ART - The Roya Society and the Foundation of the British Gas Industry

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The Royal Society and the Foundation of the British Gas IndustryAuthor(s): Kenneth HutchisonSource: Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London, Vol. 39, No. 2 (Apr., 1985), pp.245-270Published by: The Royal Society

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245

THE ROYAL SOCIETY AND THE FOUNDATION OF

THE BRITISH GAS INDUSTRY

By SIRKENNETHHUTCHISON,F.R.S.

THE DISCOVERY OF GAS LIGHTING

T HEReverendJohn Clayton D.D., laterDean of Kildare,F.R.S. 1688 was

born in 1657 in Lancashire where he grew up (I). In 1688 he wrote a

letterto the Hon. RobertBoyle in which, inter lia,he announcedhisdiscoveryof the 'Spiritof Coal' (2). Hearingreportsof a floodedditch nearWigan'whereinthe Water would seeminglyburn like Brandy'he had set out to

investigate.He hadheard hatthe flameshadbeendiminishingver theyearsandwasunable o set fireto the ditchwith alightedpaper.Hehireda 'person'to stem the wateranddig down to discover he source.It provedto be a

'shelly'coal,as he hadsurmised,nd n theholethe'aircatch'd ireandcon-tinuedburning'.He transferredheexperimento thelaboratorynddistilledsmallsamples f thecoalfroma nearbypit in a retortoveran

openfire,and

observedirsta liquid, hena blackoil andthen, aspiritwhichhe could nnowisecondense'.He collectedt inbladdersndwasableto store t indefinitelyand set fire to it as required,he gasescaping hrougha pin hole, whereitburnedwith a bright ight.Apart rom hoseoccasionswhenhe hada mind odivertstrangersr friends, hisimportant iscovery apsed nto oblivion forhalf a century.RobertBoylediedin 1699andClayton'settercame o rest ntheArchives f theRoyalSociety.

Doubtless he caresof a growing family divertedJohn Claytonfrom

researcho a careern the Church ndhe was

gladto

acceptprefermento the

livingof StMichan n Dublin,andCanon, aterDean,of Kildare: e died in

1725.Nothingmoremighthavebeenheard f hisdiscoveriesadnothiseldestsonRobert,Bishopof Cork n 1735,andof Clocher n 1745,F.R.S.1743,been

going throughhis father'spapers,andcome across he letter to Boyle, andaccounts f someotherresearches,ncluding ninvestigationf the 'Elasticityof Water'(3). He sentthem to the Earlof Egmontand both paperswere

accepted or publicationn the Philosophicalransactionsn I740. The Bishophadexpressedhe hope thattheirpublicationwould benefitmankind:ixty

yearspassedbefore herewasevidenceof that.By a curious oincidence nehard-working ngineer,with no specialtraining n scientificmatters,and







246

FIGURE I. WILLIAM MURDOCH (1754-1839). From a sketch by Chantry,reproducedby kindpermissionof the Trusteesof the National PortraitGallery.







247

almostcertainlyno knowledge of Clayton'spublishedwork, was to pioneerin

both fields: his name William Murdoch, son of a millwright in the Parishof

Auchinleck n Ayrshire.

WILLIAM MURDOCH-GAS ENGINEER AND INVENTOR (4)

Murdochleft home in 1777at the age of 23 yearsto seekemploymentwith

the Partnershipof Matthew Boulton andJamesWatt in Birmingham.He had

the good fortuneto be interviewed by Boulton, a brilliantentrepreneur nda

shrewdjudge of character,andwasappointedat a salaryof I shillingsa week.

His nativeskill and dedication were soon rewardedandhe waspromotedto be

the Firm'srepresentativen Cornwall in 1779,at a salaryof one guinea.aweek,responsible or overseeingthe installationand commissioningofJames Watt's

revolutionarynew steampumping engines in the tin andcopperminesof the

Duchy.There he lived for seventeenyears,at a housein Redruthwherehe married

and broughtup a family on a salaryof one guinea a week andfor manyyearsthis never rose above two guineas. He was never short of good ideas about

improvements n the pumpingmachinery(5), the conductof the business,and

hopefully his own prospects.He was convinced that there was a future for a

road vehicle powered by pressure teamandin his evenings designedandbuilta working model. By chanceMatthew Boulton on his way to Cornwall came

upon Murdoch in Okehamptonintent upon going to London. In a letter to

JamesWatt fromTruro,dated2 September1786,he describes he sequel:

He going there with his steam car to show it and take out a patent

persuadedhim to return o Trurowherehe arrived hisday at Noon. (6)

They haddinnertogetherand after dinner there wasa demonstrationn which

the model travelled a distanceof a mile in a circle in 'Rivers Great Room'.

Boulton continues:

FortunateI meet him there as can neither cure the disorderor turnevil to

good-at leasthavepreventedthe mischiefof hisgoing to London.

James Watt agreed, trusting that William 'would be brought to mind thebusinessin hand and let others throw away their time and money huntingshadows'. The Partnerswere in no doubt as to theirinabilityto spare he fundswhich would be required for development of a steam carriage.They had

barely survived a financial crisisbrought about by the form of the contractsunderwhich the pumping engineswere supplied.







248

WorkingModelof a Locomotive

nginemade

byMr.W. Murdockn 1784.

FIGURE2. Murdoch'smodel ocomotive,1784(fromMuirhead'sLifeof

James Watt, p. 450).

Most of the outlay was borne by the customer and even such partsas had

perforceto be made at the Soho Works were suppliedat barecost: the onlyrevenueaccruingwas by way of a Royalty (7). The formulafor this, devised

by Watt, wascalculatedeachyearon the savingin the cost of coal ascomparedwith a Newcomen enginefor the sameduty. It amounted o anopen invitation

for sharp dealing and delaying tactics on the part of the 'adventurers'whoowned and managedthe mines. Watt had retiredfrom the contest, bruised n

spirit and in poor health. Murdoch was made of hardermetal, preparedto

work all the hours that God gave. Tall and powerfully built, he could stand

up, literally, to any of the bullies who tried to browbeathim and beforelonghe had gained their respectand liking. They had even begun to honourtheir

obligationsunderthe Royalty agreements:by I790 the firm was in good shapewith the overdue premiumspaid up and a steady flow of income enough to

make the Partners ichmen.

