Lincoln Companies - Lincoln Gas, Light and Coke Co.

History

Gas was first used to light a house in 1792. By 1826 Stamford, Boston, Louth and Gainsborough all had opened gasworks. It wasn’t until 1828 Lincoln Gas, Light and Coke Co was founded at the junction of Carholme Road and Brayford Wharf North, by a group of Lincoln businessmen. The company had capital of £8,000 in shares and a mortgage of £1,800. Production of gas began in 1830.

First Year Accounts

First year accounts show a turnover of £1,515 and a loss of £330. Wages amounted to £436. 76 street lamps were lit in Lincoln.

​

The First Private Consumer

The first private consumer was Cornelius Maples of the Bail. He had to give the following undertaking:

“Gas to be consumed in the shop from sunset until the hour of nine for six days in the week. 

“I will not wilfully wastefully consume gas, and as far as I can I will not suffer the flame to exceed the height of 3 ½ inches, and I will not commence burning until sunset at any time and will extinguish such light within a quarter of an hour from the time here agreed upon, except on Saturday night when the burning shall, if I require it, continue an hour extra.

“The charge per half-year to be £2 per light, payable in advance”

The Cost of Gas 1830 & 1853​In 1830 cost of gas was 13/6d (67.5p) per 1,000 cubic feet, by 1853 the cost had reduced to 5/- (25p) per 1,000 cubic feet. The amount of gas produced was 15,000,000 cubic feet.

Other Suppliers

It wasn't viable for the company to lay pipes outside of Lincoln, companies like Porter & Co of Lincoln, supplied complete gas plants to large country houses and some villages so that gas could be produced locally. Hartsholme Hall had its own gas plant, probably supplied by Porters.
Bracebridge Gasworks

Bracebridge Gas Works 1933

The use of gas had grown considerably over the previous 40 years and there was little room to enlarge the site at the Carholme Road plus it was becoming more and more difficult to get a sufficient coal to carbonise, due to the size of barges on the Fossdyke. Bracebridge was growing from a village into a suburb of Lincoln and the recently opened Lincoln to Honington railway gave it easy access to coalfields therefore it was decided that a new gasworks would be built at Bracebridge. The Bracebridge gasworks opened in 1876.

The owners of the gasworks had tried for several years to sell it. In 1885 agreement was made with Lincoln Corporation to buy the gasworks.


1885 Statistics
163,000,000 cubic feet produced
5,789 consumers
Main 35 miles long


The Cost of Gas in 1913 was 2/- (10p) per 1,000 cubic feet


Helping the War Effort
During the First World War a by-product recovery plant was installed to extract Toluol and Benzol for the high-explosive industries


Showroom
First showroom opened in 1919, later moving to Silver Street.


1933 Statistics
Wages £25,996, 102 miles of mains, 17,796 consumers, 1,884 street lamps, 12,242 gas cookers, 33,257 tons of coal carbonised, 14,014 gallons of oil used, 21,617 coke made, 412,275 gallons of tar, 324 tons of sulphate of ammonia, 560,000,000 cubic feet of gas produced an increase of about 25% over the previous 10 years


A New Gasholder
The rapid increase in consumers during the previous 40 years meant that the maximum storage for gas was only enough for 12 hours consumption.
Various types of gasholder were inspected and in 1930 a new holder of the three-lift spiral guided type was ordered to increase storage capacity. The capacity of the new holder was 1,500,000 cubic feet.

The End of Coal Gas
Natural Gas was found in 1910 in Germany, in the mid-1950s BP discovered natural gas fiels in several places in the UK, a field was discover near Gainsborough in the late 1950s. It wasn't until the 1970s that drilling for natural gas in the North Sea became economically viable due to the 1973 oil crisis. Since that time coal gas production has ceased in the UK.​

The Lost Houses of Lincolnshire - Denton Manor

Blomfield's original drawing of Denton Manor

The Welby family has lived at Denton since the reign of Henry VIII.   The first house was a timber-framed hall, the Manor had a Tudor oak frame within it which was probably from the original hall.  Little is known of the houses between the first hall and the early 19th century when an existing house was extensively reodelled.  

