Gas street lighting in Coventry

The gas indoor lighting came to us in the late 1920's, the gas metre's a little later but they weren't very clever about it, they brought about a inch dia; pipe up the corner wall to the ceiling, then a smaller pipe along the front wall ceiling to halfway along the wall, and another pipe from there to the centre of the room to the gas light, dirty black pipes just tacked to were needed, later they tacked the gas meter to the inch pipe in the corner of the room. When they brought out the new gas stoves (ovens) early 30's I believe they built a new gas showrooms. question is did they have the monopoly on both gas and electric,? In the early thirties women queued up at the Gas showrooms for the new gas appliance, then they queued again for them to be changed to Electric a few years later then in the fifties when we had all those electric cut outs with out warning and hundreds of dinners were spoilt they queued even more to go back to gas, but as far as I remember only at the gas showrooms? Sorry Mods we don't seem to have a gas show room topic.

I remember the gas lamps in our street, it was a softer yellowish light, and a man came round with his ladder to clean the glass and change something inside, not sure what. My mother told me there had been a man who came round and lit them all every night but that was before the war. We still had gas lighting in the house as well as a single electric light in the centre of the downstairs rooms, no electric upstairs, lighting by candles, and this was the early 50's - the gas lamps came out of the house about 1958, and electric lighting upstairs at the same time.

City of Coventry Gas Department.

It behoves us to remember that gas preceded electricity. At one time, it was state of the art. My mother's family, which consisted of her, her elder sister (8 years older), and father (no mother), was very poor. They all lived in a courtyard in Spon End. No central heating, no hot water tap, and no electricity. Candles were used for lighting purposes. There may have been a gas supply for the stove; I'm not sure. But my mother's elder sister became the matriarch of the family, and in her late teens decided they should have gas lamps in their humble abode. Grandfather was having none of it: "I'm not having them [sic] new-fangled ruddy things". In defiance, she went ahead and got the gas board in one day whilst he was at work on a building site. When he came home, the gas lamps were a fait accompli. He went mad. I'm told he was such a tyrant that it was unbearable living with him, which is why, aged 19, and unable to leave home without her father's permission, which he would not give, she deliberately got pregnant by my uncle, so she could leave her father's home and marry my uncle. That was the law at the time. But that's another story. The bottom line is that the gas lamps remained.

Brilliant again Manor-House - what is he actually doing?

He's re-gassing his aircon

He's placing a new kind of hood on it.

I remember the old Gas Showrooms so well. I know it's been mentioned before, and what a beautiful gaslight, so significant in Coventry as well as the lovely old clocks. 'Fings ain't wot they used to be'.

He's polishing it. Those were the days, when people took a pride in their work.

I'd like to shake the hand of whoever made those lampposts... and know more about that truck!

Thank you Manor House for that evocative photo. Yes, Dream, I well remember the Gas Showrooms where there was a wartime British Restaurant. My grandma would sometimes take me there for a treat. I seem to recall there was self-service but also a waitress service, which might have been upstairs. Also in Well St, just behind in the photo was wonderful Lynes camping shop with all sorts in the windows.

Let me know when Helen, I would like to borrow it sometime. (It takes all sorts)

Helen has her chance in Manor House's gas photo!!