In 1792 Murdoch carried out experiments in his house and garden atRedruthdesignedto demonstratehow a viable plantcould be constructedand







249

operatedo make, tore,distributendusecoalgasasan illuminant.Regardlessof the claims

by

or on behalfof others o havediscoveredgasfor lightingpurposes, e waspre-eminentlyhefirstgasengineer:n his own wordsattheconclusion f thepaper eadat a meetingof theRoyalSocietyon 25FebruaryI808: I believeI may,withoutpresumingoo much,claimboth thefirst deaof applying,andthe firstactualapplicationof thisgasto economicalpurposes'.The inspiration for Murdoch's incursion into the field of process engineeringcame from experiments he had witnessed in Matthew Boulton's laboratory at

his Cornwall residence, where a wide range of ores was being incinerated, the

residues being of inresest to Boulton as a leading brass-founder and

metallurgist.Murdoch observed how a

combustible gaswas

freelyevolved

from the carbonaceous samples and resolved to put his mechanical expertise to

work so as to contain the gas and deliver it to a point where it could be

usefully employed to illuminate his living room. For the Partners it was justanother of William's aberrations, and like his locomotive it was allowed to

lapse without financial support or patent protection.There were other and more pressing claims on the Partners' resources:

James Watt's Master Patent was due to expire in 800o nd with it the Royaltieswhich had been the main source of their wealth. The Soho works had

expanded without any serious attempt at planning to meet a growing marketfor 'rotative' engines to power the factories of the Industrial Revolution.

Unlike the pumping engines for the Cornish Mines they had to be delivered

complete and ready to work, or at least for assembly on site, against payment

by the purchaser in full satisfaction of all claims by the supplier. The Works

had never been required to show a profit while the cost of procurement and

erection was borne by the purchaser and the Royalties constituted the sole

source of income. Matthew Boulton was ready to meet the challenge of this

new situation. He planned for a future when all profit would be generated in a

large new foundry and machine shop on a green field site a mile away from theold works.

It was a costly project with some risk attached but James Watt, while

maintaining his intention to retire in i8oo, agreed to participate. The Partners'

sons, M. R. Boulton and James Watt Junr, were both able young men, well

educated and also trained as engineers, and ready to take over the direction of

the enterprise. It was the opportunity that William Murdoch had been waitingfor, and in a series of rapid promotions between 1795 and 800ohe became

Engineer and Superintendant at a salary of /300 p.a. and a commission of i%

on the output of the new works. The five years of intensive planning and

supervision that went into the design and construction of the new foundry and







250

machineshops eft little time overfor otheractivities; et Murdoch'sD-slidevalve(8) andhisoscillating-cylindernginewerebothinventions f startlingoriginalitywithgreatdevelopment otential,whilehisapplicationf worm-driveto thecutterbarof a new horizontalboringmachine olved heintract-ableproblemof finishingheinternal urface f a Soin-diameterylindero a

veryfine tolerance; ndby I798he wasapplying he resultsof hisRedruth

experimentsn gas-lightingo theimprovementf theworkingconditionsnthe workshops t Soho.Illuminationf theexterior o celebratehePeaceofAmienswasauseful xercisenPublicRelations,nd edto a growing ndustryofgas-lightingncottonmillsandother actoriesf the Industrial evolution.

When theyoung

Partners ead of theoutrageous roposal

or universal

gas-lighting y a foreigneralledWinzler(whohadpatrioticallyhangedhisnameto Winsor) they may have regretted heirdecisionnot to applyfor

patents or the Redruth xperiments:when Winsor'sproposals eganto betakenseriously ya groupof LondoninanciersedbytherespectableigureofLudovicGrant,he timehadcomeforaction.Their irstremedywasto be thedisclosuren a reputableournalof thepriorstateof the art.MatthewBoultonandJamesWatt hadbeenelectedFellowsof theRoyalSocietyn 1785,and helatter n his retirementwas a nationally-reveredigure.The President f the

RoyalSociety,SirJosephBanks,who heldthatoffice for 41 years rom hiselection n 1778,although noutstandingaturalist asalsoastrictlypracticalman of actionand he agreedto communicateo the Societya paperbyMurdoch,ntitled:

An Accountof the Applicationof the Gas from Coal to economical

Purposes.yMr. WilliamMurdoch.ReadFebruary25, i8o8 (9)

Thecasehe selectedo illustrate is themewasthe cottonmillof Phillipsand

Leein Manchester,eputedo be thelargestn thecountry.Gaswasrequiredforonlytwo hoursa day, averaged ver a year,orthree f overtimewasbeingworked,whilethecarbonizationf coal hadto be continuous,xcept orthe

chargingperiods.Largereservoirscapableof storinga whole day'ssupplywere installedrom whichthegaspassed hrough distributionystem everalmiles n length,gradedn size as the load diminishedowards heendof the

system.The best Cannelcoal at 22s. 6d. per ton was used, but with 'coak on

the spot' at 26. 8d. that wasno hardshipand he was able to use 'common coal'at ios. perton to heat the retorts.Tarwas producedat therateof 11to 12

gallonsperton of coalbut since herewasno marketor it no creditwasto betaken n thefinancialtatement.He concludes y showing he totalexpense f







-iE~ja~d Z~/iP:G

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/ A 3 ~ 1 t PNV

i~1· f;j~1

Re~i..~.,,t ~

VI":..

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i; _

k1'*

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X; W ^^

* e <

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I"-f.'2^y^a.~i·

, i:

"A E1PAT*IGHTriAS-LIGH rS EUAILMAU1,

FIGURE 3. The first public appearance of gas in London, I807, a demonst

Winsor.







252

the gas supplyto be about 600o er annumagainst 200oooer annum ortallowcandles o produce he same llumination.The comparisonwasmore

favourabletill when basedon anaverage f threehoursper day,being ;650perannum or coalgasagainst£3000 perannum ortallow candles. t wasa

convincing asefor the meritsof coalgasand Murdoch'sEconomical tate-ment'set a pattern or the presentationf the Accountsof the futuregasindustry.

There was muchof technicaland scientific nterestalso, in Murdoch's

paper,andthe Councilat its meetingon 2I NovemberI808 (Io) 'took intoconsiderationhe destinationf Count Rumford's iennialMedaland deter-mined

byballotthat t shouldbe

givento WilliamMurdochorhis

publica-tion of theemployment f gasfromcoalfor thepurpose f illumination'ndresolved hat two medals houldbe struck,one in gold andone in silver.Murdochwas the thirdrecipientof the RumfordMedal.It wasfounded n

1796by generousbequest romBenjaminThompson,CountRumford f the

Holy RomanEmpire,Fellow of the Royal Societyand discoverer f the

equivalence f heat andenergy.He madehis intentions lear n a letter to

Council-'preferencealwaysbeing given to suchdiscoveries s shall n the

opinionof the Presidentand Council tend most to promotethe good of

Mankind'(I).JamesWattJunrwasdeterminedo defendat all costs hegrowingmarket

for factory lighting againstthe threat from new public companieswith

powers,probablymonopolistic,o distributeas arandwide.He collectedhisforces or anall-outattackon theGasLightand CokeCompanyBill (I809).Winsor'sreckless laimshad beenreduced o acceptable imensions nd theBill hadthreeobjectives:he firstwas thattheCompanybe incorporated yRoyal Charter;he secondthat it be grantedpowersto raisethe requisiteCapitalof /I oooooo, withlimitation f the liabilityof theshareholders;he

thirdwasto authorizeheGasCompanyo digupthestreetsor thepurpose flayingandrepairingasmains.A SelectCommitteeappointedo examine heBillsatduringhe monthof April1909.

