Musings on Industry in the area of Blackheath Road

Musings on Industry in the area of Blackheath Road

By Richard Cheffins

Richard began this article with comments on a letter from John Day on steam gun experiments by Mr. Perkins in the lime kilns at Blackheath. Richard said:

I can’t identify Mr. Perkins for John Day and cannot imagine what application steam had to guns, unless in their manufacture.  Two things however might militate against such an interpretation, the sense of the quotation itself, and the fact that the Royal Small Arms Factory, barely a quarter of a mile from the lime kilns and worked by steam as well as water power had closed down in1818 and moved to Enfield as documented in McCartney and West’s excellent book Lewisham Silk Mills 1998

The Limekilns

My interest is in the lime kilns - the burning of chalk to produce lime or quicklime which was an essential ancillary industry in the building trade for the production of both mortar and lime wash. The last outcrop of chalk in North West Kent before London was near the foot of Blackheath Hill.  On Travers 1695 map of the Manor of Greenwich - i.e. the modern west Greenwich - reproduced in the Lewisham Silk Mills - the lime kilns are shown to the east of Blackheath Hill where Holy Trinity Church was subsequently built. On the opposite side of Blackheath Hill chalk pits continue to be shown on sundry maps until the 1860s. By then lime making had long finished and no trace remains on the ground – though I’m not sure what one would be looking for. The industry was in its time important enough and lasted long enough to give its name for a while to a neighbourhood.  Roque’s map of 1746,  surveyed in 1742, shows a cluster of buildings, almost a hamlet, round the junction of the Dover Road on the road from Greenwich to Lewisham -  Greenwich South Street /Lewisham, Road which is called ‘Limekilns’. Other maps and directories continue to use the same name usually in plural until round the mid 19th century South Street was called Limekilns Lane - the lane to the limekilns until the 1820s 

Kentish Mercury

At the other end of Blackheath Road the former Kentish Mercury office is documented on the building itself. To the left of the entrance on the corner of Deals Gateway is the foundation stone which reads “Arthur C.Russell LRIBA, architect. William Mills and Sons, builders 1925”. In fact the Kentish Mercury had occupied the site half a century before that. In Kelly’s Directory of 1872 it is located in Bexley Place, the present Greenwich High Road, between Prince of Orange Lane and the Auctioneer Pub.  In their next issue of 1876 it had moved to 7 Queen's Place which was renumbered 12 Blackheath Road by 1878. By 1884 it had extended to 6-12 Blackheath Road reaching to Deals Gateway corner

Printers. 

By that date, if not sooner, the Mercury’s printing works were here as well as the editorial offices. Blackheath Hill still has three printing works – J.W. Brown (Printers) Ltd,  Darwen Press and E. Berryman and Sons Ltd., the last one of the oldest businesses in the neighbourhood. It was founded in Blackheath Road in 1846 and moved before 1871 to its present location, Bath House, at the side of Ditch Alley which led to the cold baths in the 18^th  and early 19^th  centuries and is now 84 Blackheath Road

Deals Gateway

Deals Gateway is an interesting example of a semi industrial backlands development. Queen's Place, the former name of an adjacent piece of Blackheath Road or an earlier terrace on the same site,  is shown on Roque’s map and by the turn of the 19th century it extended as far as Deptford Bridge. Morris's map of 1834 and Simm's of 1838 are the first to show a gap where Deals Gateway is with a short unnamed cul de sac behind.   Earlier maps - and later ones which continue to show an unbroken terrace - are probably on too small a scale to show the gap.  The 1869 Ordnance Survey map also shows a continuous terrace but with an arched access to the yard behind, suggesting some redevelopment in the previous 30 years.  So far as I can discover it is unrecorded in directories or in the 1841 census returns but it appears on subsequent censuses called indifferently ‘Deals Yard’, Deals Court' and ‘Deals Gateway’.

In Mason's Directory of 1852 and the Deptford Directory of 1853 1 Queen's Place on the corner of Deal’s Gateway was occupied by one, Edward Deal, grocer and cheesemonger.  In Kelly’s Directory for 1860 Joseph Deal, coal merchant, occupied the end premises in Deptford Bridge, possibly on the other corner of Deals Gateway but more likely on the other side of the road on the corner of Greenwich High Road. By 1876 he had moved to 1 Queen's Place formerly occupied by Edward Deal, surely a relation,  and Deals Gateway, still accessed through an archway, was in part a coal merchant's yard.  Within 10 years Joseph Deal was displaced by Kentish Mercury but he and Edward left their mark in the name of a short street that may well soon disappear

This article first appeared  in the GIHS Newsletter for October 1998

Memories of a Royal Ordinance Factory Apprentice – Part 1.

