The Bellingham Gas Light Company Ltd
* Information provided by Stan Owen following a series of questions from Clive Dalton, ex Bellingham born and bred, now in New Zealand.
It is likely that Hareshawhead Coal was used in the production of gas.
Introduction
This article was triggered by an email from Clive Dalton in New Zealand on 6/1/24:
"I keep in touch with a Reeds School friend John McPhail now living in Hexham. He’s the grandson of Jack Telfer (Tricky Jack) who had the shop in King street.
He tells me our other school mate Willie Reed has just died who we used to play with in the wee houses beside the smithy and opposite the gas works. Willie brought the smell of gas with him to school as his jerseys always reaked of gas.
John and I both 88 and 89 have questions but nobody alive to answer them which is frustrating.
# What was the gas used for in the village? # If it was used for lighting - when did electricity arrive to replace it? # What else was it used for? # Where did the coal come from to make it?
The gasometers may still be there and the pipe across the burn we used to play on." (ed: There are no signs left of the Gasometers in 2023 and the image below show the gas pipe in a Collier image from the 1920's approx. The pipe is still there in 2023.)
What was the gas used for in the village?
The Bellingham Gas Light Company Ltd. was formed in 1864 with the object of “supplying the Town of Bellingham with Gas”. On 26th April, it was announced that the final cost of the works would be £1,200, funded by 1,200 shares of £1 each (Newcastle Daily Journal 3rd May 1864).
If it was used for lighting - when did electricity arrive to replace it?
It would appear that the gas was mainly used for lighting, first streets and public buildings and then houses. It was reported in the Hexham Courant (3rd May 1892) that Bellingham streets had been lighted by gas on 114 evenings between sunset and 10.15 p.m. and that the company had a “small balance in hand”.
The arrival of electricity to the local villages was painfully slow and not helped by two World Wars. Although it was first mentioned in 1919 as a possibility for Bellingham, it was well into the 1930s before W P Collier began using electricity for printing his postcards; he had previously used oil and gas. See below for a brief survey of the progress of gas v. electricity.
Rather like the Border Counties Railway, the Bellingham Gas Company struggled to turn a profit and was propped up by its loyal local shareholders. It would have been better if more people had used gas but it had a “smell” that nobody could deny. In the Hexham Courant of 13th December 1919, it was announced that the company was seriously considering the closure of the works by the end of the month. The directors and shareholders rallied, however, and it was reported in 1921 that the company had changed hands. It limped on until just before the outbreak of WW2 and the arrival of Calor Gas, sold by Roddy Thompson from The Garage. In the 1939 register, Gas Works house was inhabited by a labourer with no apparent connection with the gas company. I do not know when the gasometer was removed. See the attached newspaper article.
What else was it used for?
An advertisement in the Hexham Courant on 8th June 1889 announced that “The Directors of the Bellingham Gas Light Company OFFER FOR SALE about 600 Gallons of First Class pure COAL TAR. Offers should be sent to the Secretary, Mr. W. Hutchinson, Bellingham, R.S.O., Northumberland.” This was presumably used in road-making. On 30th November 1901, Mr. William Hutchinson (60) was charged with “embezzlement of £2 6s 8d, £1 13s 3d and divers (sic) other moneys of the Bellingham Gas Company" and put on remand with £100 bail. One week later, at a special court held at Bellingham, he pleaded guilty as charged. It was with some regret that the court sentenced him to a 12 months’ prison sentence with hard labour.
There is no evidence of gas being used for cooking in Bellingham: “The first gas stoves were developed in the 1820s and a gas stove factory was established in England in 1836. The gas stove, however, did not become a commercial success until the 1880s when supplies of piped gas were available in cities and large towns in Britain.” In fact, an advertisement for successful cooking with coal was issued by the Hareshaw Head Colliery in the 1920s and most people would have used their kitchen ranges.
Where did the coal come from to make it?
This is not mentioned but Plashetts (closed 1935) would be a front runner and possibly Hareshaw Head (closed 1952). The slow demise of Plashetts from 1926 may well have affected supply to the Gas Works but there was plenty of coal around – it was just a matter of the cost of transporting it.
GAS
23/04/1864 A gas company had been formed in Bellingham. Upwards of 100 shares were taken at a meeting held on Saturday (16th April).
08/01/1891 The streets of Bellingham were illuminated by gas lamps for the first time in a decade.
22/11/1893 Bellingham was plunged into darkness when gas lights in its street failed to come on. The gas manager blamed bad coal and a recent coal strike.
20/02/1940 Equipment breakdowns and a shortage of raw materials were blamed for the Haydon Bridge Gas Company ceasing to trade.
06/12/1919 Bellingham Gas Company decided to stop manufacturing gas [but they carried on for another 20 years].
16/07/2000 Residents of Allendale, Bellingham and Haydon Bridge were alarmed to hear that coal fires could be banned because, in the absence of a mains gas supply, it was their only relatively cheap form of heating their homes.
ELECTRICITY
06/12/1919 Installation of electric [street] lights in Bellingham.
28/11/1931 Bellingham shortly to be provided with the electric light, a grant of 25% having been made towards the cost.
17/09/1932 Most of the residents in Bellingham were now enjoying the facilities of the newly-installed electric lighting, which arrived at the start of September. In Wark, however, operations have only just begun.
21/01/1950 After centuries of being lit with oil lamps, Whittington got its first electricity supply. Workmen explained how it worked to residents, as some had never seen a switch in their lives.
14/09/1951 Villagers of the 28 houses in Birtley trimmed the oil lamps, which have served families for generations, for the last time on Sunday. On Monday 10th September, the first supply of electricity was switched on without ceremony. Electric lighting will shortly be supplied in the streets of the village and Birtley Parish Council is to have lights and electric heating apparatus installed.
24/12/1954 The North Eastern Electricity Board lit up the dark corners of Newbrough for the first time. The work was completed on Christmas Eve and was described as a Christmas present for the villagers.
The above and more references are from the Courant Clippings on the HC website.
