Goose Street Gas Works as seen from Lower Street, Newcastle-under-Lyme

Description:The Goose Street Gas Works (top right) was opened in 1819 to cater for the new demand. Gas meant the streets could be better lit and businesses and shops could stay open a lot later despite the dark. Gas would be produced by burning coal and storing it in big gas holders before piping it out to houses and streets. The popularity of gas fell with the rise of electricity; a cleaner, safer, more efficient power. The number of gas works fell when gas was nationalised in 1948, eventually becoming known as British Gas in the 1970s, and fell again when North Sea gas was discovered in the 1960s and gas holders were no longer required. The Goose Street gas works were demolished in the 1990s to make way for a supermarket, now (in 2023) Morrison's.