Denton Manor was designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield (he also designed the Central Library and Usher Art Gallery at Lincoln) for Sir William Earle Welby-Gregory, and built between 1879 and 1883.

Click here to view an 1886 OS map of the Manor and park.

The 1906 fire, flames probably added by the postcard printer

A fire broke out in the private chapel, caused probably by a flue overheating on 14th January 1906. The house was restored in 1906 but demolished in 1939 after another fire in 1938.

Among the fittings of the house offered for sale were:

• Tudor period oak, modern oak and walnut panelling
• A walnut panelled ceiling
• A carved over-mantel having inset kingwood panels inlaid with mother-of-pearl by Van Ryswick
• Walnut three-flight and other staircases
• 130 oak and pine panelled doors

The house was built of 100,000 tons of hammer-carved stone and 150,000 bricks.

"On the estate is a spring much frequented, from the medicinal virtue ascribed to its waters; it is very pure, and similar to that of Malvern Wells, in Worcestershire: it bears the name of St. Christopher's Well." - History of the County of Lincoln Vol II - 1834

The Virgin Mary and the Wain Well

Eastgate from Bailgate

The above image shows Eastgate from the Bailgate junction. 

The present road runs east-north-east from Bailgate to the the site of the Roman east gate. The junction of Bailgate and Eastgate would be north of Gordon Road and would run directly east to the gate in Roman times . The road heading west from the junction is now beneath Lincoln Castle, the west gate of the Roman settlement is below and to the north of the Castle’s present day west gate. The position of the road was probably moved during the medieval period to enable easier access to the east gate of Lincoln castle.  

The building on the right of Eastgate is The White Hart Hotel, a former coaching inn dating from the 14th century.  On the left of the junction was an ancient inn, the Angel; a gate to the Cathedral Close stood at this junction between the White Hart and the Angel.  The Angel Yard remains behind the Post Office.

Further down on the left is an Indian restaurant, this was once was The Black Horse Inn dating from 1674, the White Horse Inn was nearby. 

 Across the road, in front of the Cathedral, there is a stone wall which was once a row of buildings; there is a stone head in this wall, the head is possibly one of those removed during the Civil War by Cromwell's men.

In the grounds of the Lincoln Hotel is the base of the north side of the Roman east gate, the gate was still standing, with medieval additions until Sir Christopher Wray had it demolished to extend the garden of Eastgate House. 

The Lincoln Hotel was built in the early 1960s, previously the Eastgate Hotel, and attached to the west wing of the former Eastgate House.  Alfred Shuttleworth, the son of one of the founders of Clayton, Shuttleworth & Co, lived here from the 1890s.  Across the road from Eastgate House once stood the Dolphin Inn and other buildings. Alfred bought all the buildings and had them demolished because they spoilt his view of the Cathedral; he did a great service to the City of Lincoln by doing this but it was very unpopular at the time as the Dolphins was a popular inn.

On the corner of Eastgate and Priorygate stands “The Rest”. The Rest is a late 17th century building which was renovated by Alfred Shuttleworth in 1899 with sham timber cladding. At one time it was available for use by people who had ascended Lindum Road and needed a rest.

St Peter in Eastgate church is on the left side of Eastgate. In common with many churches in Lincoln, St Peter’s was badly damaged during the Civil War. The church was demolished in 1776, a new church was built in 1781 but was inadequate for the growing population of the 19th century and a new church was designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield and completed in 1870. In 1914 the south aisle, west porch and the choir vestry were added due to the generosity of Alfred Shuttleworth. At the same time, the Nave ceiling was enclosed as a ‘barrel roof’, the Rood Screen erected and St. Margaret’s Chapel, dedicated.

