History

THE GAS WORKS

Cindy Chant, Sherborne Blue Badge Guide

Now for something completely different from my stagecoach stories: the story of gas works in Sherborne. And yes, the gas works were an important part of Sherborne’s history, and their remains can still be seen today nestled beneath the Terraces’ playing fields, just south of the railway station. But, I hear it is possible that new houses may be built there, so this remnant of our industrial past could soon be forgotten…

The gas works were built in 1836 and by 1853 the gas company was using 800 tonnes of coal a year – all of which was hauled by road from a pit in Radstock, Somerset. Now, before I take this story any further, I must tell you of my own personal connection to all of this. My ancestors were from coal mining stock; my great great grandfather, great grandfather, grandfather and indeed my own father, all worked at this pit in Radstock! That very much makes me feel part of this story, although I have no personal memories, as it was only when I began my research that I discovered this fascinating link.

The coal was brought by horse and cart and was being sold in Sherborne at 18s 2d a tonne (that’s 91p in today’s money). The gas used in Sherborne was known as ‘coal gas’, which was made by heating, but not burning, coal; the residue was turned into coke and many buildings were heated by coke (during the

last war, local kids would bring their soap box carts to collect supplies of coke to keep the fires burning at home). The gas works needed a constant supply of coal, which continued to be brought by road until the introduction of the railway, when it became easier to bring coal from further afield. In 1876, a siding was built so that coal trucks could be brought into the yard using a turntable – the trucks were shunted onto it and then moved manually into the gasworks.

If you go south over the level crossing, you will find on your right the entrance into the gas works yard, currently used for a variety of purposes such as garage repairs. But before you enter the yard, stop and look at the gable end of the building to your left. Above the window you will see a monogram and if you disentangle this, you will find ‘S G C C’ which stands for Sherborne Gas and Coke Company. A fine manager’s house, boardroom and office were built in 1863 – the date can be seen carved on the lintel of the highest window.

There were furnaces and a retort in the yard and two large gasometers – all this was going flat out, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The works itself comprised a series of cooking ovens where the coal was heated to drive off the gas, which was then stored in the gasometers. These were dug into the ground and as the gas was lighter than air, the gasometers would rise and fall depending on demand and the amount stored. Distributed through iron pipes, the gas was used for heating and cooking as well as to provide lighting throughout the town. This included the streetlights; gas lighters were employed to go around the town to light the streetlights at dusk and then to extinguish them again in the morning.

It could be rather smelly and dirty in the area of the gas works, especially on a damp, heavy sort of day. Many of the older folk still living in Sherborne tell me that during hard winters in the town, children suffering from breathing difficulties would be taken by their mothers into the heat of the boiler-room to breathe in the fumes; this would act as a form of decongestant and aid their breathing. The mother would take the children outside and turn them upside down, so that they could cough their phlegm into the River Yeo!

The gas works closed in 1957, when the gas supply started to come by way of a grid system; then in the 1970’s, Sherborne was converted to ‘natural gas’. For the time being, some of the buildings remain, although now used for a variety of other things.

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LOST DORSET NO. 9 STOURTON CAUNDLE

David Burnett, The Dovecote Press

One rural business that has kept open, against the odds, over the last year has been the village shop and post office. Once the life blood of small communities, now all too often private houses called ‘The Old Shop’ or ‘Old Post Office’, some still retain the bow windows of the old shop front and a letterbox let in a wall. But if ours is anything to go by, those to survive have come into their own during the pandemic, providing a friendly greeting, a chance for a chat, and well-stocked shelves. Long gone is Thomas Hardy’s description of their stock as little more than ‘a couple of loaves, a pound of candles, three or four scrubbing brushes and a frying pan.’ Sadly, their numbers are much reduced since this photograph of the shop at the top of Golden Hill in about 1900, which served Stourton Caundle until 1991. It had three rooms: a grocery on the right; a store for dry goods at the back; and a postal counter just inside the entrance.

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Lost Dorset: The Villages and Countryside 1880-1920, by David Burnett, is a large format paperback, price £12, and is available locally from Winstone’s Books or directly from the publishers.

OBJECT OF THE MONTH THE DITTY BOX

Elisabeth Bletsoe, Curator, Sherborne Museum

Aditty box contained items to make running repairs to a sailor’s belongings while at sea; this one, a Kaisar-iHind metal cigarette case, reveals an intimate portrait of this rather private aspect of nautical life – beeswax grooved with the action of pulling the twine, fierce-looking darning needles, thimbles and naval buttons.

It belonged to Frederick John Russell (1862-1958) who was born in Westbury, Sherborne, to Charles Russell, a silk-dyer, and his wife, Jane. In 1878, at the age of 15, he ran away to sea and sailed as a boy before the mast. He was serving aboard HMS Alexandra in 1882 when the British Fleet bombarded Alexandria in response to a nationalist uprising. He was, for some time, at the Royal Naval Reserve battery in Lerwick, before joining HMS Turquoise and taking part in the Burma campaign of 1885, joining in the fighting on the Irrawaddy River and the subsequent march to Mandalay.

Returning to the Tanzanian East Coast as Captain of the mizzen top, Russell then took a leading role in a ‘plucky exploit’ on 29th May 1887. The Turquoise was anchored inside the Fundu Gap, when a dhow approached, seemingly a legitimate trader. Russell and two other men were sent out in a dinghy to make enquiries but, on receiving no answer, realised that it might be a slave ship. The dhow sailed straight for them, refusing to lower its sail and bearing down on them in its apparent haste to reach the Pemba coast in order to ‘discharge their miserable freight.’ Russell gave orders to open fire and ‘all three in the Lilliputian vessel let fly.’ In the ensuing fight with twenty armed Arab slavers, Russell was seriously wounded but battled on before falling exhausted in the bottom of his boat. The dhow tried to escape while still under fire from the other two men but started to founder in two fathoms of water. Many of the Arab crew drowned, but there were others on the shore waiting to seize their prey; the slaves meanwhile were struggling to keep their heads above water on the sinking ship. Russell recovered in time to fire the 9-pounder gun which scattered the enemy, resulting in fifty-three slaves being saved. For this service, he was promoted to Gunner.

Russell was known for being very clear-headed, reliable and trustworthy, highly zealous and tactful. He rose through the ranks to Lieutenant-Commander by 1919 and retired in 1921, after forty-three years in the Navy. He lived at Ashcombe, Kings Road, Sherborne, from where he was actively engaged with the Sherborne Branch of the Royal British Legion and organised its Poppy Days. He was a member of the Yeatman Hospital’s League of Friends as well as serving as Vice-Chair and Chairman of Sherborne Urban District Council. He was also a proponent of The League of Nations Union, arguing passionately for the abolition of war in favour of peaceful arbitration, and challenging governments to have the League’s ideals included in the school curriculum. He is buried in Sherborne Cemetery.

The little box came to us through Russell’s granddaughter Muriel, who for many years was a muchvalued Secretary here at the Museum.

sherbornemuseum.co.uk

Sherborne Museum is currently closed and will re-open when it is safe for volunteers and visitors.