Some bits of history

Oxford gasworks

'View of Oxford, from the meadows near the gas-works'
Author's collection

The gasworks at Oxford predated the coming of the railway and was sited on the bank of the river close to the city centre. This engraving by John Le Keux, from an 1835 drawing by F.Mackenzie was first published in 1837 in the book Memorials of Oxford - volume 3 by James Ingram D.D. who was President of Trinity College. It shows a rather dark view of Oxford looking northwards across the undeveloped meadows and shows the gasworks with the spires of the city centre bathed in sunshine in the distance. Over time the gasworks grew and sidings were laid to serve it leading from the Didcot to Oxford line. Almost all traces have long since disappeared, but there are a few reminders if you know where to look.

A brief history of the company

The Oxford Gas, Light and Coke Company was incorporated by a special Act of Parliament on 23rd May 1818. The gasworks were established on a two acre site on the north bank of the Thames, just to the south-west of the city centre, in the district of St. Ebbe’s. Barges could thus deliver coal and ship out the various by-products of gas production, although it would seem that, according to later newspaper reports, coal was carted by road from the new stations in Botley Road once facilities were opened there in the 1850s. Demand for gas rose but there were complaints of over-charging and the company gradually reduced the price of its gas until it had fallen to about a quarter of the original price by 1851. Factors involved could have included the threat of competition and the lower cost of coal when shipped by railway rather than by barge.

Click or tap to see a larger image on the Britain from Above website
Aerial view of the South Works taken in September 1928
Aerofilms Collection EPW024626, courtesy of Britain from Above

Under the powers granted by The Oxford Gaslight and Coke Company Act of 12th July 1869
Act of 12th July 1869
Author's collection

Click or tap link for a larger image the company was re-formed, its capital increased, and its supply area expanded beyond the city itself. The Act also gave the Company powers to buy and hold lands not exceeding 15 acres in extent, but limited the manufacture of gas to the lands on the north side of the river. 1871 saw a new retort house being built on land acquired adjacent to the existing works. A number of houses had to be demolished but this extra space allowed the number of retorts to be increased to meet the rapidly rising demand for gas. The gasworks continued to expand and following authorisation in 1882 acquired land south of the Thames, just to the west of the developing suburb of Grandpont upon which they built new plant and gasholders. In 1919 the capacity of the works was increased further by the building of a new plant, which now enabled 3 million cubic feet of gas to be produced each day.

Pipe Bridge circa 1945
Unknown photographer, PictureOxon POX0106362

The company opened showrooms and offices at 96 St Aldates in 1921 and two years later a gas-holder with a capacity of 2 million cubic feet was erected. The supply area around Oxford continued to expand so, in 1925, new works were built with a capacity to produce 8 million cubic feet of gas each day with gas-making now being allowed on the south bank of the river. Possibly as part of the expansion of the South Works, a bridge was build to carry pipes across the river between the North Works and the extreme north-eastern corner of the South Works. This bridge is shown marked on the 1948 works plan, and the map surveyed in 1939, as being a footbridge and may well have opened as a dual purpose bridge from day one. It would certainly save workers an epic walk between the two works.

The company was renamed the Oxford and District Gas Company in 1930 when they took over the Abingdon gasworks (they had initially gained the powers to supply gas in bulk to Abingdon in 1924).

Therm House
from The Oxford and District Gas Company 1818-1948
Author's collection

The Oxford and District Gas Company's showrooms and offices moved into new much larger premises, Therm House, at 119 St Aldates in 1938. The iron balconies of the building included a depiction of 'Mr Therm', who would have been a recognised advertising icon used widely within the gas industry. Whilst the building has changed use over the years, it remains substantially unaltered
Therm House as seen in 2022 and the ironwork is still to be seen. Interestingly, the Mr. Therms on the two balconies are mirror images of each other.