Memories of a Royal Ordinance Factory Apprentice – Part 1.

By John Day

Pre-war there were three grades of apprentices in the Royal Arsenal: Trade apprentices who, as the name suggests were training in their chosen trade such as fitter, turner, pattern maker, etc. After six months they had one option to change their choice. Student apprentices who spent a couple of years of practical work after college degrees. The third grade was the engineering apprentices who spent five years working at a number of trades and spending a fair amount of time studying for a degree.  Entry as an engineering apprentice was by examinations and interview at the age of 16.  The average intake in the 30s was about 12 from some 100 to 150 applicants. For the first two years there was compulsory attendance for two days and two evening  a week at what was then the Woolwich Polytechnic, The remaining three years were spent during term time at the Poly or, for a few, at one of the London colleges.  At the end of the five years most of the apprentices had a degree in engineering and the necessary 36 months of practical training needed for membership of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

From here on things get personal but they are my memories as far as they go and after something like 60 years may not be accurate. For both of these I apologise in advance. If anybody sees a mistake please let us know to be put right for future historians

I have no recollection of any examination perhaps I was exempted by having matriculated with distinction in for technical subjects.

(There is a bit missing here)

.. model engineer and had a lathe which I was allowed to use. I had made a model of two cylinder boiler fitted pump (described in ‘Shop, Shed and Road’ by L.B.S.C.) and this I produced at the interview when I was asked if I knew anything about metalwork. There was a pause while the interview board thought of something else to ask me.

When the results were published I headed the list which comprised: Sydney Bacon, Alfred Bennett, Eddie, Hessey, Hibbert, Jarvis, Norman Lindsey, Maybe, Cyril Morris, Malcolm Starkey, and Robert Walker. Morris died of TB in his second year.  Lindsey after his discharge from R,E,M.E. as Lieut Colonel at the end of the war, Walker became a civil engineer with the Port of London authority after getting his degree at City and Guilds, Sir Sydney Bacon retired as Director General of Ordnance Factories. Starkey was one of the militia called up in 1939,being released to become manager of one of the war time ordnance factories, Fazakerley, making Sten guns and later taking a senior position with Tranco valves

I was no stranger to the Arsenal.  In the mid thirties my father became a craft engineer in the Central Power Station and on Sundays when he was on days I took in his hot lunch in a basket. Since everything was shut down such electricity as was needed coming from the Woolwich power station at Warren Lane, I had the freedom to wander where I liked within the building. At that time the western end of the Arsenal was still on direct current.  in the power  station were two Yates and Thom 1450  HP inverted triple expansion engines with Corliss valve gear,  direct coupled to DC generators some 10 to 12 feet in diameter    Alongside was a totally enclosed Vickers Howden triple with a piston valve on the high-pressure cylinder and side valves on the Intermediate and low-pressure cylinders. alternating-current at the eastern end came from a 6000 kilowatt Metropolitan Vickers turbo generator and when needed from a pair of rotary converters. As usual the switchboard ran along a gallery on the north wall and at the west end was the engineers’ office that I came to know even better in later years. the Boiler house was south of the engine room and contained six water tube boilers; four Thompson and two Babcock and Wilcox, all with chain grate stoking.  The Ash went down into long narrow trucks on the 18 inch gauge railway this being the last use for narrow gauge. On the north side of the power station was a pump house providing hydraulic pressure for the various machines and cranes and to the north again was the electrical repair shop

On my first day I reported to the apprentice supervisor in the Central Office and was taken to the Gauge Shop for the New Fuze Factory. Actually the shop was the Fuze pool room and the Gauge shop was the high accuracy part of the tool room. The chap I was given to as an apprentice was Jim Hands. He made the jigs and tools for Mechanical Time Fuze No 207 which was a short-term watch mechanism using a swing arm in place of the usual balance wheel. The movement was made and assembled by girls on the first floor of the adjacent building, Te New Fuse Factory.  It was a long time before I cottoned on to why it was always Jim who fixed the belts and bolts under the benches while I did all the work on top.