Henry Brougham, ater Lord Broughamand Vaux, was briefed to

representhe interests f Boulton and Watt, and of Murdochas Inventor.

Broughamwasa scientist f somedistinction. orn nScotlandn 1878, hewastheauthor, t theageof 18,of asubstantialpaperpublishednthePhilosopohicalTransactionsof theRoyalSociety 12), and wasmadea Fellow in 1803.He electedhoweverto makea career n the Law andaftera briefperiod n Edinburgh

cameto Londonwherehe wasadmittedo the Bar n 1808, n time to acceptWatt'soffer.







253

James Watt Junr. was the principal witness assistedby Humphry DavyF.R.S. and George Lee of Phillipsand Lee. Murdochdid not takepartexcept

as the signatoryof a letterprintedand sent to the membersof the Committee,refutingattacksmadeon him by Winsor and his supporters I3). The Bill was

lost, then re-appeared he following year suitably amended and passedinto

Law; andin 1812,havingsatisfied he variousstringentprovisionsof the Act, a

Royal Charterof Corporationwas granted and the Gas Industrywas born

(14). Watt retired to Birminghamresolved to have no part of it (thereby

missinga great opportunity) while continuingfor some yearsthe still profit-able businessof supplyinggas plantsto factoriesuntil that too was overtaken

by the convenienceof a public supply.

GAS EXPLOSION IN WESTMINSTER

A loud explosion at the Peter Street Works of the Gas Light and Coke

Company in October 1813was the causeof greatalarmamong the Citizensof

Westminster.Although no lives were lost and little damageresulted,rumour

spreadand there was a sharpreactionagainstthe new gaslights.The AttorneyGeneralwrote to Lord Sidmouth,the Home Secretary,drawinghis attention

to the mischief which might arise from the presenceof a large (I4 ooocu.ft)

reservoirof gas in the City of Westminster.Lord Sidmouth causeda letter tobe written on 29 January 1814 to SirJoseph Banks, Presidentof the Royal

Society, requestingthat a Committee be appointedto examineand reporton

the situationand stateof the reservoir.The Council wastedno time andmet on

3 February o appointa committee of nine (I5), all Fellows, with the President

in the Chair. One member, Colonel Congreve F.R.S., was an expert on

explosives, having been the inventor of the military rocket which bearshis

name. As Sir William Congreve, Bart, to which title he succeededthat same

year on the death of his father, he was to become for a time an influential

figure in the rising gas industryas the representativeof Governmentpolicy;and as Equerry to the Prince Regent, later George IV, he had importantlinks with the Crown.

The Committee reportedto the Council on 24 February.Their Report is

included verbatimin the Minutesof the meeting; it runsto fifteen pagesand

over 3000 words. The Committee was of the opinion that the two principal

objectsof theirenquiryshould be:

Ist.The degree of probabilitythat an explosion shouldby any meansbe

produced.2nd. The probableeffect of anexplosionif it should takeplace.







254

As to the riskof anexplosion,they concludedthat a Gasometer(moreproperlya Gas Holder), properlydesignedand operatedto maintaina pressureof one

half inch of water offered no opportunity for the creation of an explosivemixture. If by any mischanceor due to mismanagementt did become filled

with an explosive mixtureof five partsof air to one of gasand becameignited,the resultingexplosioncould equalthat of ten barrelsof gunpowder,but on an

average of all circumstances would not exceed that of five barrels of

gunpowder. The Committee offered no explanationof how such a situation

might arise, mentioning only the matter of bringing into use an empty gasholder during which the air in the crown had to be displacedby gas. The

explosion thathad causedso much alarm was due to an error n the manipula-tion of a purifierwhich allowed gas to escapeinto the buildingwhich housedit, and new procedureshad been adoptedwhich shouldpreventthe repetitionof such a condition in future.The Report was well received. The Public was

satisfied that gas was safe if properly manufacturedand installed. The gas

industryresumedbusinessasusual.Salesincreasedand soon the firstpromiseddividends were declared.

SIRWILLIAMCONGREVE .R.S.

Clearly gas had come to stay andthe industrywas growing fast,with new

companiesproliferatingunder the watchful eye of the Home Office. On 22

FebruaryI822 the Court of the CharteredGasLight and Coke Company was

consideringa letterfrom Mr Hobhouseof the Home Office advisingthem that

SirWilliam Congrevehadbeen appointedto examinetheirestablishmentsnd

report(I6). Similar etterswere addressedo the otherStatutoryCompanies n

the Metropolisandan inspectorwas appointedto pay weekly visits.Congrevehad succeededhis father as Controllerof the Royal Laboratories ndInspector

of MilitaryMachines.The PrinceRegent, impressedby the successof the Con-greve Rocket Batteriesat seaandon land, appointedhim an Equerryandcon-

firmedthe appointmenton ascending o the Thronein I820. He was thuswell

qualified technically and politically to tackle the thorny problemsof a fast-

growing and as yet unorganized but highly litigious industry. With theassistance f the Inspector,a Mr Wright, he was readyto institutea thorough-going programmeof inspectionswith weekly visits to some if not all of theworks.

Two reportswere published, n 1822 and 1823, both over the signatureof

Sir William Congreve (I7). Again it was the gasholderswhich receivedmostattention but the nuisance aspect was not overlooked. Among the matters







255

FIGURE4. SIRWILLIAMCONGREVE,F.R.S. (I772-I828). From a portrait byJ. Lonsdale, reproduced

by kindpermissionof the Trusteesof the National PortraitGallery.







256

requiring pecial ttentionwasthenecessityorgreater are o begivento theinstallationndmaintenancef the

gasmainson the district f each

StatutoryCompany.As the Law then stoodall they had was the rightto lay mains:otherscould,subject o permissionrom the Vestries, omein andlay mains

alongside, nd t was not unknown or these Pirates'o secure customernd

supplyhimfromthemainsalreadyhere.Thisled Congreve o thestrongly-held conviction hatlegislationhouldbe introducedo grant o eachof the

existingandanyfutureStatutoryCompany,a solerightof supplywithin tsown accurately emarcatedoundaries. ongrevewas much n demand sanarbitratorn the frequentboundarydisputesbetweenadjacent ompanies,

reinforcinghis 'Awards'wherenecessary y the threatof legislation.ThepromisedGovernmentBill was introducedn I823 by Dawson,the Under

Secretaryo Peel at the HomeOffice,but it wasdropped ndthecompanieswere left to do whattheycouldby negotiation ndcompromise,whilethePirates ad obeboughtout or otherwisedisposed f.

