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Birmingham Gas

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Wendy

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Here is another snippet from The Birmingham Weekly Post of 1952. The subject was a hundred years ago.
Unfortunately the article has been lost, but other information on the thread is useful
 
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I think this is about that change from naked flame gas lights to ones using a 'mantle' which glowed from the heat of the flame. About 700 cp is right for a good gas mantle light.
 
Thanks Lloyd I did wonder what it meant. I can remember the first caravan we had had gas lights with mantles. I thought they were lovely. I remember we had a storm lamp which we had to buy mantles for as well.:)
 
A very interesting article, thanks for sharing it.

I remember in 1950 when my parents moved into the two up two down terraced house in Rocky Lane Nechells it still had the gas mantles on the walls in all the rooms (which were proberably all disconnected, but we never tried them!) We did have electricity in all the rooms too.

As a child I remember the large gas pipe in the cellar which ran under the floors of the rooms from the front to back of the house. The coal (bought from the Coop for the Xmas dividend) was stored in the cellar as well as the gas meter which I think either took a penny or a shilling, I cant remember now.

I just know we had a constant battle with mice and it was my job as the eldest child to go down the cellar with only the light from the cellar grid in the day or the half light from the street lamps at night, or a candle to put money in the gas meter or to get a bucket of coal and I hated it especially if the candle went out.

When the gas meter was emptied every quarter we usually got some money back which we put towards the electric bill which was about £5 in the 50's.

Louisa
 
I remember when young waiting for a bus directly oppersite the council house and seeing the gas lighter with his long pole and 'A' frame ladder going along and lighting the gas street lights, does anyone know the date when this lighting ceased to be street lighting in brum??
 
The last street lamp was removed from duke St in 1975. There is a picture on the forum somewhere
Mike
 
thanks aidan that video clip is brillient..ive been going through all the brum clips on this mace archive site....great ....just found the pic of the last lamp being removed from duke st..

lyn
 
What are the names of the pub and street Lyn? I don't have a big collection (yet) but can always keep my eyes open
 
thanks aidan...the pub was the globe inn corner of hospital st/william st north...dad was born there in 1929..it was bombed out during the war killing the gaffer and a couple of customers..the street is paddington street...if you look on the aerial map of newtown i have just posted it stood on the large piece of waste ground you can see...

thank for looking for me...another pair of eyes is always useful..

lyn
 
I worked on the 'sample census' in 1966 (a census where only one household in 10 were obliged to submit details - don't think it's been done again).

I visited on old lady living in Muntz St who still used gas lighting. I wonder if she was the last and only one?
 
Hi Seabird,

The old chap who lived next door to me in the 1950s in
Stechford had never had electricity installed, and still used
his gas lighting. He used to make a weekly trip down to
Albany Garage in Albert Road to have the accumulator
charged for his radio.
We had gas lighting which still worked, but we never used it.

Kind regards

Dave
 
Hi Dave - yes now I think about it, I remember when I was a small child in the 1950s, the gas mantles were still in situ in our house in Mansel Rd, although I don't know if they were still connected. I guess they were taken down as each room got decorated - which wasn't as often as folk do nowadays, in the post war austerity!
 
Apparently in 1955 the Public Works Committee decided to abandon its high pressure gas lighting system in the city centre which had been is operation since November, 1934. As no agreement regarding payment could be reached the decision to convert to electricity was taken.
 
Hi I am a newbie to this site, but being a Brummie, I have a question that you may be able to help me with. it's two fold really.
First, I have owned number 3 Gas Lamp ( I was told years ago that it came from Nechells) for thirty years, and I wondered anyone knew how they were numbered? I mean this has a small round plate at the top close to the ladder bars. Secondly, at the moment it is in a poor condition, due to needing a re-paint, does anyone know the actual Corporation colours used in the 30's and 40's? I know it was cream and blue, but what were the actual colours to keep it authentic. Thanks in advance. Gerry.
 
Nice find with the Gas Lamp, I am assuming you have the lighting column too. I cannot help with the numbering systems, as I recall they may have been numbered in situ too. Some were replaced as a matter of course due to damage or road works etc.

I do recall the corporation colours, but don’t have a definitive answer. Saying that, I do remember the newly painted lighting columns did vary slightly from the old. This may have been because paint manufactures did not always make the same colour range.