The first job I had was to scrape the faces of light alloy depth gauges true and square. These had to be frosted (am ornamental pattern left by a scraper) and be accurate to a couple of thousands of an inch although they were only graduated in eighths. They were in light alloy because they were for use in the Danger Buildings for measuring the depths of explosives in shells.

When I had finished that job Jim suggested I make myself some tools and started with a five x inch engineers square.  after hack sawing the shapes from gauge plate, the parts were ground on a Brown and Sharp surface grinder, riveted together and scraped and tapped to the standard demanded by the View Room i.e. less than one tenthousanth of an inch square and true in any direction, I still have a square it is true because I never dared to use it

One of the tools Jim thought up and made was a device for burnishing the pivots of the balance arm. this comprised four dead hard and highly polished discs rotated on spindles in massive cast-iron bearing blocks my part in this was machining the bearing blocks, base plate, etc on a Butler 18 in shaper, a lovely tool on  which I enjoyed working and as they say, could nearly make talk

The New Fuze was near the fourth gate (Plumstead gate) and I rode to work on my 1920 Sum beam motorcycle which I had bought for £2 and fully restored. One morning, in the crush, the inverted brake lever on the end of the handlebars caught in a man’s pocket, tore it so that his lunch fell out on the road, he was not pleased. In the evening he came to our house and was pacified with a ten shilling note and an old jacket f my fasters. By that time my father had become foreman of the Electrical Shop and he arranged for No.4. electricity substation to e specially opened morning and evening for me to garage my bike safely in the dry.

Letters from the GIHS Newsletter June 1998

Letters from the GIHS Newsletter June 1998

This is a selection –some of which have been heavily edited to make them comprehensible 20 years later!

From Alan Palfrey

I would like to flag up my interest in National Enamels which was in Norman Road. In later years it was called Vickerys. Is there any information or pictures about the site and those who worked there

From David Cuffley.

I run the Brickmakers index which lists brickfield workers and details of their families and works and much more if I can squeeze it into the database.  You can find details of Woolwich and Plumstead brick makers in the North West Kent Family History Society Journal

From John Day

I don’t know whether you are aware of the existence of large numbers of drawings of machinery made by Hick Hargreaves for Woolwich which are held at Bolton Library

From Iain Sharpe

I hope you don’t mind me writing to you from the other side of the River. Right opposite the tip of Greenwich Peninsula is a site – Brunswick Wharf – which is very important and needs some attention. The ‘First Settlers’ left Blackwall in 1606 to land in what is now Virginia USA. These heroic men braved all to set up across the uncharted Seas; they founded Jamestown and started the tobacco trade which was to become the main economy of Virginia. A monument in their honour at Brunswick Wharf (the Little Mermaid) was first unveiled by the American ambassador in 1928 and again in 1953 has been neglected. It is directly opposite the Millennium Dome project and although Barratts who are building a housing complex there have offered to restore it - will they get it right?

From Michael Ward

I am writing about 113 Blackheath Park – the case for a blue plague there is striking although it is not an industrial building the arguments that apply are just the same. It is the house that the world famous philosopher John Stuart Mill lived in for some 20 years. These were the seminal years of his greatest works - on liberty, utilitarianism and the subjugation of women.  Apparently the Greater London Council’s response to requests for a blue plaque there is that there was one already in London

From Rick Tisdell

Redpath Brown: I worked at Redpaths from 1960 to 1971 where I completed my apprenticeship as an electrician in the Maintenance Department. My father worked at East Greenwich all his working life (49 1/2 years) in the office where he was purchasing officer. He was made redundant when British Steel closed the works in 1977 and died in 1979. My mother also worked in the office at Greenwich and it was there she met and married my father. She was the daughter of Johnny Stewart who was for many years the Template Shop Foreman at the works. His brother also worked in the Drawing Office at Greenwich for a short time. My mother went on to work full time as secretary to the Managing Director at Duncannon Street office in the 1960s.  Her great uncle was called Dan Taylor and he was either foreman of the Roof Shop or General Foreman at around the time of the First World War.