Having ost favourat the HomeOffice(aswill appearater, orvery goodreasons)Congreve urnedhis attentiono a boldnew project.He plannedofounda new Companyo be calledTheImperialContinentalGasAssociationwithHeadquartersn London I8), to secureranchisesorlighting hestreets

andhomes n the principalCapitals nd otherlargeCitiesof the EuropeanContinent.The earlysuccess f the CongreveRocketgavehim theentree oseveral f theCourtsn theCapitals ndasEquerryo KingGeorge V he waswell-known o alltheAmbassadorsttheCourtof StJames.Butfirsthehad ohave assurances to theprospect f finance. t wasforthcomingromMessrs

Attwood,Goldsmidt nd Montefiorewith substantialankingand insurance

interests,whilea futureGovernor f the Bankof England nda futurePre-sidentof the Boardof Trade were both preparedo lend theirsupportasDirectorswhenthe time came.Congrevereturnedrom a tour of the Con-

tinentwith a reporthatwassufficiently ncouragingo satisfy isbackersnda Prospectuswas issuedwith a first call of f5 per fIoo sharedue on ioDecember 1824. All the 20 000 shares n offer were takenup exceptthe970reserved or Congreve:the ImperialContinentalGas Associationwas in

business,withofficesn St Swithin'sLane.Well satisfiedwith theprogress irWilliamCongreve et off on a second

and more ambitious our accompaniedby two Directors,and FrederickDaniellF.R.S.,who hadbeenappointed uperintendentt a salary f i Ioooa

year.TheyleftEnglandnJanuary 825andreturnedn May,havingvisited

twelve towns or citiesin Belgium,Holland and Germanyand negotiatedthroughagentswith others.Theybroughtbackwith themfirmcontractsor







257

ICMPERTAL-

CONTINENTAL GAS ASSOCL&TION.

CAPITAL, £2,000,000 STERELIG.

PATRONS.

HISEXCELLENCY COUNT

LIEVEN,Ambaador fromHis Impeial Majestythe EmperorofaMthe Ruaa.

HIS EXCELLENCY PRINCE PAUL ESTERHAZY,Ambamdor from His ImpeujalMajesty he Emperorof Austria.

HIS EXCELLENCY THE SIEUR RHEINHARD DE FALCK,Ambmaodorrom His Majestythe King of the Netherlands.

HIS EXCELLENCY COUNT LUDOLF,Ambmador from His Majesty the King of the Two Sicilies.

HIS EXCELLENCY BARON GUSTAVUS ALGERNON STIERNELD,Ambassdor from His Majestythe King of Sweden.

HIS EXCELLENCY COUNT MOLTKE,Ambanmdorrom HisMajesty the King of Denmark.

HIS EXCELLENCY COUNT DE VILLA REAL,AmbauadorfromHis Majesty the King of Portugal.

HIS EXCELLENCY THE BARON MALTZAHN,Ambsador fromHis Majesty the King of Prussia.

HIS EXCELLENCY COUNT MUNSTER,Hanoverian Minister.

BARON DE CETTO,BavarianCharged'Afires.

PRESIDRRVT&

MAJOR-GENERAL SIR WILLIAM CONGREVE, BART. M.P. F. It. S.

MATTHIAS ATTWOOD, EsQ. M.P.

ISAAC L. GOLDSMID, EsQ.

MOSES MIONTEFIORE,EsQ.

CHAIRMAN.

MAJOR-GENERAL SIR WILLIAM CONGREVE, BART. M.P. F. It.S.

DIRECTORS.

THE HONOURABLE LESLIE MELVILLE. LIEUT. COL. GEORGE LANDMANN, R. E.

Sir GEORGE ABERCROMBIE ROBINSON, Bart. JOHN HORSLEY PALMER, Esqi.

HENRY BONHAM, Esq. M.P. CHARLES FREDERICK MANNING, Esq.

TrOMAS STARLING BENSON, Esq. THOMAS MEUX, Esq.

JOSEPH CLARKE, Esq. ROBERT MUNRO, Esq.

NICHOLAS GARRY, Esq. FREDERICK DANIELL, Esqi.

GEORGE CARR GLYN, Esq. CHARLES POULETT THOMSON, ELq.

AUDIZTORS.

A. W. ROBARTS, Esq. M.P. THOMAS HARRINGTON, Esq.

ALEXANDER GOLDSMID, Esq. HENRY WILLIAM SMITH, Esq.Sir WALTER STIRLILNG,Bart.

BANKERS.

Messrs. SPOONER, ATTWOODS, &Co. I Sir WILLIAM CURTIS, ROBARTS, & Co.

HONORARr CHEMIST.

W. T. BRANDE, EsQ.F. R. S.

COUNGSL.

E. B. SUGDEN, EsQ.

SOLICITOR&

Messrs. J. & S. PEARCE.

"ORZIGN 5ECRRTARY.

M. HENRY Dzs RIVIERES BEAUBIEN.

At a moment when British capital is superabundant beyond all former precedent, and when British

enterprise is directed to all beneficial and practicable objects, it will not be surprising that, after the general

adoption of Gas Illumination throughout England, and the evidence thereby attained of its value to the con-

sumers, as well as of its advantageto those who engage for its supply, a Company should be foTmed or the special

purpose of extending the benefit of this admirablesystem to the principal towns of the Continent.

FIGURE 5. The first Prospectus of the Association, 1824.







258

fourgassupplieswhich ncludedBerlinandHanover: othremainedspartof

ImperialContinentalor93years; lthoughakenoverbytheGermansuringthe I914-I918War,theEngineersndManagersf the Associationtayedonin effective control throughout.Following some early setbacks,whichincludedthe resignationsf Congreveand threeDirectors, mperialCon-tinentalexpanded ndprospered. y i85oit owned I6 Undertakings,nclud-

ingVienna, ojustifyinghe'Imperial'n itstitle,andhadachieved memor-ablereputation ll overthe Continentandbeyond,'elle a donnedans oute

1'Europe es garantiesnombreusesde probitede capacite,de solidarity'

(Brusselsnewspaper,1838.)The success of the inaugurationof the Association was marred for Sir

William Congreve by the tragic consequencesof his involvement with the

ImperialGasLightandCoke Company.Founded n I821 with ambitiousplansfor territorialexpansion, it had fallen into the clutches of two unsavoury

rogues,JosephClarke,a Director, and Henry Clarke,the Company Secretary

(20). They had gainedcontrol of all the Companyfunds,even correspondencemeantfor the Governorbeing intercepted.I have no doubtthatCongrevewas

already n financialdifficulties,andhisfailureto takeup hisallotted andqualif-

ying shares s significant.He could have been temptedinto acceptingfavours

fromJosephandHenry Clarke

whilethey were busylining

theirpocketsfromthe coffers of the ImperialGasLightCompany.However thatmightbe he was

certainly associatedwith them in various enterprisesandJoseph was given a

seat on the Imperial Continental Board. On 9 February I825 the 'Times'

printeda fierce attack on Josephand Henry Clarke for their crookedpoliciesand for paymentsfor unspecifiedservicesto certainMembersof Parliament.