Mr. Therm as seen in 2022

A therm is an imperial unit of heat energy equal to 100,000 British thermal units (BTU), being the approximate energy content of 100 cubic feet (2.83 cubic metres) of natural gas at standard temperature and pressure, about 29.3 kilowatt-hours. Gas meters record usage in cubic meters but this is converted to KWh for billing purposes.

The company went on to acquire an additional 20 acres of land adjacent to the South Works in readiness to greatly expand their works there and facilitate the closure of the North Works. Their application in 1948 for an order permitting the enlargement of the works aroused fierce opposition with the company being pressured to build a new gasworks at Cowley instead. A public enquiry was held in Oxford and the issue debated at length in both the Houses of Parliament. In the event the decision was pushed down the lineClick or tap to reveal our hidden page with an extract from Hansard with the whole of the gas industry being nationalised on 1st May 1949. The Oxford company was dissolved on that date with its business and assets being vested in the new Southern Area Gas Board under the Gas Act 1948.

The final AGM was held on 24th February 1949 and the booklet published at the meeting
Author's collection

Click or tap link to see the labelled plan of the works The Oxford and District Gas Company 1818-1948 contains several interesting photographs, statistics, a summary of the history of the company, and included an annotated plan of the works.

Cowley gasholder as seen in 2006
Photograph © David Hawgood, cc-by-sa/2.0

Cowley gasholder as seen in 2008
Photograph © Nigel Cox, cc-by-sa/2.0

Cowley gasholder as seen in 2006
Photograph © David Hawgood, cc-by-sa/2.0
Cowley gasholder as seen in 2008
Photograph © Nigel Cox, cc-by-sa/2.0

Oxford Mail

Gas street lighting in Oxford

Gas lighting was first proposed for Oxford in 1815 at a time when street lighting was being provided by lamp standards burning tallow and oil. Gas street lighting eventually came to Oxford in 1819, but such was the initial opposition that the old lamp standards were retained as a fall-back measure should the new lamps fail to live up to expectations. Lamplighters were employed to light the street lamps at sunset and extinguish them again at sunrise, except during the summer months.

It was not until the early 1960s that the old gas street lights began to be replaced by ones powered by electricity. In 1963 there were still over 1,800 gas lamps in the city but by 1973 they remained only in Old Headington and the city centre. The final gas light was ceremonially switched off in New College Lane in April 1979 by Fred Kane, the chairman of the city highways committee. New electric lamps for use in the historic areas of Oxford were specially made to look like the old gas lamps they replaced.

Railway connection

By virtue of the Oxford Gas Act of 1882, the company obtained authority to build a railway connection between its works and the G.W.R. line in 1882. Jackson's Oxford Journal noted at the time that 'The inconvenience and expense of carting coal through the streets from the Railway Station to the Gasworks has long been felt, and the present undertaking will prove a saving to the ratepayers of the City, and the roads will be relieved of their heavy traffic.'

Click or tap to see the growth of the gasworks and its rail system
Taken from map surveyed in 1939 and published by the Ordnance Survey Office in 1947
Reproduced courtesy of the National Library of Scotland

The GWR built a line to form a goods loop starting at the southern end of the goods yard of their station. This crossed the Thames on a new bridge which was built immediately beside the existing mainline one, and the new loop line connected back to the mainline just south of the point where the siding diverged towards the gasworks.

Click or tap on the map thumbnail to see a gallery of maps illustrating the growth of the gasworks and its internal railway system.

Gasworks Bridge seen on 17th February 1925
Dr.A.H.Church, PictureOxon POX0204367

The line crossed the Thames once again and entered the gasworks on a bridge built privately by the gas company. This bridge was designed by engineer Charles Hawksley and cost almost £6,000. The central piers were sunk twenty feet into the river bed and five cast iron gas pipes were carried
The gas pipes as seen in 2022 beneath the deck of the bridge. When first built the bridge carried a single track of railway on one side, and a cart road on the other. This cart road was later taken out of use and the railway track over the bridge doubled.