From Philip McDougall

One of the earliest and most important industrial enterprises of the nation were the Naval Dockyards. During the 18th century the naval dockyard at Chatham had a workforce in excess of 2000. This made it the single largest employer in the south-east.  In addition there were yards variously sited at Sheerness, Deptford, Woolwich and Greenhithe

From Terry Scales

Under the coaling pier - in Greenwich we have taken our industrial heritage for granted. I remember reading a press statement by a Member of the Planning Department that the chimneys of Deptford Power Stations were important sightlines in a view across London and would be safeguarded in any future development. How things have changed.  This highlights the future of our other pier - the much loved ‘old coaling pier’ by Trinity Hospital. It strides into the river on massive Doric columns and is a truly magnificent structure - many older residents remember will the constant cascade of water that dropped from the chutes above.  The Poet Laureate, C.Day Lewis, used the space under this pier as the site for a murder mystery when writing thrillers under the pseudonym of Nicholas Blake. This alone should guarantee a safe future. If we do not make a concrete effort to list the coaling jetty I’m afraid we will lose it.

These letters are all over 20 years old, thought I should do a ‘where are they now’ section.

Alan Parfrey – no longer lives in Greenwich – Alan, if you read this did you ever find out about National Enamels?

David Cuffley – still runs the Brick maker’s index, and very good it is too

John Day – is no longer with us, but left a legacy of information about the Arsenal – watch this blog for some of his work.

Iain Sharpe – Barratts did do the monument up and had a grand opening (but Iain was not invited).  The little mermaid herself turned up in a Chingford rockery

Michael Ward – also no longer with us and there is still no plaque on John Stewart Mills' house

Rick Tisdell – also no longer with us, but information from his family on Redpaths still comes through other members

Philip Macdougal – is still writing about and promoting Royal Dockyards

Terry Scales  - has spoken at GIHS meetings. But the Deptford power station chimneys are long gone and I am pretty sure the coaling jetty isn’t listed.

Letters received for the GIHS Newsletter in April 1998

A selection of letters received for the GIHS Newsletter 

in April 1998

(Some of these have been edited to remove irrelevances and make them comprehensible to an audience 20 years later!)

From Ted Barr

Sand Mines.  I had never heard the term before seeing it here – thinking that sand was quarried. There are quite a few quarries in Greenwich – best known of course, those was on the Heath where materials were obtained for ballasting ships.  In his book “The Last Grain Race’ Eric Newby gives an account of shovelling out hundreds of tons of ballast on reaching Australia. Quite a few old quarries are marked on old maps but they need to be sorted out and listed.   One, a bit more modern, is the Charlton Pit run by United Glass in the 1920s and 30s. Charlton sand had high iron content so it was good for white flint glass but it was also used for amber bottles. The pit was in Maryon Park at the bottom of Sand Street by the railway level crossing. As children we used to go hunting for fossils there until chased out by the staff.  At United Glass they used preprinted invoice forms listing the various products: ‘chalk’ and ‘ballast’ are obvious but sand was subdivided into various grades such as ‘mild loam’, ‘strong loam’ and ‘strong black foot’ and were much sought after by foundries.  Westinghouse Brake and Signal Company were regular customers and material was taken by lorry to the Charlton Station sidings, loaded into open trucks and goods trained to their works in Chippenham, Wiltshire.

Wheen’s Soap Works. Another brand name was ‘Wheen's Olwin Toilet Soap’. It was advertised in the 1940s on the back of No. 48 buses. There used to be an apocryphal story going round in that part of Deptford that the soap works bred its own variety of big blowflies - they tolerated local folk but woe betide strangers who would be attacked in swarms

Greenwich Park Branch Railway line - on the Greenwich side of Blackheath Hill Station the railway was in  an open cutting which extended up the opposite side of Blackheath Hill. You could see the rusty disused lines back in the 1920s from the top of old top-heavy ‘LGO B’ type ‘old Bill’ buses on the 48 route. A map shows the Blisset Street structure as a tunnel but it is only 4 chains long and the one under Blackheath Hill less than 2 chains using standard railway measurements. For many years before the wars Blackheath Hill Station was occupied by the Elliot Machine Company, a light engineering outfit engaged in war and similar activities. In more recent rimes an advertising sign makers were in occupation with an address in Sparta Street. Throughout World War II the arch and the roadway and presumably what was left of the tunnel was used as a public air raid shelter.

Dead Dog Bay  was a small almost square inlet about 100 foot by 100 foot opposite the river end of Cadet Place. At low tide it was an area of the usual mud and stones but there was also a collection of flotsam and jetsam, often including the carcasses of domestic animals and sometimes sheep washed down river from the upper reaches.