A possible scenario is the corporation may have used a BSI BS4800 accredited colour. This may have been known as the British Engineering Standards Association. Here is a link to an article on the colour systems. The point of BS4800 is these were only 98 colours from the whole of the building indusrty, so your in with a chance of getting near right.

Hope you will post a photo and keep us updated on progress.

There is a museum of gas in Leicester, well worth a visit.
 
Nice find with the Gas Lamp, I am assuming you have the lighting column too. I cannot help with the numbering systems, as I recall they may have been numbered in situ too. Some were replaced as a matter of course due to damage or road works etc.

I do recall the corporation colours, but don’t have a definitive answer. Saying that, I do remember the newly painted lighting columns did vary slightly from the old. This may have been because paint manufactures did not always make the same colour range.

A possible scenario is the corporation may have used a BSI BS4800 accredited colour. This may have been known as the British Engineering Standards Association. Here is a link to an article on the colour systems. The point of BS4800 is these were only 98 colours from the whole of the building indusrty, so your in with a chance of getting near right.

Hope you will post a photo and keep us updated on progress.

There is a museum of gas in Leicester, well worth a visit.
Hi! Many thanks for your prompt reply. I aquired the lamppost from the old Kingsbury Road, depot in Erdington, way back in the 1960's. This is a picture from then, when I had it in my front garden at a previous address. I am hoping to get it back to pristine condition, with the help of a guy who loves these old lamps. I had it electrified of course and I run a 200w bulb in the lantern. I am posting a LARGE photograph, so that you can see the detail at the top of the lantern. I am guessing at the 1930's, am I right? Thanks for the Link too. Gerry. JULY 19TH 2013 005.jpg
 
I was under the impression that the cities gas lamp posts were cream with a brown lower base - not unlike the old GWR, but a different shade of brown.
If you trawl through some of the threads here on BHF - especially those with photographs of older parts of the city you will find some photos which should be of help. Admittedly most and black and white but there are many coloured ones. Maybe threads about buses, pubs and districts would be a good stating place.
You can do this whilst resting from the labours of cleaning down the old paint on the post! :grinning:
 
I was under the impression that the cities gas lamp posts were cream with a brown lower base - not unlike the old GWR, but a different shade of brown.
If you trawl through some of the threads here on BHF - especially those with photographs of older parts of the city you will find some photos which should be of help. Admittedly most and black and white but there are many coloured ones. Maybe threads about buses, pubs and districts would be a good stating place.
You can do this whilst resting from the labours of cleaning down the old paint on the post! :grinning:

Thanks Alan. Yes, it is going to be a labour of love though mate. When I bought the lamp post it was a Cream post, and the base of the post was blue (A'La' Corporation buses) so am unsure of the exact colour code. It still has the number "3" at the top. It's a shame the pictures on here are mostly black & white..... Gerry.
 
I was under the impression that the cities gas lamp posts were cream with a brown lower base - not unlike the old GWR, but a different shade of brown.
If you trawl through some of the threads here on BHF - especially those with photographs of older parts of the city you will find some photos which should be of help. Admittedly most and black and white but there are many coloured ones. Maybe threads about buses, pubs and districts would be a good stating place.
You can do this whilst resting from the labours of cleaning down the old paint on the post! :grinning:

My recollection of lamp post colours are, as you say, cream or off white but the base was more dark maroon rather than brown, but of course I may be mistaken.
 
My recollection of lamp post colours are, as you say, cream or off white but the base was more dark maroon rather than brown, but of course I may be mistaken.
I do think that there were other colours, but this one was indeed Cream, and Corporation blue base to the post. thanks. Gerry. ps I guess we shall have to find a COLOUR photograph of a cream & blue one now....ha-ha. Gerry.
 
My recollection of lamp post colours are, as you say, cream or off white but the base was more dark maroon rather than brown, but of course I may be mistaken.
Your recollection is probably more accurate than mine, as the last time I probably looked at one was over 65 years ago!!
 
Maybe Walsall or West Bromwich were blue. Strangely enough I do not recall those in the Solihull area, which is where I lived as a youngster. But I do remember the German POW's digging trenches for gas mains and new street lamps near Shirley railway station.
 
Your recollection is probably more accurate than mine, as the last time I probably looked at one was over 65 years ago!!
Ha-ha, yes I know. I have a better photograph somewhere of the post, but may take time for me to find it. This sound so odd, discussing lampposts, but I thought if I can find the colour code, then that would be great, if not...then I will paint it as near to the original as I can get. Thanks for your interest. Gerry
 
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