A Spark in the Gasworks

 Did you think of electricity when you turned your computer on? Thought not. We use electricity today without even thinking about it. No thought is given to where the power comes from or how it is made. We take for granted that, at the flick of a switch, whichever appliance we wish to use will burst into life. Things were, however, not always so.
 In the latter part of the nineteenth century, electricity was available but not as a public supply service. The technology had not yet advanced to the stage where electricity could be generated at a central location and then fed into a network. If you wanted electricity, it had to be made at the site where it was needed. All that was required was a boiler and a steam engine driving a dynamo. Obviously not an installation for those with little money or space.
 Once you had electricity you could illuminate an arc lamp. Sir Humphrey Davy had demonstrated the use of the arc lamp, in 1810 but despite seventy years having passed the lamp was still an unsatisfactory product.
Having two carbon rods touching at one point provided the means of illumination from an arc lamp. The electricity is passed through the rods that are then drawn slowly apart. The electricity jumps across the gap producing a bright spark. Problems with the lamps included the rapid deterioration of the carbon rods and the light constantly flickered. A similar process is still used today in motor vehicle spark plugs.
 In 1883 the Edison and Swan United Electric Lighting Co. was formed. The company brought together the two major inventors of the incandescent lamp. This is the light bulb we are familiar with today; an element enclosed in a glass bulb from which the air had been extracted.
The invention was such an improvement on the arc lamp that the future seemed bright for the incandescent lamp.
Unfortunately, the electric lamps had a big rival. The gaslight was a well-established and popular form of lighting. The gaslight consisted simply of a metal perforated tube through which the gas was fed. When lit a yellowish flame was produced. It would appear very dim to modern eyes.
Really bright gas light was not available until Karl Aur, of Wesbach in Austria, invented the Aur incandescent gas mantle in 1885 and that product was not freely available for several years. The mantle was first available in Leeds in 1899 when the Wesbach Incandescent Light Co. began selling them at their premises at 158 Briggate.
The appearance of the electric lamp provoked much discussion as to the merits of the two systems.
Even with the introduction of the mantle, it was recognised that gas had disadvantages. The problem with gas was that to provide light the gas had to burn thus requiring a supply of air. A feature of Victorian drawing rooms was the draughtiness of the place. As burning gas also generated heat the atmosphere at head height was lacking in oxygen and very warm. The effect could be overpowering… think of period dramas where the lady has an attack of 'the vapours'. The gas lamp also produced carbonic acid, sulphuric acid and soot. Rooms needed constant re-decoration. There was also the ever-present risk of fire and explosion.
 
 An arc lamp The clockwork mechanism at the base kept the carbon rods together as they burned away.
 
 The electric light had few defects when compared with the gas equivalent. It was clean and safe and the given light was brighter and closer to that of daylight. The gas industry was, obviously, keen to point out some of the disadvantages of using electric light. The early practice of using bare wires, rather than insulated, made it possible that a short circuit could be formed, through damp or dust, and a fire started. The shorted wires could also damage the generator. This was a common event until Mr Edison introduced that necessity of life, the fuse. Electrocution was not a problem with the incandescent lamps as they ran on about 200 volts but the arc lamp could use 1000 volts or more and touching the wires could result in one's life being short-circuited!
 
There seemed little doubt that electric light was superior to gas light especially when insulated wire was introduced, and the public began to anticipate with some eagerness the spread of the electric light.
 The people of Leeds received the prospect of electric light perhaps more keenly than most. For quite some time complaints had been made as to the quality of the town's gas. Gas was dirty at the best of times but Leeds gas had a particularly high level of sulphur. The town's Gas Committee had tried to remedy the problem with new equipment but had met with little success. The sulphur, after passing through the gaslight, eventually turned into 'oil of vitriol' - sulphuric acid -, which is not the best of substances to have dripping about the house.
Gas production was covered by statute and allegations were made that the quality measuring devices used by the Gas Works (a council owned monopoly) did not comply with the law. The local magistrates, who had authority to monitor and control the illuminating power of the gas, met with problems when they enquired as to the quality of the gas. A questioning of the Town Clerk (for the Gas Committee) caused the magistrates to wonder if the measuring equipment was, 'so placed as to afford a test for all the gas supplied by the Corporation.'
Matters passed back and forth between committees. The Gas Committee asserted that the gas supplied had been well above the quality required whereas Alderman Spark claimed the quality had never been above statute. Spark, who had previously served on the Gas Committee, even alleged that there was a special pipe of high quality gas at the Gas Works used for measuring purposes. The Gas Works had further problems when a highly respected coal dealer from Colwyn Bay (Wales) exposed frauds in the coal business in Salford, Manchester and claimed that similar frauds were taking place in Leeds.

