The Gasworks - Belfast
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SMacB
N 54° 35.522 W 005° 55.520
30U E 311003 N 6053328
Information board at the entrance to the Old Gasworks site on Ormeau Road, Belfast.
Waymark Code: WMV1PQ
Location: Ulster, Ireland
Date Posted: 02/09/2017
Views: 3
"The Gasworks story began in 1821, when John and George Barlow of Leicester reached an agreement with the Belfast Corporation Police Committee to light the town with gas and to replace the existing oil lamps with gaslight.
The following year work commenced on the construction of a gas manufacturing plant on a 1.5 acre of land owned by the Marquis of Donegal and the foundation stone was laid by the Marquis on 15th April 1822.
The Belfast Gas Light Company was authorised by Act of Parliament on 23rd May 1823 to produce and distribute coal gas and three months later, on the evening of Saturday 3o August, a large crowd gathered to witness the turning on of the first gas street lights.
The Gasworks expanded as the demand for gas grew. By the start of the 1870s the site covered an area of 13.5 acres and the annual production had risen to 418 million cubic feet. Half a century later gas production and distribution passed into the hands of Belfast Corporation, in 1874, at a cost of £432,083.
Many stories are told of the gas men, and there were hundreds of characters. There were the manual workers, the plumbers, the meter men and the lamplighters who had many more duties to perform besides lighting lamps. They provided an early call service to many a fellow worker who did not want to be late for work in the Shipyard and elsewhere, long before such a service was provided by telephone. The Gasworks had become an institution serving the entire population of Belfast.
Belfast Gasworks formally dosed on 30th November 1988 ending one of the most notable success stories in the history of the City. The historic Ormeau Road Gasworks site has however, become a symbol of Belfast's economic regeneration. Belfast City Council has played a key role in its new-found lease of life."
SOURCE - Info board
Type of Historic Marker: Information board
Historical Marker Issuing Authority: Belfast City Council
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Age/Event Date: Not listed
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