'They [the Clarkes]are the samegentlemen' the article continues 'who latelycut so conspicuous(and who probably will hereaftercut a still more cons-

picuous) figure in the Arigna Mine Business'(21). The legal processeswhich

followed reached the Court of Chancerythree yearslater on an appealfromthat of the Vice Chancellor. On 3 May 1828the LordChancellorpronounced

judgement. A transactionconcerningthe sale of mines to a companyof which

Congreve was to be the director was clearly fraudulent.A sale price of

1Ioooo had been agreed; until the two Clarkesassociated hemselves withhim and arrangedfor the sale at that price to nominees of their own andthereafter or the minesto be sold to the companyfor L25 ooo, the difference

going into the pockets of Congreve, the Clarkes and others. About a week

afterthejudgement Sir William Congreve died, at the age of 56, in Toulouse

where he had sought voluntaryexile earlier and was buriedin the ProtestantCemetery on I6 May 1828.







259

Sir William Congreve's Case as printed and submitted to the House of

Lords in 1827 by Adam and Loftus Lowndes of Counsel consists of replies to

ten questions (22). They summarize their findings as that 'his character is not

open to any imputation for his acts and intentions prior to June 1825 nor

thereafter except that he would have been well advised to have made an

immediate and distinct explanation of the whole transaction in which case no

charges could have been brought'. He had been abroad in 1825 at the time

when the two Clarkes set up the company round which the case for the

prosecution revolved and lacking the resolution to defy them paid the penalty.As an Officer and a Gentleman and Chief Equerry to King George IV, he mayhave taken the

only

honourable course

open

to him.

Meanwhile the Home Office had turned again to the Royal Society for

advice: Mr Robert Peel, the Secretary of State, wrote personally to Sir

Humphry Davy, the President on IoJune 1825 (23). Recalling the earlier valu-

able report, he requested that a committee be appointed to examine the works

of five (named) Metropolitan Companies and to report whether in their

opinion they were being carried on 'upon such Principles as would admit,

with a due attention to the public safety, of the Supervision and Control with

which the Secretary of State is invested by the Provisions of the Legislature,

being withdrawn for the future'. A committee was appointed on the i6th,required to meet on the 20th and produced its report on 23June 1825, 'havingexamined the several gas Establishments enumerated in the letter of the

Secretary of State'. There was criticism of the ventilation of buildings at some

works, of imperfect constructions of some gasholders, of the management of

some mainlaying operations and of the insufficient use of proper safety lamps;and in conclusion 'though there is a great improbability of any extensive or

serious accident, yet there is a necessity for the improvement of some of these

works and a propriety of occasional superintendance of all of them'. This

cosmetic exercise was presumably what Sir Robert Peel wanted and thataccomplished, the Royal Society retired from the scene.

SIRDAVID POLLOCK .R.S.

Through all the years of misrule and peculation in the Courtroom of the

'Imperial', while the two Clarkes exercised their malevolent power over an

acquiescent Court, the Gas Light and Coke Company (24), known to all as the

'Chartered', continued on its course of steady, if unspectacular, progress under

the wise guidance of its second Governor David Pollock. He had been

appointed a Director in November 1813 to represent the interest of certain







260

influential investors, towards the end of two years of near disaster for the Com-

pany.The first Governor was James Ludovic Grant, an able, honest, well-

intentioned gentleman with private means. He had entered on his task with

enthusiasm and finding a promising market for gas was assiduous in the promo-tion of sales. They included several binding contracts for street lighting as to

which he had not taken the precaution of assuring himself of the ability of his

Company to produce the gas. A committee of shareholders brought such

pressure to bear on the Court that Grant was forced to resign and was not

replaced. In the ensuing interregnum Pollock was a regular attender at the

meetings of the Court and was normally voted into the Chair. Elected Gover-

nor in 1815, he held theappointment

untilJune

1846, when heresigned

to

accept the post of ChiefJustice of the Supreme Court ofJudicature in Bombayand with it a Knighthood by Letters Patent. He died in Bombay less than a

year after taking up his appointment.David Pollock was of Scottish extraction, his grandfather a native of

Tweedmouth. He was born in 1780, the eldest of three sons of David Pollock,

saddlemaker in London, educated at St Paul's School and the University of

Edinburgh but did not graduate. Called to the Bar in 1803 he built up a steady

practice at Kent Sessions and the Insolvent Debtors Court and took silk in

I833. He gets only passing mention in the Biographies, being overshadowedby two brilliant younger brothers. Frederick (b. 1783), Senior Wrangler and

first Smith's Prizeman and Fellow of Trinity College Cambridge, elected

F.R.S. in 1833, was a barrister and rose to be Chief Baron of the Exchequer,

retiring with a Baronetcy. George (b. 1786) joined the Army of the East India

Company and served in many campaigns with great distinction, He was

created Field Marshall and retired like his brother, a Baronet in 1872. David's

31 years in office as the second Governor of the Gas Light and Coke Companyreceives no mention, being too much like Trade to be respectable. Everard

rates him with Simon Adams Beck (I860-I876) and Sir David MilneWatson(1919--945) as one of the three great constructive Governors in the 136 yearsof the Company's history.

The first serious test of David Pollock's negotiating skill came just two

months after being appointed a Director, when he was called on to represent

the Company in the matter of the enquiry by the Royal Society into the Peter

Street explosion. Lord Sidmouth, the Home Secretary, (Winchester,Brazenose and Lincoln's Inn) could well have found himself at ease with David

Pollock (St Paul's, Edinburgh and Inner Temple) even if they had not already

met. He explained that in his considered opinion the setting up of a Committeeof Enquiry would serve not only to allay public alarm, which it was his duty







261

to effect: it would serve also to strengthen the position of the Company

through the publication of an unimpeachable report from an independent body

such as the Royal Society, to whose sole discretion he would leave the conductof the enquiry; and would Mr Pollock return in four days after reporting to

the Court. The Directors were very pleased and relieved at the outcome of the

visit to Lord Sidmouth and were happy to leave the further conduct of the

affair to Pollock. He saw SirJoseph Banks at the Royal Society and invited the

Committee of Enquiry to visit the scene of the explosion at Peter Street, on 7

February. The Royal Society's Report, as the Home Secretary predicted,served its purpose with public alarm abated and business looking up again. But

all was not

yet plainsailing for the Company knew that the

rapidly growingdemand for gas could not be met without the use of certain gasworks plant to

which the Committee had taken exception and on sites which the Report had

criticized. So within the year Pollock was back at the Home Office to explain

why gasholders much in excess of 6 ooo cu.ft capacity were still in use and whyno earth traverses had yet been constructed. Whatever explanations were

offered or undertakings given, they must have satisfied Lord Sidmouth for

nothing more was heard of the matter.

A grateful Court elected Pollock Governor in August I815, with as his

Deputy Governor, Thomas Livesey ('the elder'), who had been one of thenoisy and unruly committee of proprietors which unseated the previousGovernor. As poacher turned gamekeeper he became an able administrator

with a good understanding of the gas-making process and of the financial cons-

traints of a public company. It developed into a successful partnership which

endured for 25 years. Everard has summed it up:

David Pollock, a barrister stood aloof and judicial, a polished negotiatorand chairman of committees-descending from Olympian heights to guidethe broad

policies

of the concern.Livesey

on the other hand, a Victorian,

direct, forceful, pugnacious and impatient.-Practical and active-he did

not hesitate when dissatisfied-to take over the conduct of operationshimself.