 The Council discussed the results of an investigation in November 1888. It was noted that no defect in the quality of coal had been found although official analysis of coal samples was only done about six times per year and that twenty-eight percent of those samples were below that expected. It was admitted that although no fraud had been uncovered 'there had been very great room for frauds to be practised.'
Further letters appeared in the local press. A Mr Lever claimed that the coal samples tested had not been the samples he had taken from the Gas Works and that the trucks contained, not only coal, but also base matters, shale and other impurities. Mr Hunt, Chairman of the York Street Works sub-committee, claimed the trucks carried the worst coal he had ever seen. The Council accepted the explanation that although some poor quality coal had been supplied that was more than compensated for by the high quality coal in the rest of the trucks. Further suspicions were aroused in January 1889. It was revealed that a hole had been discovered in the top of No.5 gasholder at the York Street Works. The Council had written a letter, asking for an explanation, to the ex-manager who now worked in Bristol. His return letter afforded no explanation and was described as 'studiously insulting'. Alderman Spark needed no explanation. It was evident, he claimed, that the manager, under pressure to produce large quantities of gas, had been forced to produce large quantities of bad gas, After registering the gas was piped into No.5 gasholder and then allowed to vent thus preventing the gas passing to the customer.
The Council again discussed matters in March 1889. With reference to the Gas Committee's own figures it was shown that out of more than one million tons of coal purchased almost 600,000 tons were below standard. It did not help discussions when it was revealed that several of the Gas Committee members were also proprietors or directors of collieries that had supplied the coal.

An industrial strike in 1890 by the stokers at the Gas Works resulted in the police and dragoons being called to quell the violence in the streets. On Monday 1 July 1890, Leeds people had a new experience - total darkness. For several days, there was no gas throughout the town. Ten thousand people were made idle as industry closed down. To most people the Gas Committee's inadequate dealing with the strike was further proof of its incompetence.
 So, most people are dissatisfied with the gas production and agree that the electric light is superior but there was no widespread installation of electricity.
The reason, of course, was cost. The cost of installing a boiler, steam engine, dynamos and lighting far outweighed the benefits electric light had over gas. Arc lamps were priced at ten shillings each and incandescent lamps ranged in price from five shillings to twelve shillings and sixpence. A dynamo cost seventy-five pounds for a one-lamp model, seven hundred and twenty pounds for a forty-lamp model. Consider that the Chief Inspector of Waterworks, a well paid post, was on a yearly salary of one hundred and seventy five pounds, and the Borough Engineer had and annual salary of six hundred pounds.
Leeds gas was one of the cheapest in the country. The Council owned the Gas Works and gas was sold virtually 'at cost'.
The major obstacle to a lowering of electricity prices was the fact that electric companies, including those owned by local councils, did not have the right to lay their cables in public streets. They were forced to run the cables along private premises, canals or railways, provided they could obtain permission.
The gas companies, on the other hand, did have the right to lay pipes in the public highway. This allowed the gas companies, through economies of scale, to provide their product from a central location, to keep costs low.
A few years earlier the problem had been addressed by Parliament and resulted in the Electric Lighting Act 1882. This Act placed the electric companies on the same footing as the other utilities as regards the excavation of public roads. However, there was a determination to prevent a perpetual monopoly, as had occurred with the gas and water companies, which the public had grown to dislike. The Act required that electrical undertakers would be established by licence, if approved by the local authority, or by a Provisional Order, which had to be confirmed by Parliament. The local authority could prevent either situation occurring if they acted as electric suppliers themselves. The Act also empowered the local authority to purchase the local private supplier, after a number of years, using a formula to determine the price. For some reason Parliament considered this Act would promote an increase in the installation of the electric light. There was, instead, a shrinking of the industry.
Apart from the disincentive to invest in a new industry, an industry that could be bought from the investors when the council so decided, Parliament had overestimated the current state of the technology. It was not yet possible for the widespread distribution from a central supply. To add to the problem was the rate of change in the technology. Advances were being made so quickly that prospective purchasers realised that if they waited, better and cheaper equipment became available.
Losses on the investment market also contributed to a general lack of interest. Many had invested in the new industry only to find that their chosen stock was in obsolete equipment. As the value of stock fell sharply the electric companies suffered severe financial problems from which some did not survive.