A wharf which I would hope to see included is Durham Wharf where United Glass unloaded heavy oil for boiler and glass furnace heating

From Jess Steele

The only pre-19th century survivor within (Deptford) dockyard is the ‘Shipwrights Palace’ or ‘Master Shipwrights House’ built in 1705-8 by Joseph Allin.  The last Tudor survivor was Henry VIII store house (expanded in the 18th century) which was demolished in 1981 to make room for more Convoys warehousing.

English Heritage confirms Prior’s crane designed by Stothard and Pitt is the oldest working Thames crane.

Priors. 

A telephone call has been received from Priors who own the Stothard and Pitt crane at Deptford Creek. They say they have no plans to get rid of the crane and are in fact very proud of it. They are however likely to acquire another more modern crane in the near future

From Andrew Turner

Greenwich Yacht Club (then based on the old Redpath Brown works site) expect to remain there until August (2000). The only building left is the former Redpath Brown canteen and kitchens. The buildings closer to the River have  been demolished. It looks like some of the Thames Barrier Yacht Club boats and the crane is the east end of the Greenwich Yacht Club site.   A new dinghy area has been created in what was the main Redpath Brown entrance.  Work on the Blackwall Point Power Station jetty might be refurbishment rather than demolition.   Along Mudlarks Way (now Olympian Way) at Angerstein Wharf the footpath has a wire fence either side with steel section supports.  The steel appears to have come from at least seven different rolling mills so presumably are second hand or offcuts (mainly pre nationalisation and probably not from Redpath Brown) round the corner in Lombard Wall most of the supports are stamped ‘BSC’ and therefore later

From Peter Wright

I have recently become interested in researching my family history. Both my grandfather and great-grandfather were employed at the Arsenal

Edward Eric Wright 1918- 1992 served his apprenticeship and became a tool maker, departing the Arsenal in the war to move to the ROF site in Blackburn Lancashire where he worked until retirement. He received the Imperial Service Medal for his long service

George Edward Wright 1878- 1938 worked as a tool hardener at the Arsenal and lived in Woolwich his entire life

My great great grandfather Charles John Wright (1839) in the 1881 census was the Inspector of Gasworks living in Woolwich

From Simon Payne.

My great grandfather was Charles Stanley Allsopp. The only record I have of him is the entry on my grandfather’s birth certificate which records his occupation as an Arsenal Labourer.  On my grandfather‘s marriage certificate he is listed as a deceased seaman. The family also owned a general store in Woolwich High Street next to the bus depot - I was wondering if there is any way to check to see if financing of the shop may have come from the Woolwich Co-op

These letters are over 20 years old and perhaps I shold do an update

Ted Barr - wrote extensively for GIHS - will reproduce a lot of his stuff here in due course.  He later moved to Yorkshire 

Jess Steele - did amazing research on Deptford but no longer lives locally.  An enormous amount of work has been done at Deptford Dockyard - not least by Chris and Willi who bought the Shipwrights Palace

Priors - the old crane was removed and taken, we understood, to Prior's depot at Fingringhoe. Last year I went to Fingringhoe - to find Priors are no longer on the site and no one has ever heard about the old crane. 

A Fire in Charlton

A Fire in Charlton

At a quarter to ten on Friday night a fire was discovered have broken out in the hemp loft of Mrs. Eliza Ayles. ships' chandler and rope manufacturer, Charlton Wharf.

The mains from the Kent Waterworks being 1.000 yards distant the resources for extinguishing the fire were confined to a ditch at the back of the premises and the Thames in front which happened to be at low tide at this time.  Engines were telegraphed for from London and messengers dispatched to the Arsenal, dockyard and police station at Woolwich.  The flames burst forth and extended with fearful rapidity attacking the machine room, dwelling House attached to the ropery and also the Crown and Anchor Public House occupied by Mr. E.T. Phillips

A few minutes after 11 the Dockyard engine arrived at the scene of the conflagration with Superintendent Mark, Inspectors Gill and Payne and 25 constables, followed at a quarter past 11 by the Royal Arsenal engine drawn by 20 men who traversed the distance of nearly 3 miles in a little more than 20 minutes.  Inspector Williamson had the charge of the Arsenal engine and brought with him 30 Sargents and constables.

The Thames police boat in charge of Inspector Hathaway and a body of police were also in attendance. At 2 o’clock the steam floating fire engine made its welcome appearance stationed in the middle of the river where it communicated with the fire through 24 lengths of hose each being 42 feet long. This engine was of considerably more service than any or all of the others.

