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Early gas making
The original source of light in the textile mills was from candles or oil lamps but by 1826 there were few mills that weren’t lit by gas. The gas was either made by the mill owners on site or supplied by early gas companies. The first textile mill in the country to be lit by gas was Henry Lodge’s Mill in Sowerby Bridge in 1805. This was installed by a Samuel Clegg who had developed the process at Boulton & Watt
Of the mills in the Colden Valley, several had their own gas plants and the pit can be clearly seen at Upper Lumb Mill. This pit would have been the where the gas holder sat, with the iron retort containing the coal sat on the arched furnace. It is said that coal was brought down from Blackshawhead and tipped down a shute to the plant.
Image of a Clegg (Sr.) British gas holder of 1815, with attachment to a single-retort coal-gas bed,
Diagram of early gas plant
The gas was used for lighting the mills and thus extending the working hours.
Hebden Bridge developed its own Gas Company and the plant was down by the station.
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