 
 
 An Arc lamp The bulb at the base was for catching the waste products

 The lack of success of the electric companies put local authorities such as Leeds in a rather strange position. Whilst pleased that the electric companies fortunes prevented them from entering the council areas, their inability to provide a public supply increased the pressure on the councils to provide a supply of their own. Fearful of investing in a system that may have become obsolete, and thus incurring the wrath of ratepayers, Leeds opted for the traditional standby. The matter was passed to a committee with a view to conducting a small-scale experimental installation.
 The formation of the committee coincided with the construction of the Municipal Building in Leeds. The new structure was to have not only council offices but also the Free Lending and Reference Libraries. The building, opposite the Town Hall, was part of the city father's dream of a civic centre to rival that of any other in the country. Here was the ideal opportunity for the council to set up a small-scale electric light installation. The new Electric Light Committee was given the task of overseeing the project.
An architect was given the task of reporting on the current modes of electric lighting. Subsequently, the report recommended that nothing should be done until the inside of the new building was about to be plastered when tenders could be obtained from various companies. The delay would also allow further improvements in electric lighting to take place.
The ELC delegated the matter to the Corporate Property Committee. The CPC, in turn, formed a deputation with representatives from the CPC, the Free Library Committee and…. the Gas Committee.
 Seven months after the architect's report the deputation set off for London where they visited the Crystal Palace Electrical Exhibition, The Savoy Theatre, (it did, after all, have electric lights on the stage); numerous railway stations and then spent a month reading newspaper and magazine reports.
The eventual release of a report from the deputation did not recommend any lighting system but did state that the deputation had been much impressed by the incandescent lamp.
The matter of generating electricity was addressed. The town still owned a watermill near Pitfall Street, jut off Leeds Bridge. The other method suggested was to use farm refuse to generate heat. The process was already being used at Burmantofts and Armley. The system was deemed acceptable as any old rubbish could be used; cinders and cabbage stalks were mentioned!
The deputation was of the opinion, 'that it would not be desirable hastily to adopt for a permanency any system of electric lighting now claiming public attention'.
 Meanwhile, the Municipal Building had been completed. A dispute immediately ensued. The Town Clerk discovered he did not have enough room and insisted on taking some of the Town Accountant's space. The Accountant refused to surrender space unless he got an equivalent amount from the libraries. The librarians claimed that a lot of their space was made up of stairways and corridors. If pushed the librarians decided that they would give away the Ladies' Reading Room. That provoked much public horror and discussion.
Eventually the ladies were reading with the men and the Clerk and Accountant were very happy with their new empires.
Meantime, as regards lighting in the new libraries, the public was still in the dark.		  
  (C) Leeds Library & Information Services
 The ELC had two pressing problems before it.
Several private electric companies had expressed an interest in supplying Leeds. The council, desperate to keep control of the supply, agreed to apply for a Provisional Order. That would commit the council to supplying Leeds with electricity.
The second problem was solved by requesting the leading electric companies to tender for the installation of lights in the Municipal Building and in the Victoria Hall, in the Town Hall. The council expressed the hope that the electric lights would be ready for the Leeds Music Festival, which was due to take place the following year.
The Council had also been busy. It had approached the Government, along with 40-50 other councils, requesting that Provisional Orders should be permissive and not obligatory. The Government was unimpressed and told the councils so. The Provisional Orders were for a definite undertaking, not a general authorisation. If a private company wished to hazard their money on supplying electricity, they should be allowed to do so if the local council would not, or could not.
 Back in Leeds, the ELC letterbox had been busy. Replies were being received in response to the tender invitation.
On 25th January 1883, the ELC met to consider the replies and promptly decided that they were not competent to do so. They needed further information on the different systems. Accordingly, an eight-man sub-committee went forth and visited London, Birmingham and Chelmsford returning to report in April.