Great credit is due to the Marine boys who with good earnestness worked with buckets from the ditch in a most laborious manner.

In an inconceivably short space of time after the telegraphic message had left Charlton for London the Duke of Sutherland in the uniform of a London fireman arrived at the scene of the fire and with courage and spirit unparalleled ascended to the top of the building as the flames continued to burst out

An altercation took place on the arrival of Mr. Henderson with the London Brigade engines, between that gentleman and Mr. Phillips.  Mr. Henderson ordered the latter into custody Inspector Linvell however feeling able to make allowances to Mr. Philips whilst witnessing his property burning before his eyes did not taken him into custody upon which Mr. Henderson turned the hose on Mr. Philips and his son

The London engines placed on the mud of the beach and every available suction appliance used, but little or nothing but mud could be had and it took the united strength of 80 men to bring the vessels again on terra firma

The spirits which had fed the taps of the public house were entirely destroyed while the chief efforts of the fire float and bucket were directed to the saving about £300 worth of spirits which were in the cellar which was happily accomplished. Several casks of ale were destroyed together with the greater part of the furniture. Russian hemp valued at £42 per ton were entirely consumed which had only been delivered a few hours before the fire broke out.

 The heat to which the steam boiler was subjected necessitated letting off steam to prevent an explosion otherwise water might have been pumped up by an engine.  The engine house was saved in consequence of the wind blowing from it, as also a cottage occupied by Mr. Marchant, a lightermen, which is close to the ropery and built of wood. Two cottages occupied respectively by Mr. Mounser, employed at the dockyard, and Mr. Page, a waterman, partly took fire. The furniture being got out and laid in boats or on the beach.

Out of a large quantity of tar only four barrels wee destroyed. A number of fowls were burnt to death and Mrs. Ayles' Carmen, named W Harris, was much inured by a beam falling on him whilst attempting to save the pigs.  Several acts of dishonesty were as usual on such occasions committed.  Mrs. Ayles garden being thoroughly stripped of all the fruit and vegetables. Four men were found in one of Mr. Phillips rooms with no other object than pillage.

The ropewalk 170 fathoms long was threatened with total destruction but the greater part was saved by a portion being pulled down to prevent the flames spreading. The fire continued burning from a quarter to 10 until five the next morning the entire damage estimated at £15,000. 

On Sunday the scene of the ruins was literally besieged with visitors and curious spectators whilst Mr. Phillips did a busy trade by converting the skittle alley into a bar. Mrs. Ayles premises have been a ropery from time immemorial and were occupied by her late husband over a period of 50 years and were held by his father before him.

The cause of the fire is unknown but it is supposed to have originated in the spontaneous combustion of the newly housed Russian hemp. Which might have been damp, the hot weather causing it to overheat

Kentish Mercury 18th of July 1863

This article first appeared in the GIHS Newsletter in April 1998

A steam engine in the Plumstead Museum

 A steam engine in the Plumstead Museum

Some years ago I was asked by the then curator of the Plumstead Museum to inspect a ‘mechanical object' which was lurking in an obscure corner of the museum.  The ‘object' transpired to be a steam engine of a type known sometimes as a table engine, from the form of the construction. The feature of that name derives from the vertical cylinder being mounted on a base in the shape of a cast iron table which supports the various assemblies, horizontal crank shaft, steam valve, Watt type governor, etc. The type was first introduced by Woolwich born Henry Maudslay.  I was asked overhaul the engine and make it respectable to form an exhibit, which I was delighted to do. It eventually formed part of a specialist exhibition at the Plumstead Museum where it was spotted by a couple of enthusiasts who resolved to study the engine in some depth.

Two puzzles emerge

The dimensions raise the question, is it a model of a large engine, or is it a real engine which has been used to drive real machinery?  These dimensions are:

Height overall 28 ins

Table 10 1/2 square x 10ices high

Piston diameter 2 inches (one split brass ring)

Piston stroke 5 inches

Working pressure unknown but could be estimated by a real expert. The steam valve is cylindrical as distinct from the old flat type, which suggests a fairly high-pressure value as does the general thickness of the cylinder and valve walls.

