SOURCE: The information above was obtained from a plaque placed by Kendal Civic Society. (
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The facade is Grade II listed, the description given by Historic England reads as follows;
"FORMER GAS COMPANY FACADE TO NORTH-WEST OF NOS 9 AND 11 CHURCH WALK
SD 5192 SE KENDAL KIRKLAND (Off East side) 11/73 Gas Company Facade to north-west of nos 9 and 14-4-69 11 Church Walk G.V. II
Facade of original Kendal Gas Company Meter House, removed from original site at Gas Works in Parkside Road and reconstructed (1984) on west elevation of extension to Museum of Lakeland Life and Industry. Dated 1825 on keystone. Attributed to Francis Webster. Pedimented portico of tooled ashlar. Semicircular-headed entrance with engaged Tuscan column, and corner pilaster, on plinth to either side. Entablature has EX FUMO DARE LUCEM carved on fascia and KENDAL UNDERTAKING painted in red on frieze.
Listing NGR: SD5161092197" SOURCE: (
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The quote 'EX FUMO DARE LUCEM' (from smoke let light break out) on the facade applies to gaslight, originally it referred to poetic inspiration.
Horace's 'Ars Poetica'(The Art of Poetry)"Ars Poetica", or "The Art of Poetry", is a poem written by Horace c. 19 BC, in which he advises poets on the art of writing poetry and drama. The Ars Poetica has "exercised a great influence in later ages on European literature, notably on French drama"and has inspired poets and authors since it was written. Although it has been well-known since the Middle Ages, it has been used in literary criticism since the Renaissance.
The poem was written in hexameter verse as an Epistle (or Letter) to Lucius Calpurnius Piso (the Roman senator and consul) and his two sons, and is sometimes referred to as the Epistula ad Pisones, or "Epistle to the Pisos". The first mention of its name as the "Ars Poetica" was c. 95 by the classical literary critic Quintilian in his Institutio Oratoria, and since then it has been known by that name. The translations of the original epistle are typically in the form of prose.
The Ars Poetica was first translated into English in 1566 by Thomas Drant. A translation by Ben Jonson was published posthumously in 1640." SOURCE: (
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"Non fumum ex fulgore, sed ex fumo dare lucem
Cogitat, ut speciosa dehinc miracula promat.. — Horace
He does not lavish at a blaze his fire,
Sudden to glare, and in a smoke expire;
But rises from a cloud of smoke to light,
And pours his specious miracles to sight — Francis"
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A photo of the facade in its original setting at the Kendal Gas-Light Company in Parkside Road, can be seen at the following link: (
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