But there were some of Livesey's former associates who never forgave him.

They carried on a relentless vendetta of abuse and insinuations which lasted for

25 years. Accusations of dishonesty and inefficiency were each in turn

investigated by the Governor in person or remitted to a committee of the

Court and in every case judged to be without foundation. In 1839 the two

nephews he had trained to succeed him left the service of the Company (25).

Thomas ('the younger') resigned to take up the appointment of Secretary, later







262

Manager of the South Metropolitan Gas Company. William, less assiduous,

had his appointment terminated by the Directors. In the following year notice

was given of yet another attack on the Deputy Governor. What happenednext is obscure: he attended the last Court before the General Meeting after

which, in Everard's own words 'all is silence'.

David Pollock was elected to the Royal Society in I829 as a 'gentleman

strongly attached to Science and willing to assist in its promotion'. An impres-sive list of his supporters included Thomas Telford and Isambard Brunel,

leading Engineers of the period, with Michael Faraday and Thomas William

Brande from the Royal Institution. Pollock took a keen interest in the by-

products of gas manufacture and the Company established a Tar Works in

1818 producing a wide range of products for sale. There were exports to New

York, Boston and Hamburg while Pollock went visiting factories for the

manufacture of Prussian Blue and others to compare processes with his own.

The processing of ammonia liquor was begun at two gasworks in 1833 for the

manufacture of sal-ammoniac and sulphate of ammonia. George Lowe, Chief

Engineer of the 'Chartered' was elected to the Royal Society in 1834 with the

list of Pollock's supporters strengthened by the signature of Dr John Dalton.

George Lowe was a quiet and unassuming man, who came into his own with

thedeparture

ofLivesey.

His introduction to the 'Chartered' wasby way

of an

ammonia process which he came south from Derby to sell, but his merits were

quickly recognized and he was offered an appointment as Superintendant of a

Works in 1821. He soon made his mark and became Chief Engineer in I832.

From then on until at his own insistence he retired in 1863, he laboured to putthe works in good order and to introduce improvements, many of which he

had instigated, wherever feasible. His great disappointment was the failure to

secure a site for a new Westminster Works on the land now occupied by the

Tate, and in his last years he could never reconcile himself to what he felt to be

a reckless plan to build a great new works down on the tidal waters of theThames. It was the brainchild of Simon Adams Beck, the fifth and last Gover-

nor under whom Lowe had served and was to be called Beckton, in its time

the biggest gasworks in the World.

Sir William Congreve's enlightened policy of the creation of legally con-

stituted 'arondisements' appealed to the logical and judicial side of Pollock's

character: each statutory company should be granted a monopoly of the supplyof gas in its own strictly defined area; standards of mainlaying and of

maintenance could then be enforced and the depredations of the 'pirates'

eliminated. It had to be accepted that this would entail some degree of Govern-ment intervention, a price that Pollock was willing to pay, as were most of the







263

other Companies nvolved. Congreve'sdisgraceput an end to furtherattemptsto rationalize gas supply, for the time being, at least. Even if they had

succeededthe new LiberalAdministrationof 1830 might have found time todismantlea monopolisticstructurewhich was in conflictwith theirprincipleof

unfetteredcompetition with price and profit as sole criteria. Undeterred bythis set-back, Pollock began negotiations with neighbouringstatutoryCom-

panies to define their preciseboundaries,and that done and more importantstill, to enter into binding agreements o observe them as if they hadthe force

of law.The Congreve policy of 'a regular district or arondisement'for each

Company continued as a prime objective of successiveGovernors after Sir

David Pollock's resignationin 1836. A significantadvancewas registered n

1857 when five Companies supplying gas north of the Thames entered into

binding agreementsto define and observe their respectiveboundaries: hree

Companiessouth of the River had alreadydone so. Both Parties n Parliament

being agreedon the issue,the LiberalAdministrationwas able to passthroughall its stages, the Metropolis Gas Act 1860 (26). As foreseen, while the Act

granted monopoly powers of supply within each Company's statutoryboundaries, t had clauseslimiting their powers in other directions:dividends

were not to exceed io% and therewas anobligation

tosupply

residents n the

area of supply:standards f candlepower andgaspressurewere to be observed

and there was complete prohibitionof the presenceof hydrogen sulphidein

the gas. The Companieswere not unduly concernedas there was no effective

provisionfor monitoringthese standards.

THE METROPOLITANGAS REFEREES

Eight yearslater when the Corporationhad composedits differenceswith

the Companiessupplying gas,the City of LondonGas Act 1868 waspassedand

the whole scenechanged.Gas Examinerswere to be appointedandpaidfor bythe Companies,with a Senior GasExaminerappointedby the Boardof Trade

to supervisethem. A new superstructurewas to be createdcomprisingthree

Gas Referees 'being competent and impartial persons, one at least having

practicalknowledge and experience in the manufactureand supply of gas'.The fifteen clausesdefining their duties and responsibilities ppearto give the

Refereealmostunlimitedpower to prescribe he teststo be made andthe per-missible limits of impurities,except that the 'gas shouldat all times be whollyfree from SulphurettedHydrogen'. The powers of the Referees were later

widened to cover the whole Metropolitanareaand f inally 1920 to the wholeof the United Kingdom; it having been made clear that their duties were







264

FIGURE 6. C. V. BOYS,F.R.S. (I855-1944). Froma photographin the possessionof the

Royal Society.







265

limited to prescribing methods of testing, not permissible limits. A. G. Vernon

Harcourt F.R.S. (27) was appointed a Metropolitan Gas Referee in 1872 and

remained in that office for 45 years, starting a tradition that one at least, and

usually two out of three Referees, were Fellows of the Royal Society. As an

undergraduate at Balliol he came under the influence of the newly-appointedProfessor of Chemistry, B. C. Brodie, migrated with him to the New Museum

to become one of the pioneers of Physical Chemistry before being appointedDr Lee's Reader in Chemistry at Christ Church. According to the late Dr E. J.Bowen the pleasure he took in showing chemical experiments and strangemechanical divices to his fellow Dons including C. L. Dodgson, the Lecturer

inMathematics,

earned him fame of another kind as Lewis Carroll's White

Knight. He took his duties very seriously and is best remembered for his new

reproducible standard of luminosity, the Pentane Lamp, in its one-candle

power and Io-candle power versions, and for his work on the sulphur com-

pounds, and specifically carbon disulphide, always present in coal gas, and

unaffected by the normal processes used to remove hydrogen sulphide. The

catalytic hydrogenation of carbon disulphide became the basis of the widely-used Harcourt Test: its application to the further purification of coal gas was

too far in advance of the technology of the period to be feasible.