The recommendation was to light only Victoria Hall, in the Town Hall, and in the Municipal Building only the General Pay Office, Clerks Room, the Libraries and the Reading Room. In addition, three arc lamps should be placed in front of the Town Hall and two arc lamps in front of the Municipal Building.
The sub-committee recommended a brand of dynamo and steam engine and even where to site them.... in the shed at the rear of the new fire station!
The recommendations were accepted, except for using the shed. It was thought that using the shed might interfere with the smooth running of the fire brigade.
The Council met and, after much debate, allowed the ELC to proceed with the proposals subject to a £10,000 limit.
A further Council meeting saw the confirmation of the application for a Provisional Order. Although not wishing to have the statutory obligation placed upon it the Council had to accept or have a private company encroach into their territory.
 The important clauses of the Provisional Order stipulated that two areas should be designated, Schedule A and Schedule B.
The 'A' area was that area where immediate supply would be given. The 'B' area needed action after two years. No immediate action was taken - the Council referred the matter to the ELC to define the two areas.
The ELC duly considered the issue and recommended area 'A' to be; that area bounded by Great George Street, Oxford Place, Park Lane, East Parade, Boar Lane, Park Row, Park Lane and Calverley Street. Area 'B' was the rest of the borough. It was estimated that to comply with the Provisional Order the initial cost would be £10,000 and a further cost, after two years, of £30-£40,000. , which would complete Area 'A'. The Council told the ELC to think again.
 New tenders were now being received for lighting the Municipal Building. Conditions of the contract stipulated that tenders be received by 21st June and work completed within two months of acceptance.
The first group of tenders had produced a favourable offer from a local company, The Yorkshire Brush Co., for £11,000.
YB had taken a great deal of time and trouble in preparing the tender. The company needed a large contract to illustrate that public electric lighting could be a reality. YB was suffering, like many other companies in the industry, from a general mistrust from investors in the new technology.
In September, when the ELC finally opted to accept the YB offer, it was too late. YB had initiated proceedings to have the company liquidated and could not accept the contract. The fall of YB meant that the ELC had no contractor to light the Municipal Building. The initial response from the ELC was to shrug and abandon the project. The unexpected uproar caught the ELC by surprise. The Mayor and members of the Music Festival Committee poured scorn on the ELC when their promised lights seemed in jeopardy. The ELC, compelled by the Mayor, sprang into action. The Crompton-Winfield Electric Lighting Association was contacted. That company had, a year previously, successfully lit the Birmingham Town Hall for that town's music festival. A deal was rapidly struck with the ELC having little to do with the negotiations. Fowlers, the Leeds steam engine company, promised to supply steam engines free of charge. With only three weeks to the start of the festival, Cromptons assured the Mayor that they could complete on time and began work immediately.
 The Music Festival was important to Leeds. The Leeds Triennial Festival had started in 1874 and had been attracting much attention both locally and nationally. The Council knew that the nation's eyes would be turned towards Leeds especially since Prince Leopold, Queen Victoria's eighth child, would be present.
 Morning, Wednesday 10th October 1883. Prince Leopold is in Otley boarding a train bound for Leeds. The weather is fine and sunny.
As the train reached Kirkstall, the outskirts of Leeds, the sun disappeared and storm clouds gathered. The heavens opened to release torrential rain. By noon, the town was enveloped in a dense fog. The gloom was so intense that the street lamps had to be lit. Inside the Town Hall, there was the prospect of the first performance being performed by an orchestra imperceptible to the audience.
Behind the scenes in the electric engine room work was still in progress. The walls were being whitewashed, debris was being swept up and engineers were testing the dynamos. The contractors had agreed to light the hall from 7 o'clock that evening but as the gloom gathered they were pressured into switching on. The lights shone brightly, and then slowly became dimmer, and dimmer… and dimmer. Eventually someone turned on the old gas lamps.
A short interruption was needed. Fortunately, Mr Felix Mendelssohn had provided the opportunity when he had written Elijah Parts 1 & 2. Shame he died nearly fifty years before this performance. Once rectified it was generally agreed that the lights had been a great success.

 
 

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