At the Langworthgate and Greetwellgate fork, there was once a well, the Wain Well, which, on 11th August 1498, Joanna Burton fell in. The well was about 66 feet deep plus 6 feet of water so her survival of the fall seemed doubtful, “but according to sworn testimony of nine women”, she was in the well for an hour and she was carried from the well in the arms of the Virgin Mary. It seems strange to me that this wasn’t seen as a miracle, England was still a Roman Catholic country at that time.

The Lost Houses of Lincoln - Cold Bath House

Cold Bath House parish was created in 1837.  It had an area of one acre and was situated at the top of the Arboretum at the junction of Lindum Terrace and Eastfield Road.

A windmill,  Cold  Bath  Mill, had been on the site for many years.  Robert Cottam was the miller until his son, George, took over in July 1839 on the death of his father, age 62. George probably died about 1865.  By this time windmills were becoming redundant and steam-powered mills were taking over.

Henry Kirk Hebb, solicitor, clerk to the urban sanitary committee, town clerk to Lincoln Corporation for 30 years and chairman of the Lincoln and Lindsey Bank had Cold Bath House built in about 1867. 

The house was designed by Michael Drury, the Lincoln Architect.  Tenders for the erection of the house between £1,579 and £1,849 were received, the lowest price was from Robert Young, builder and contractor, his tender was accepted, a large quantity of materials from existing buildings was used.  The location of the house perched on the cliff edge must have been very impressive. There was a room in the house designed to entertain the entire City County.  A spring ran in the cellar, possibly the reason for the name of the area. 

Hebb lived at the house until his death in 1902.

The site of Cold Bath House

In 1905 Mrs Matilda Richardson lived at the house, she was the widow of William Wright Richardson, a director of  Doughty, Son and Richardson Ltd.

In 1907 all the Lincoln parishes were incorporated into a single Lincoln parish, after 70 years Cold Bath House parish was relegated to the history books.  Cold Bath House was the only building in the parish and the number of residents stayed static at 5.  This 1 acre, single house parish was the smallest in Lincoln both in size and number of residents.

During the First World War the house became home to the headmaster of the Lincoln School and its boarders.

After the First World War Cold Bath House became Mrs Swan’s Nursing Home.  

The Ruins of Cold Bath House

The nursing home continued until 2nd August 1942, when the County Hospital and the nursing home were attacked by a German bomber.  The main damage at the County Hospital was to the Nurses home, the operating theatre, the board room and the massage room, windows of two of the wards were damaged and some of the patients suffered injuries from flying glass.  Mrs Swan’s Nursing Home was almost totally destroyed, the building was demolished in 1945.

A bomb also dropped on the allotments nearby on St Anne’s Road.  It is thought the crew of the aircraft spotted the chimney at the hospital and thought it was a factory.

Unfortunately I have not located an image of the undamaged house.

A list of the dead and injured:

Deaths

• Lt. Harry Sidney COLLARD, Royal Engineers.  He is buried at Newport Cemetery, Lincoln.  The Royal Engineers occupied part of the house during the Second World War.

  Injured

• R.S.M. Fred LEGGE, Royal Engineers

• Lt Cpl. William James PRINCE, Royal Engineers

• Sister D.M.B. CURRY

• Nurse WARNER, 20,

• Miss G.M. JAMES, a masseuse

• Nurse Myra RANDS, 20,

• Nurse GRUNELL

Injured patients

• Mrs Irene HIGGINGS, 22

• Mrs Daisy HORSFIELD, 25

• Keith HINCH, 3 weeks.

The site was cleared and was a smallholding until late in 1952.  The southern part of the grounds of Cold Bath House was landscaped and incorporated into the Arboretum to celebrate the Coronation of   H M Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.

  

The Former Gazebo

Location of the spring. The spring is below the dome shape. The sound of  
water can be heard when listening at the gate.

