⇐ S.I.H. 1986 (Issue 16)S.I.H. 1988 (Issue 18) ⇒
Sussex Industrial History: Journal of the Sussex Industrial Archaeology Society, edited by Dr. Brian Austen, published 1987 (issue no. 17, Sussex Industrial History, ISSN: 0263-5151) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16389/17] & The Keep [LIB/506526] Download PDF
Bognor Gas, Light & Coke Company Ltd. 1865-1939, by William Gage, published 1987 in Sussex Industrial History (issue no. 17, article, pp.2-13, ISSN: 0263-5151) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16389/17] & The Keep [LIB/506526] Download PDF
Abstract:The use of gas as an illuminant was adopted by many towns during the first half of the nineteenth century and in the majority of cases the supply of gas especially during those early years was in the hands of private statutory companies. In most places the local authorities of the day were quite incapable of organising a utility of this kind.
The first evidence of a gas supply for Bognor exists with a contract dated 4th March 1851 between Messrs Snooke & Others of Chichester and the Commissioners of the Local Board for the erection of a gas works on land now known as Argyle Circus and for the supply of public lamps with gas. However, it was not until 1865 that the Bognor Gas Light and Coke Company Ltd was formed for the purpose of making supplying gas, coke and other by products to Bognor and adjoining parishes.
On 7th March of that year fifteen gentlemen subscribed to a Memorandum of Association drawn up by a local solicitor; a Frederick Elkins, who was further instructed to draw up Articles of Association. Both the Memorandum & Articles according to Mr Elkins' bill of costs, were duly registered at the Joint Stock Registry on 19th April 1865. The original capital was &Pound;3000 divided into 600 shares each of &Pound;5 and the Memorandum stated that the qualification to become a director was the possession of at least five shares.
The first evidence of a gas supply for Bognor exists with a contract dated 4th March 1851 between Messrs Snooke & Others of Chichester and the Commissioners of the Local Board for the erection of a gas works on land now known as Argyle Circus and for the supply of public lamps with gas. However, it was not until 1865 that the Bognor Gas Light and Coke Company Ltd was formed for the purpose of making supplying gas, coke and other by products to Bognor and adjoining parishes.
On 7th March of that year fifteen gentlemen subscribed to a Memorandum of Association drawn up by a local solicitor; a Frederick Elkins, who was further instructed to draw up Articles of Association. Both the Memorandum & Articles according to Mr Elkins' bill of costs, were duly registered at the Joint Stock Registry on 19th April 1865. The original capital was &Pound;3000 divided into 600 shares each of &Pound;5 and the Memorandum stated that the qualification to become a director was the possession of at least five shares.
Mineral Transport by the Telpher System - The Pioneering Work of Prof. H. C. F. Fleeming-Jenkin (The Story of the Glynde Aerial Railway), by M. I. Pope, published 1987 in Sussex Industrial History (issue no. 17, article, pp.13-20, ISSN: 0263-5151) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16389/17] & The Keep [LIB/506526] Download PDF
Abstract:This is the story of the Telpher aerial electric railway at Glynde, Sussex; also of its inventor and promoter, Prof H C Fleeming-Jenkin. Both are largely forgotten today, yet in their time the construction and operation of this aerial railway created immense interest, which was widely reported in both the technical and popular press.
The most striking evidence of its existence now surviving is the wood-cut engraving shown, which once served as a book illustration. When the Telpher Line opened on 17 October 1885, it became the first electrically powered aerial railway in the world. Even then it incorporated an automatic system of absolute block working, making it physically impossible for two Telpher trains to enter the same section of track. To put this achievement into perspective, it should be remembered that the world's first public electricity supply only came into operation at Godalming, Surrey, on September 1881. Then, less than two years later, the first public passenger carrying electric railway in Great Britain was constructed in Sussex, by Magnus Volk of Brighton. The original line ran for 4 miles along the Brighton sea front in an easterly direction, starting from the Aquarium. It was constructed to a two foot gauge and opened to fare paying passengers on 4 August 1883. Following its immediate success, work started in January 1884 to re-build the line using a 2' 8½" gauge and extend the route to Paston Place, giving a total length of 1400 yards, including a passing loop.
The Telpher system of mineral transport was first patented in 1882 and so dated from the earliest days of the commercial exploitation of electric power. It is this factor which makes the sophistication of the Telpher line at Glynde all the more remarkable.
The most striking evidence of its existence now surviving is the wood-cut engraving shown, which once served as a book illustration. When the Telpher Line opened on 17 October 1885, it became the first electrically powered aerial railway in the world. Even then it incorporated an automatic system of absolute block working, making it physically impossible for two Telpher trains to enter the same section of track. To put this achievement into perspective, it should be remembered that the world's first public electricity supply only came into operation at Godalming, Surrey, on September 1881. Then, less than two years later, the first public passenger carrying electric railway in Great Britain was constructed in Sussex, by Magnus Volk of Brighton. The original line ran for 4 miles along the Brighton sea front in an easterly direction, starting from the Aquarium. It was constructed to a two foot gauge and opened to fare paying passengers on 4 August 1883. Following its immediate success, work started in January 1884 to re-build the line using a 2' 8½" gauge and extend the route to Paston Place, giving a total length of 1400 yards, including a passing loop.
The Telpher system of mineral transport was first patented in 1882 and so dated from the earliest days of the commercial exploitation of electric power. It is this factor which makes the sophistication of the Telpher line at Glynde all the more remarkable.
Bricks for the Martello Towers in Sussex, by Molly Beswick, published 1987 in Sussex Industrial History (issue no. 17, article, pp.20-27, ISSN: 0263-5151) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16389/17] & The Keep [LIB/506526] Download PDF
Abstract:The story of the building of the Martello towers as coastal defences during the Napoleonic Wars has been told elsewhere. The purpose of this article is to determine how the vast quantities of bricks required for their construction were assembled in the short space of time available.
Jesse Pumphrey, Millwright, by Martin Brunnarius, published 1987 in Sussex Industrial History (issue no. 17, article, pp.27-36, ISSN: 0263-5151) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16389/17] & The Keep [LIB/506526] Download PDF
The following is extracted from the day-to-day accounts of a journeyman millwright who lived and worked in and around Lewes during the first half of the nineteenth century. This is fascinating in its way, for, although it may have seemed trivia at the time, this simple record gives us today an insight into his involvement with farmers, trades people and millwrights as well as forming many links great and small in local history.