10 March 1884: At the opening of the municipal Gasworks Committee’s exhibition of domestic appliances, Darlington’s mayor explains how increasing gas consumption will benefit ratepayers
Northern Echo. 1884/03/11. Exhibition of Gas Cooking Stoves. Darlington. Get it:
.Unedited excerpt
The excerpt in the book is shorter, edited and, where applicable, translated.
EXHIBITION OF GAS COOKING STOVES.
A most interesting exhibition of gas cooking stoves and appliances was opened yesterday in the Drill Shed, Darlington, and will remain open for the remainder of the week. The exhibition has been promoted by the Gasworks Committee. Powers having been granted to the Corporation to let on hire gas cooking stoves, the primary object of the exhibition is, as explained in the prospectus, “to give the public an opportunity of seeing the latest improvements in appliances for lighting, cooking, heating, ventilating, and obtaining motive power by the use of gas,” and to create an increased consumption of gas. Vivid impressions of the pronounced odours which emanated from the old-fashioned stoves still lingers so strongly in the minds of many people that only a visit to such an exhibition as the one now open in Darlington will convince such persons that the nauseating fumes have been charmed away by the modern inventor. The Drill Shed has been pleasingly decorated with flags and bunting by Mr Varey, Post House-wynd. Stalls have been ranged round the sides and down the centre of the hall, on which the various exhibitors, who come from far and near, display their various novelties. In all there are twelve stands and exhibitors. No. 1 Stand is occupied by Messrs W. & B. Cowan, of London, Manchester, and Edinburgh, whose specialities are gas meters, pressure gauges, and governors, the latter regulating the pressure of gas on its entrance to the mains. The show of gauges is a very fine one. Stand 2 is occupied by the well-known firm of Messrs Sugg & Co., London, Paris, and other places. They show a most elaborate assortment of burners, lights, chandeliers, lamps, &c. Their patent improved sun burner, “The Colchester,” which obtained the silver medal at Stockport, and which has been recently fitted in the House of Lords, is a fine illustration of the strides made in hall illuminations. By the vertical instead of the old horizontal sunlight burner arrangement, 3½ candle power instead of one is obtained. One hundred candle power is obtained with 25 feet of gas, whereas it formerly took 90 feet to get the same illumination. The Victoria and Lambeth lamps may be seen at this stand, which are the same ordered by the Middlesbrough Corporation recently. Messrs Jno. Wright & Co., Birmingham and London, are at No. 3 Stand with a large show of cooking stoves. An official test on one of their gas cookers will show the results. A leg of mutton, a piece of beef, and 1¼lb. of sausages, weighing in all 13lbs., were cooked in 1 hour and 51 minutes, the cost of gas, at 3s 6d per 1,000, being ¾d. At No. 4 Stand are Messrs Davis & Co., London and Manchester. Their chief speciality is their Metropolitan ventilated kitchen stove. They are double-lined, and between the lining have silicate cotton or slag wool packing, which acts as a non-conductor, and thereby retains the heat in the stove. Mr Fletcher, Warrington, has a large assortment of stoves and gas heating appliances, not the least interesting of the latter being an instantaneous water heater for baths. It heats the water instantaneously as it passes through an upright cylinder, and delivers it at 90 degrees Fahrenheit at the rate of three gallons per minute. Mr Fletcher’s gas cooking range, with patent perfect grill, is one of the most attractive, powerful, and yet simple appliances conceivable; and the same may be said of his small grill, which will cook half a dozen chops simultaneously in as many minutes. Messrs Wilson & Son, Leeds, are at Stand 6, their speciality being stoves constructed of cast instead of wrought iron, durability being the object attained. Messrs Hancock, of Dudley, show a variety of culinary utensils, which are of exceptional interest, but space precludes us from more than mentioning them. They are machines for washing instead of peeling potatoes, crushing and grinding sugar, bread, &c., washing salt and rancid butter. Messrs Bray, Leeds, the widely-known gas engineers, have a brilliant show of lamps, burners, and improved globes. The General Gas Heating Company, London, show a similar instantaneous water-heater to Mr Fletcher’s, but their chief article of interest is their stove, which they will guarantee from rust and corrosion for ten years. Blackleading, the housemaid’s bane, is rendered unnecessary on these stoves. Messrs Waddell & Main, Glasgow (Stand 10), show stoves which burn pure gas, and not, as in the majority of cases, mixed gas and air. The lights also by radiation give four times the heat of the Bunsen lights. The remaining stands are occupied by Mr James, Northgate, Darlington, whose gas governor is of interest, as economising the consumption of gas in households; Mr Smith, 22, Skinnergate, who has a large and varied assortment of gas fittings and appliances.
The exhibition was formally opened in the afternoon by the Mayor of Darlington (Councillor F. T. Steavenson), and amongst those present at the time were Aldermen H. F. Pease, E. L. Pease, G. Shaw, J. Dresser, W. Foggitt; Councillors Sedgwick, Wilkes, Harding, J. A. Pease, Morrell, Elgie, Elwin, Marshall, A. E. Kitching, and Bowman; Messrs T. M. Barron, J. G. Grace, W. C. Parker, G. N Watson, Smith (borough surveyor), Smith (gas manager), and Superintendent Rogers.