 Views though the lower gate into the cellar

All colour images © Phil Gresham 2020, all rights reserved

More Lincoln Houses

The Lost Houses of Lincoln  - Boultham Hall
The Lost Houses of Lincoln  - Hartsholme Hall
The Lost Houses of Lincoln  - Eastgate House
The Lost Houses of Lincoln  - Monk's Tower
The Lost Houses of Lincoln  - Monk's Manor
The Lost Houses of Lincoln  - Sibthorp House

The Lost Houses of Lincoln - Eastcliffe House

The Old House on Corporation Street

The Crooked House and the Harlequin

Grand House Built on the Sale of Drugs

Did Bail Gate Stand Here?

Bailgate  is one of Lincoln's  oldest  streets  roughly following the  line of  the  Roman Ermine Street, it is also part of an area historically known as "The Bail", from the outer bailey of the castle.

Norman House

In the Middle Ages Lincoln was made up of four self governing areas, the City, Beaumont Fee, the Close and the Bail.   These areas were managed through their own courts and by-laws.  The freemen made the laws and carried them out.  The system was as democratic as it could be, as only freemen were allowed, and expected, to be involved in the running of a district.

The Bail was an area which included Castle Hill and Bailgate from the north of Christ's Hospital Terrace to Newport Arch.

All these areas of Lincoln were physically divided from each other by gates: the gates into the Bail were Newport Arch, a gate from the Close at the junction of Bailgate and Eastgate, Exchequer gate, the now lost western gate of which spanned the road east of Bailgate, and the Bail gate.

The Bail gate stood, according to Adam Stark, about ninety feet south of the location of the Roman south gate of the upper town.  This distance places the gate at the south-west corner of The Norman House (formerly known as Aaron the Jews House). Records of this gate are scant and there is no accurate indication of its location but the image on the right shows a repair to the south-west corner of the Norman House, the small medieval stone, compared to the larger worked stone of the "repair".  Is this where the east side of the Bail gate stood?  The west side of the gate would be near the southern corner of Wordsworth Street; all the buildings on that side were cleared when the County Hospital was built in the late 18th century so we can not see where the west side of the gate would be.  This is a likely location as Steep Hill, Bailgate, Michaelgate and Christ's Hospital Terrace all meet here.  The entrance to Bailgate (the street) would be narrower than it is now.  The gate was still standing in 1810.

Wordsworth Street did not exist at the time of the Bail gate, it was built after Christopher Wordsworth's death in 1885, He was bishop of Lincoln from 1869 until his death.

This is an 18th century drawing of Newland Gate,
was Bail Gate a similar design?

Read more about Lincoln's Gates 

Banks and High Bridge

Joseph Banks, painted 1773 by Sir Joshua Reynolds.

Sir Joseph Banks is well-known as a naturalist and botanist, the son of William Banks a wealthy Lincolnshire land owner. Joseph was also a farmer and business man and was instrumental in promoting the Horncastle Canal.

An Act of Parliament was passed in 1792 approving the building of the canal; the canal was completed by 1802 but was partially in use some years before this.

In order to make the canal viable it was essential that barges could navigate to and from the Trent: the only route was through Lincoln.  

Richard Ellison had acquired a 999 year lease for the Fossdyke Canal and river Witham in 1740, he dredged and improved the canal and the river east of Lincoln but was prevented by Lincoln Corporation from improving the navigation below High Bridge. Lincoln Corporation earned valuable revenue from porterage fees, barges were unloaded one side of the Bridge and reloaded the other.  The problem was so severe that in exceptionally dry summers it was possible to drive a coach across the bed of the river west of High Bridge.

High Bridge c 1836

The reluctance of the Corporation to act on the navigation under High Bridge forced Joseph Banks to look at alternative routes.  William Jessop, the noted canal builder (locally he built the Grantham and Sleaford canals), was commissioned to investigate a likely route.  Jessop put forward a scheme to route barges from the Fossdyke southwards on the upper Witham to Sincil Drain, in effect by-passing Lincoln. The Corporation realised this would be devastating for the economy of the city and, in 1795, the bed of the river beneath High Bridge was lowered at the expense of the proprietors of the Horncastle Canal. To celebrate the event boards were laid on the dry river bed and a dance took place under the bridge.

