Goose Street Gas Works, Newcastle-under-Lyme

Description:Before the late 1700s, light was either natural or came from candles and oil lamps. The advent of gas light meant streets were seen as safer to walk through at night and businesses could stay open later as people could now work despite the dark. Gas would be produced by burning coal and then stored in large gas holders before sending it down the pipes to houses, streets and buildings. The Goose Street Gas Works in Newcastle-under-Lyme was opened in 1819 and carried on working until the 1990s when it was demolished to make way for a supermarket, now (2023) Morrisons.

Gas usage dropped considerably in the twentieth century as electric lighting became more popular due to its efficiency, odourlessness, and lower chances of exploding and/or suffocating the users with a build up of carbon monoxide. The number of gas works dropped again when it was nationalised in 1948, and again when North Sea gas was discovered in the 1960s. In the 1970s, Britain's gas was supplied by British Gas only without the need for gas holders and many towns lost their gas works for good.