The MAYOR said that the object of the exhibition was to induce the people of Darlington to consume gas to a larger extent than at present, with two ends in view, the one being by an increasing consumption of gas to enable the Corporation to pay off a heavy debt more readily; and, secondly, with the view of effecting a saving to the pockets of the people of Darlington, because the modern gas stoves and appliances were a very great saving on the old, antiquated cooking-stoves. They would see, by looking round the exhibition, the variety of uses to which gas was put – that it was utilised not only for cooking, but also for driving purposes. Having been furnished by Mr Robson, chairman of the Gasworks Committee of the Corporation, with a few facts relating to the gasworks and their origin in the town, he would repeat them as being of especial interest at present. Gasworks were originally established in Darlington about 1830, by Mr West, oil having been previously used. The works were carried on by Mr West as a private speculation till 1849, when a company was formed, which carried on the undertaking till 1854, the year of the establishment of the Board of Health. In that year the Board of Health purchased both the gas and water works, which till then were private property. The shareholders in the gasworks for every £100 invested received £200. The works had enabled the Corporation and the Board of Health before it to pay off large sums of money, and had it not have been for them the rates would at times have been heavier than they were. No one in Darlington regretted more than the members of the Corporation that the rates were not smaller than they were, but he could assure them that not a penny was expended without being looked into. The various charges for gas in the town were of interest. In 1854 it was 5s per 1,000 cubic feet, and the next year 5s 6d. In 1861 it was reduced to 1s 8d per 1,000 feet, and since then it had been gradually reduced, till now it stood at 2s 10d per 1,000, which was subject to a further reduction of 6d discount. In 1854 the manufacture was 18,200,000 feet; in 1869 it was 35,765,000, or more than double the quantity manufactured at the time of purchase. At that time it was found that the works were not sufficient to supply the demands of the town. and the manufacture was increased till in 1874 it amounted to 93,674,000. Following upon that, 33 acres of land were purchased, upon which the new works were erected at a cost of £29,218, and a great saving had been effected by the manner in which their able manager, Mr Smith, had conducted the undertaking. (Hear, hear.) The present number of retorts in use was 120, and the works were capable of carbonising 120 tons of coal per day. The make of gas for last year had been 133,304,700 feet, or about 43,000,000 increase since the consumption of 1874. trusted the exhibition would enable the price of gas to be still further reduced, and had pleasure in declaring it open. (Hear, hear.)
Councillor ROBSON having moved a vote of thanks to the Mayor, which was cordially carried, the company adjourned to a tent which had been erected adjacent to the Drill Shed, and in which Mrs J. B. Thwaites, professor and teacher of cookery, Liverpool, delivered a practical and interesting lecture on cookery and the especial advantages of using gas stoves, affording as they do opportunities for regulating alike the temperature of the apartment and the heat applied to the article being cooked.
In the evening, the Drill-shed presented a brilliant appearance with the variegated lamps lit. Numbers of people visited the exhibition, and the proceedings took somewhat of the character of a conversazione, Mrs Thwaite again gave a practical cookery lecture. Mr Stosk, county analyst, gave interesting gas experiments and lecturettes, while Mr G. Newby Watson provided musical attractions with his splendid amateur string band.
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I haven’t read much about the Yorkshire Baptists, but Israel Roberts writes:
In my mother’s early days [born 1802], the Baptists used to baptise their new converts in [Bagley] Beck, which then, of course, ran with pure clean water.[ref]Strong: Farsley’s first Baptist Chapel was built adjacent to Bagley Beck in 1777.[/ref] I can remember very well when it was the custom to baptise in the River Aire at Newlay Bridge (Roberts 2000).
I think that Wroe’s choices of Idle and 40 days and 40 nights were designed to echo the Temptation of Christ and his baptism by John the Baptist. Here’s Matthew 4 (KJV):
[1] Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
[2] And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
[3] And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
[4] But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
[5] Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
[6] And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
[7] Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
[8] Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
[9] And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
[10] Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
[11] Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
Let’s speculate wildly:
- Stones into bread. 19th century quarrying at Idle/Wrose/Eccleshill, though valuable for quarry owners and workers, and for the builders of Bradford, had a devastating effect on (public access to) the hillsides. “Suffice to say that, near Bradford, good stone was cheap, and good eyes were rare; and that, except in the time of the rich corn harvests, what was Eccleshill Moor is now a hideous sight.” (Anon 1852) Wroe’s anti-industrial line was that man shall not live by bread alone: what about bilberries?!
- Pinnacle of the temple. More thought required.
- Mountain. The trig point on Eccleshill is at 212.244m. The views would have been 360º stupendous before mass housebuilding, and, while dodging the dog poo, you still get marvellous glimpses of Ilkley Moor, Airedale etc. But, like Jesus, Wroe affected a rejection of worldly dominion.
- Ministered to by angels. Wroe believed, and managed for a while to convince his followers, that young girls were his just reward for withstanding the Devil’s temptations:
“Seven books – seven writers will I have – seven virgins temporal and spiritual; and until seven be found I will not cease my work.” Written from John Wroe’s mouth by William Tillotson. See how this has been fulfilled in part by the shepherds of the house of Israel agreeing to accuse John Wroe of unlawful actions, in the 10th month, 1830; which caused many of the flock who were then gathered to be scattered again; and on the 11th of the 4th month, 1831, at Bradford, when he was trodden under foot, and had three of his ribs dislocated (Wroe 1851).
One Jane Rogers has novelised these later events:
John Wroe, prophet of the apocalyptic Christian Israelite Church, made his headquarters in Lancashire in the 1820s. When God told him to comfort himself with seven virgins, his congregation gave him their daughters. Each woman in Wroe’s household, from brutalised Martha to saintly Joanna, has her own secret hopes of a new life – either in heaven or on earth – at a point in history when anything seems possible. And each has her own view of the prophet. Mr Wroe’s Virgins tells the story of the nine months of their life together, until accusations of indecency, and the trial that follows, bring Wroe’s household to a dramatic end (Rogers 2011).
Wroe surely improves dramatically, if not theologically, on Jesus by being baptised after his temptations rather than before. How does Joanna Southcott score in the Prophet Rankings?
The Quakers also number, rather than name, their months.
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