GWR steam engines were not allowed onto the private gasworks railway, and for the first twenty years or so wagons were hauled around the works by horses. As the works expanded, so too did the internal rail network, and at the time of closure there was a total almost two miles of private sidings within the works boundaries. The work of hauling the coal wagons grew beyond the capabilities of mere horsepower and in early 1906 the decision was made to replace horses with steam power. The gas company would eventually own four small 0-4-0ST engines, all bought new from their manufacturers. The first was ordered in 1906 from William Bagnall. Delivered in early 1907 it went on to see service on the gasworks system until 1949. This is thought to be the only one of the fleet to carry a cast nameplate on its water tank but, rather than a name, it carried the words OXFORD GAS CO. The second engine, manufactured by Peckett and Son., was purchased in 1925. Another William Bagnall engine, which ended its working life when scrapped on site in 1957, followed in 1942. The final locomotive, always known as the new engine, was provided by Peckett and Sons in 1946. This locomotive was a bit larger than the previous three and, unlike them, its water tank extended to the front of the smokebox. The two Peckett locomotives remained in use right up until the gasworks closed in 1960. The company also hired two locomotives (one from the GWR), although not at the same time, to cover short term shortages in motive power.

First locomotive seen on 31 July 1933
Derek Stoyel, courtesy of Colin Judge (see footnote)
Second locomotive seen on 5 May 1959
A.E.Tyler, courtesy of Colin Judge (see footnote)
Third locomotive seen on 6 June 1953
G.Alliez, courtesy of Colin Judge (see footnote)
Fourth locomotive seen on 6 June 1953
G.Alliez, courtesy of Colin Judge (see footnote)

A small single road engine shed was provided at the very end of the sidings in the South Works. It is just visible in front of a large tree towards the top right of the 1928 aerial view above. Reference to the 1948 plan suggests that this was enlarged or replaced sometime during the early 1940s as this shows a two road building.

Coal was delivered by rail from the South Yorkshire and Derbyshire coal-fields. In common with many other similar companies, the Oxford concern operated a large fleet of private owner wagons, one example is represented in our model collection.

Former site of South Works seen in 1983
Photo © Christopher Hilton, cc-by-sa/2.0

What remains of the gasworks

The Southern Gas Board agreed in 1952 to vacate the St. Ebbe's site with the remaining works finally closing in 1960. However, two gasholders on the southern works site continued in use until 1968 when they, and the remaining associated plant, were removed. Peter Hilton visited the site in 1983 and recorded the very desolate and muddy scene before the coming of the Grandpont Nature Park transformed the area and we are grateful for his kind permission to use his photograph here.

Preachers Lane housing estate and the small River Garden now occupy part of the northern works site. Gas Street, which was the original entrance to the works, no longer exists. The suburb of St Ebbe's itself, which grew up around the gasworks on the northern bank of the river in the 1820s, was also cleared and redeveloped for residential use. The gasworks site south of the river was also redeveloped for residential use. St.Ebbe’s Primary School (opened in 1975), and the Geoffrey Arthur Building of Pembroke College (opened in 1990) also occupy parts of the site. A large part to the west, where the last two gasholders stood and bounded by the railway line and the river, is now Grandpont Nature Park. The park covers 7½ acres and was created by Oxford City Council in 1985. Scroll through the gallery of maps above to see a satellite view of the area in 2022.

Gasworks railway bridge as seen in 2022
Pipe/foot bridge as seen from original North Works wharf in 2022

Gasworks railway bridge as seen in 2022
Pipe/foot bridge as seen from original North Works wharf in 2022

The two bridges and part of the original North Works wharf are the last physical reminders of the gasworks. The former railway bridge is in use as a footbridge linking the Grandpont Nature Park and southern towpath walk with the city via various footpaths on the northern bank. The later pipe bridge, otherwise known as Grandpont Bridge, provides a more direct pedestrian and cycle route across the river to St Ebbe's. It lies on the Hanson Way, which is part of the long National Cycle Network route 5.