The appointment of C. Vernon Boys F.R.S. (28) as a Gas Referee in 1897was an inspired choice. An Assistant Professor at the Royal College of Science,

he had earlier merited universal respect for his determination of the Gravita-

tion Constant. He is perhaps best remembered for the production of

exceptionally fine quartz fibres by attaching molten quartz to the arrow of a

crossbow fired the length of the laboratory. He came to the Gas Industry when

the Candle Power standards of the past, though still enforceable by Statute,

were giving way to the Calorific Value of gas as the standard of the future.

Welsbach's incandescent mantle was replacing the batswing and new

appliances for cooking and heating were in process of compensating the

Industry for the lighting load being lost to electricity. Boys addressed himself

to the problem of the accurate determination of the CV of gas with enthusiasm

and discernment. He first identified the cause of the errors in existingcalorimeters as being the irregular exchange of heat from the burning gas to

the coils of water tubes and corrected this. Soon the Boys Calorimeter and its

attendant Boys Gas Meter with the measuring drum floating as it seemed

freely, and certainly with minimum friction, under a glass dome, was a com-

pelling feature of every control room or laboratory; and printed tables were to

hand to correct the observed readings to the Gas Referees Standard of measure-

ment at 6o°F, 3oin mercury, saturated.







266

The 1920 Gas Regulation Act made the declaration of Calorific Value

mandatory for all Statutory Companies: they in turn, amid some public

protest, introduced a new unit of measurement-the Therm equal to I00 oooB.Th.U.s. The outcome was a pressing demand for a continuous C.V.

Recorder and Boys was ready to accept the challenge to design one. He had

first to translate the numbers in the corrective tables into their mechanical

equivalents: the movement of a belljar containing air inverted over a pool of

mercury with a little water and actuating a lever fulfilled this function. He

next examined two options-to use the movement of the lever to modulate the

flow of gas or the flow of water and chose the former; returning however to

the latter towards the end of his career. (He appears never to have examined a

third option which was to apply the correction to the recorder itself while

maintaining constant the flow of gas and water.) To a visitor appreciative of

mechanical invention and design the application by Boys of a type of universal

variable gear as the linkage between the belljar and the meter would excel all

other parts of the calorimeter in the elegance of its conception and the perfec-tion of its realization. It comprised a flat, circular plate mounted on a spindle so

as to rotate at an angle to the main assembly; parallel to it a horizontal cylinderdriven by a clockwork mechanism; resting on both a polished sphere free to

rotate on a horizontalspindle,

itsposition

determinedby

alinkage

to the

belljar. Then as the sphere moved out towards the perimeter of the disc the

speed of the latter was reduced and vice versa;the requisite corrections to the

rate of gas flow being affected at the gas meter by an ingenious arrangementwhich defies description within the reasonable limits of this brief history. The

rate of water flow was maintained constant by an ingenious tipping device, the

centre of attention for a lay audience on account of a feather, fixed to the

bucket to dampen the shock at each end of its travel (29).In about I930 I had the good fortune to see the Master at work. A

prototype had been installed and was under observation in a room in the newResearch Laboratory of the Gas Light and Coke Company at Fulham, and I

had been detailed to receive all three Gas Referees on a visit of inspection-

J. S. Haldane F.R.S., H. V. Boys F.R.S., and W.J. Butterfield Esq. Boys went

straight to work on the instrument, totally enclosed in its glass case and self-

contained for all its services, powered by a small hot air engine. Haldane found

a comfortable chair in a corner and appeared to be deep in thought. Butterfield

opened a case full of papers and went to work in another corner. Boys began a

detailed examination of each feature with a running commentary for the

benefit of the Station Chemist and myself. Two hours later he straightened upand turning to Butterfield said 'Time for tea I think; the old buffer's asleep'







267

noddingnthedirection f Haldane; ndeliciting heinstantresponse,theoldbuffer is not asleep, he heard every word'.

The first production model proved to be reliable and accurate but it wastoo fragile and complicated to be acceptable under industrial conditions and

never came into general use. Boys had spent much of his own time and had

sacrificed a sizeable slice of his lucrative practice as an expert witness in the

process of developing his recording calorimeter. Other more robust pieces of

equipment are in use today but they are still required by Law to be verified at

frequent intervals against the original Boys non-recording calorimeter and its

attendant meter and correction tables. The Office of the Gas Referees was

abolished in I938 and its duties and responsibilities were taken over by a

department of the Board of Trade; now the Gas Standards Branch of the

Ministry of Energy. The Referees had served their purpose, as an impartialtribunal of quality, at a time when the Public had been distrustful of what theysaw as Gas Companies whose only interest was in the dividends they could

hand out to their shareholders; and of Governments who could not be relied

on to make the interest of the consumer their main concern at all times.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I wish to acknowledge assistance received in the preparation of this paper,from Mr N. H. Robinson Librarian, the Royal Society, and the staff of the

Library; and from Miss Sally Grover, the Archivist, in the recovery of

documents in the archives, as also in the assembly of material for the writing of

the paper; and from Mr Barry Atkinson, Librarian, the Institution of Gas

Engineers, Mr M. A. Ellis, Chief Gas Examiner, Ministry of Energy, and

Ms E. S. Harlaar, the Science Museum, South Kensington.I wish to thank Mr M. Drinkwater, Secretary of I.C. Gas (Imperial

Continental Gas Association, founded in 1824by Sir William Congreve F.R.S.)for a copy of an abridged history, published privately in 1974 to celebrate

I50 years of continuous operation, and for interesting extracts from the

archives relating to the operations at the Association's German gasworks

during the I914-I918 War, under the control of their British Engineers.

NOTES

(i) The ReverendJohnClaytonD.D., Dean of Kildare(1657-1725), was borninto a

prosperous Lancashire family which had produced divines and lawyersmerchantsand squiresand a Vice Chancellor of CambridgeUniversity. Hematriculatedat St AlbanHall, Oxford and took hisB.A. at MertonCollege in







268

I678 and his M.A. in 1682 and enteredthe Church. His observationson the

climate, soil, flora and faunaof Tidewater Virginia were made in the period

1684-1686 while fulfilling his pastoral duties as Rector of Christchurch,Jamestown,Virginia.They were published(in part)asfive Letters o the RoyalSociety, 1694-1695. He began attendingmeetings of the Royal Society andwas elected Fellow in 1688.His correspondencewith RobertBoyle began in

June 1684 when he wrote from Jamestown and signed the letter 'thoughunknown, your friend'. He next wrote on 12 May i688 a long letter whichcontainshis accountof the discovery of the 'Spiritof Coal'. (R. S. Archives.

Boyle's Letters Vol. 6, Item 62). The letter was probablywritten soon after

Clayton had visited Boyle in London and received a requestfor informationon some 22separate ubjects.The ReverendJohnClayton'sletter (presumably

a copy) was found by Bishop Robert Clayton among his late father'spapersand communicated o the Royal Society on 23 Dec. 1740(v. notes2 and 3.)The 'BurningDitch' nearWigan was firstreported o the Royal Society in

a letter from Roger Bradshaigto RichardGerrardEsq: Aug.25 1663. and isannotated ReadSept. 9. 1663'.LetterBook Supplement,2, p. 59. The descrip-tion of the flames is exactly as noted by later observers;and its location as

being 'on Mr. Molyneux of Hawkley's ground near Wiggan in Lancashire'.Mr Molyneux, being present,invited the author of the letter and other wit-nessesof the demonstration, to the eating of a Hen and Bacon boiled by thatfire'.