The building of the Great Northern Railway from Lincoln to Boston in 1848 dramatically increased the traffic on the Horncastle Canal but in 1854 a line was opened from Kirkstead to Horncastle: the canal closed in 1889.  

See also: Lincoln's High Bridge, Unique In This Country

Lincoln Joins the Railway Age

Lincoln was one of the last major towns or cities to be linked by rail, a line from London to Cambridge had been proposed in 1825 and would have extended to York via Lincoln, this route was abandoned. In the event, the London to York line followed a route to the west of the River Trent mainly due to the lobbying of Doncaster’s MP, who believed that a line running through Lincoln would be detrimental to his town. 

Railway promoters became active again in 1833 when three routes were proposed through Lincoln. In March 1835 a Lincoln committee under the chairmanship of Thomas Norton, the City’s mayor, reported on the alternative routes. Again, nothing came of this move to bring the railway to Lincoln.

In 1845 a meeting of 6,000 people at the Beast Market ended in a free fight when the chairman, the Lincoln mayor, announced that the London to York line had won the right to serve Lincoln. Opponents complained that labourers had been brought at 2/- (10p) a piece to vote for the London to York project. George Hudson, “The Railway King“, had spent a lot of money opposing the line in favour of his Midland Railway. His boast was that he would bring a railway to Lincolnshire while the rest were still talking about it!

Hudson’s boast came true when the Midland Railway brought the first route into Lincoln from Nottingham. The line opened on 3rd August 1846, the first train left Nottingham at 9 am, stopping off at the various villages en route to pick up those invited to celebrate the new enterprise, and arriving at Lincoln at 11 am.

It was an important day for the city: the buildings and streets were decorated, the bells of the Cathedral and churches ringing peals at intervals, the band of the 4th Irish Dragoons played the “Railway Waltz” as two trains left the Midland Station, carrying local dignitaries and cannon were fired. The journey to Nottingham took almost 2 hours. The return journey was in heavy rain. A banquet was held in the National School in Silver Street.

Unfortunately there was a casualty of all the merriment: a man called Paul Harden has his leg shattered by the bursting of a cannon in the station yard. He was taken to the County Hospital where his leg was amputated.

The Great Northern Railway opened in 1848, this line was routed from Peterborough through rural Lincolnshire, via Sleaford. Lincoln now had two railways crossing the High Street. The town clerk was sent to London to enquire whether both lines could be routed through one crossing, but he was assured that the crossings would not have a detrimental affect on the flow of the road traffic using the High Street.

The Elegant Entrance Portico of the Midland Railway Station,
now part of St Mark's Shopping Centre

The coming of the railways completely transformed Lincoln’s communications with other parts of the country. The produce of Lincolnshire’s farms and factories could be easily transported and in return coal for homes and industry could be brought into the county. Travelling by mail coach to London took 13 hours whereas by train it would take a mere 4 hours: a businessman could leave Lincoln early in the morning transact his business in London and return home in the evening to sleep in his own bed. In less than 5 years railway lines radiated from Lincoln in all directions.

Prince Albert passed through Lincoln in 1849 to lay the foundation stone of the Grimsby docks.

On the 27th August 1851 Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and the Prince of Wales had a brief stop at Lincoln, en route for Balmoral. An address was read by the Mayor and he presented the keys of the city, following Her Majesty’s reply some grapes That had been grown by Richard Ellison of Sudbrooke Holm. The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, was a regular visitor to the city by train, mainly for the horse racing, as a guest of Henry Chaplin of Blankney Hall.

The Midland Station, otherwise known as St Mark’s Station, closed 11 May 1985, the Great Northern Station, now known as the Central Station continues to operate from St Mary’s Street.


First published on Wordpress 10th October 2013