The base has a small brass plate engraved J (or I) Chandler , Woolwich

The two industrial detectives have traced the various locations where the engine has been and possible Chandlers (which appear to be legion). The search continues and comment and criticisms would be welcome

Jack Vaughan

This article first appeared in the GIHS newsletter of April 1998

East Greenwich Gasworks and the Silvertown Explosion

 East Greenwich Gasworks and the Silvertown Explosion

The explosion occurred at about 3:52 PM on Friday, January 19, 1917 and the shock experiences at the East Greenwich Gas Works was very severe causing No.2. gas holder to be completely wrecked; and No. 1 to be very seriously damaged; while large numbers of slates were torn from roofs, windows broken in all directions and the works generally severely shaken.

Before saying more about the No2 gas holder which was the most serious damage sustained, the extent of which only became known from close examination after the occurrence, it might be interesting to narrate the effects the explosion had upon the works generally and upon those present at the time.  At the offices of the works, which are close to the riverside and some 700 yards away from the gas holder,  the report was terrific -- the floor appeared to heave and the building rocked. This was followed by a blinding glare seen through the Venetian sunblind and lasting a very few seconds during which it seemed to be as light as day outside.  The glare ceased and the north-eastern sky was suffused with the glow of a tremendous fire.

he source of the shock and the report was at once apparent.  Those in charge immediately rushed to see whether any damage had been done to the carbonising plant,  more especially on the vacuum side of the exhauster. The boiler attendants and engine drivers however said that all was well with their plant but somebody said ‘No. 2 gas holder has gone up’. It was evident however that a supply of gas was being maintained for, although some lights had been blown out, many were still burning

The damage sustained by buildings was found to be practically confined to windows and doors. The windows of the offices, engine rooms and shops were extensively smashed, window frames were dislodged and one or two heavy doors blown off their hinges.  The floor of the engineer‘s office was thickly strewn with small pieces of plate glass from end to end of a long narrow room and a 4 1/2

inch partition between it and the stores had been severely shaken .  The roofs of buildings, apart from the stripping of slates, which was not extensive, escaped uninjured, also the retort house shafts. No.7 coal store however sustained some damage.  Here the roof principles are carried on columns placed about 30ft apart on the coal store wall and the spaces between them are filled in with corrugated sheeting having a timber stiffener (3in x 4in x 16in) in the middle of each bay. Eleven of these out of a total of fourteen were broken

With regard to No.2.   gas holder  - this was built in 1891 and had a working capacity of approximately 12 million cubic feet when fully extended.  The holder comprised six lifts of which the first and second were ‘flying lifts’.  The outer lift being 300 ft in diameter. The depth of the lift to the rest stones is 31 feet and the rise of the crown is 25 ft.  The stock of gas in this holder at 6 o’clock being only 7,865,000 cu.ft. proves that the top lift was well within the guide columns at the moment of the catastrophe - in other words so far as the working conditions are concerned the holder at the moment of the shock was probably in the very best position to resist any unusual or special strain such as a gale of wind or drifting snow, provision for which had been foreseen and was duly provided against. The holder however had not been built to stand up against the shock of explosion of a large quantity of TNT occurring at a distance of 1 1/2 miles as the crow flies.

It would appear to be clear that the holder was wrecked either by the pressure produced in the atmosphere by the explosion or by the vacuum immediately succeeding it.  That a tremendous shock resulted from the explosion is shown by the fact that windows and doors were blown outwards and inwards many miles from the scene of explosion and at the Old Kent Road works which is some four miles distant as the crow flies a holder of   5 1/2 million cubic feet capacity was seen to rise and fall from 1ft to 3 ft according to the testimony of eyewitnesses. The  extent of this disturbance is borne out by the chart registering the distinct pressure which oscillated between 46 –10ths and 55-10ths settling down to its normal pressure of 50-10ths in a space of from 5 to 8 minutes so far as can be ascertained by the state of the chart.

It must be mentioned that the blinding glare which was observed throughout the whole of London at 6:52 pm. on that January evening, the lightness of which has been compared to that of a summer’s day, was undoubtedly due to the burning in a few seconds of 8,000,000 cu.ft. of gas contained in this holder.

Taken from “Some Wartime Experiences of British Gas Undertakings’ by H Townsend M.Inst. C.E. Proceedings of the Institution of Gas Engineers 29th May 1819 p 477- 9.  This extract has been submitted to us by Brian Sturt.

This article was first published in the GIHS Newsletter in April 1998.  No.2. gas holder stood to the south of the holder which still, just about, remains in 2019. Its tank remains and is likely to be used by the builders of the Silvertown Tunnel