The next report appearsas, 'Descriptionof a Well and Earth n Lancashire

takingFireby a Candleapproached o it', by ThomasShirleyEsq.PhilosophicalTransactions,, 482 (1667). He deduced correctly, in the face of scoffingremarks rom local onlookers, that the flames had their origin in 'bituminousor sulphurous umes'from coal. His visit had takenplacesomeyearsbefore,in

February1659.Walter T. Layton. Forewordby Dr CharlesCarpenter.The Discovererf

GasLighting.NotesontheLifeand Workof the Rev.JohnClaytonD.D., London,Walter King, 1926.EdmundBerkeley and Dorothy SmithBerkeley, TheReverendohnClayton:Parsonwith a ScientificMind;His ScientificWritingsandOtherRelatedPapers,

Charlottesville,UniversityPressof Virginia, 1965.MarcusB. SimpsonJr. and SallieW. Simpson,'The ReverendJohn Clay-

ton's Lettersto the Royal Society of London 1693-I694', The North CarolinaHistorical eview,54 (i) (January1977).

(2) An Experimentconcerningthe Spiritof Coals, being partof a Letterto the Hon.Rob. Boyle Esq.from the late Rev.John Clayton D.D., communicatedby the

Right Rev. Fatherin God Robert Lord Bishop of Corke to the Right Hon.

John EarlofEgmont F.R.S.Phil. Trans.R. Soc.Lond.,41, 59-6I (I739).(3) An Experimentto prove that Water, when agitatedby Fire, is infinitely more

elasticthanAir in the sameCircumstances; y the lateRev.JohnClayton,Deanof Kildarein Ireland.Communicated

bythe samehand as the

preceding.Phil.

Trans. R. Soc. Lond., 41, 162-I66 (1740).

(4) A. M. (AlexanderMurdoch), Light withouta Wick A Centuryof GasLighting







269

1792-1892. A Sketchof William Murdoch.Glasgow University Press, I892.

JamesA. Keith, 'The Life and Times of William Murdoch'.Published March

1984in abridgedform in GasEngineeringndManagement.ondon,The Institu-tion of GasEngineers.(5) R. V. Jones,The Wilkins LectureI969. 'The "PlainStory"ofJamesWatt', Notes

andRecordsR. Soc.Lond., 24, 214. JamesWatt had a deep distrustof 'pressuresteam'on groundsof danger.

(6)JenniferTann Ed., SelectedLettersof Boulton ndWatt,I, 216. London, DiplomaPress, I981.

(7) The long enduring saga of the Boulton and Watt Partnershipcaptured the

imagination of the Victorians and the 'Lives' fill several bulky volumes.Boulton's contribution as man of businessand experimentalscientisttends tobe undervalued:Murdoch'sis generally acknowledged. For a cool apprecia-tion I have relied on Sir Eric Roll, An earlyExperimentn IndustrialOrganiza-tion;beinga Historyof theFirmof Boulton nd Watt.London, FrankCass, 1930;

reprinted 1968.

(8)J. Southern (the Senior of the Assistants) o JamesWatt Jr. 1799, 'Have doubtsabout the long D slidevalve, anddifficultyin resisting he torrentof ingenuitywhich Murdoch'sgenius poursforth, but far from thinkingM. obstinate n his

opinions'. See Note 6, p. 71.

(9) William Murdoch. An Account of the Application of the Gas from Coal to

economical Purposes, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., 98, 124-1 32.

(Io) Council MinutesR. Society, 21 November i808.

(i ) Council Minutes R. Society, 24 November 1796.(12) Henry Brougham Experimentalobservations on the Inflection Reflection and

Colours of Light. Phil. Trans.R. Soc. Lond., 86, 227-277 (1896).

( 3) A Letter(to a Memberof Parliament)romMr. WilliamMurdoch. ondon, Galabinand Marchant, 1809.

(14) Samuel Clegg, one-time assistant o Murdoch, appearedfor the promoters.Hehad left to set up in businesson his own account in i805, and became one ofthe leadingtechnicalexperts n the developingGasIndustry.

(I5) The Letter and the Report are recorded verbatim in the Minutes-3 and 24

February1814.The Reportdoes not appearto have been printedat that time

butsee

Note (17).(16) Stirling Everard,TheHistoryof the GasLightandCokeCompany.London, Ernest

Benn, 1949.Everard'sscholarlyHistorydrawsheavily on the MinuteBooks ofthe Gas Light and Coke Company and on those of most of the Companiesabsorbedor amalgamatedduring the centurythat followed the foundationofthe 'Chartered'.He had immediateaccess o themin the Company'svaults.

(17) ParliamentaryReports, 1823, 5. Congreve's Reports printed, together with the

Royal Society Reportof 1814on the Westminsterexplosion,and examinedbya SelectCommittee.

(18) ImperialContinentalGas Association1824-1974. London, Published Privately, 1974.

(19) Personal Communicationfrom M. Drinkwater Esq., Secretaryof ImperialGas

Association (I.C. Gas). Communicationswere maintainedthrough an I.C.couriermeeting by arrangement n agentfromGermany, n Holland.







270

(20) Everard's History, v. Note I6 above. Imperial finally amalgamated withChartered n 1876to constitutethe GasLight and Coke Company,muchasitexisted until all went down

togetheron Nationalization.

(21) An account of the 'ArignaMines Business'and its consequencesappeared n theGentleman's Magazine, 98, 178 (1828) in an Obituary of Congreve. The

standardbiographiesmake no reference o it.

(22) W. G. Adam and W. L. Lowndes,Sir WilliamCongreve's ase.[London, 18271.

(23) Council Minutes R. Society, 16 and 23June 1825.

(24) v. Note I6 above.

(25)A Centuryof Gas in SouthLondon.London, South MetropolitanGas Company,1924.John Livesey was succeededby his son George, laterSirGeorge,notablefor his powerful supportof Copartnershipn Industry,andhis 'vitriolic attack'on the GasLight and Coke Company at a meeting of the RankinCommittee

of Enquiry, v. Everard, p. 285. He died in 1908.

(26) 3I & 32 VICTORIAE Cap. cxxv, The City of London Gas Act I868.

(27) Proc. R. Soc. Lond., A79, vii-ix (1920). Obituary notice of A. G. Vernon

Harcourt 1834-1919.

(28) Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society, 4, 771-788 (1942-44). Charles

VernonBoys (1855-1944 (Lord Rayleigh).(29) C. G. Hyde and M. W. Jones. Gas Calorimetry,nd Ed. London, ErnestBenn,

1960. A detailed description of the Boys Recording Calorimeter, pp. 194-225

with 20 diagramsn the text.

Documents

ART - The Roya Society and the Foundation of the British Gas Industry