan, 2009)

The first fella to experiment with gas lighting was William Murdoch, who worked for Matthew Boulton and James Watt at their Soho Foundry steam engine works in Birmingham, England.

After messing about with various types of gas in the early 1790s, Murdoch discovered that coal gas was the most effective, and used it to light up his own house in Redruth, Cornwall in 1792 - the first house lit by gas!

In 1798 he used gas to light the main building of the Soho Foundry and four years later, wowed the locals by lighting the outside of the building.

Deeply impressed with the show was a fellow employee, Samuel Clegg, who promptly legged it to set up his own own gas lighting business, the Gas Lighting and Coke Company.

Gas lamps and gaslighting in London
Green Park, London

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On the 28th January, 1807, the gas lamps on Pall Mall were lit by the London and Westminster Gas Light and Coke Company, making it the first street in the world to be illuminated by the warm glow of gas light.

Less than two years later, on December 31, 1813, the Westminster Bridge was also lit by gas.

Incredibly, several areas of London are still lit by gas two centuries on, including a large part of Covent Garden, the Royal Parks and the exterior of Buckingham Palace.

Goodbye to the London Astoria music venue, Charing Cross Road, London, 14 January 2009

Gas lamp man, Green Park

There's still a small workforce employed to maintain London's gas lamps with duties including checking the mantles and giving the lamps a weekly wind-up (the timer is controlled by a clockwork mechanism).

I got chatting to this gas lamp man in Green Park and he told me that it's such a popular job that workers rarely leave.

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Gas lamps in Green Park, London

Gas lamps and gaslighting in London

Gas lamps and gaslighting in London

Gas lamps and gaslighting in London

Gas lamps and gaslighting in London

Gas lamps and gaslighting in London

Gas lamps and gaslighting in London

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Gas lamps in London, Feb 2009

Gas lamps and gaslighting in London

Gas lamp, Chancery Lane.

Gas lamps and gaslighting in London

New Square Lincoln's Inn, London, WC2A.

Gas lamps and gaslighting in London

Detail.

Gas lamps and gaslighting in London

Gas lamp by Covent Garden tube station.

Gas lamps and gaslighting in London

Close up.

Gas lamps and gaslighting in London

The main street into Covent Garden, James Street, is still lit entirely by gas.

Gas lamps and gaslighting in London

By the Lamb ad Flag pub, Rose Street and Lazenby Court, Covent Garden.

Gas lamps and gaslighting in London

Garrick Street, Covent Garden.


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