Record Details

NHER Number:13651
Type of record:Monument
Name:Fakenham Gas Works

Summary

Gas production began here in 1825 and the site closed in 1965. Gas was produced from coal by heating. The present retort house was built 1846. Equipment and gas holder remain and the building is converted into a museum. This is the only town gas works surviving in the UK.

Images - none

Location

Grid Reference:TF 9194 2925
Map Sheet:TF92NW
Parish:FAKENHAM, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK

Full description

1979.
Present retort house built 1846, retorts installed 1907 and 1910, heated by coke producer furnace and turned coal into gas which rose into ammoniacal liquor tank and condenser. Gas drawn from these into tar washer by Crossley gas engine powered exhauster. Hydrogen sulphide removed by bank of four 1906 purifiers; gasholder built 1888. Another holder of 1924 exists only as foundations. Also vertical steam boiler, coke crusher, offices, etc. Only preserved gasworks in England and Wales.
E. Rose (NAU), 1 February 1979.

1984. Survey.
Gas production began 1825.
From Norfolk Industrial Archaeology Society.
See (S1).

Atmospheric condensers by Firth Blakely 1953. Livesey washer 1920 Magnetic ignition gas engine for turo exhausters 1910. Early dry lute purifiers by Newton Chambers 1906. Wet drum meter 1929. Selection of retort house roofs retained. Last example of small horizontal handfired gas works.
For full details see (S2), (S3), (S4) and (S5).
E. Rose (NAU), 7 February 1985.

Note also that the works, now open as a museum, contains a number of items relating to gas production brought from various sites around Norfolk.
E. Rose (NLA), 17 September 2004.

Monument Types

  • GAS WORKS (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Associated Finds - none

Protected Status

  • Scheduled Monument

Sources and further reading

---Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). TF 9129M-N,Q-R,AD-AE,AF-AH,AK.
---Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1987. Duke casts expert eye on restoration projects. 20 May.
---Record Card: Ordnance Survey Staff. 1933-1979?. Ordnance Survey Record Cards. TF 92 NW 16.
---Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card.
---Monograph: Pevsner, N. and Wilson, B. 1997. Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East. The Buildings of England. 2nd Edition. p 459; Pl 97.
---Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1984-1988. [Articles on the restoring of Fakenham Gas Works to be used as a museum].
---Newspaper Article: 1984. Eastern Daily Press. 27 February.
---Newspaper Article: 1984. Eastern Daily Press. 29 March.
---Newspaper Article: 1984. Eastern Daily Press. 6 April.
---Newspaper Article: 1984. Eastern Daily Press. 11 April.
---Newspaper Article: 1984. Eastern Daily Press. 29 June.
---Newspaper Article: 1986. Eastern Daily Press. 8 February.
---Newspaper Article: 1984. Eastern Daily Press. 29 June.
---Newspaper Article: 1986. Eastern Daily Press. 26 August.
---Newspaper Article: 1986. Eastern Daily Press. 4 December.
---Newspaper Article: 1987. Eastern Daily Press. 26 August.
---Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1988. Museum delights research pair. 6 September.
---Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1989. Station cattle trough found on housing site. 20 April.
---Newspaper Article: Dereham and Fakenham Times. 1993. Historical sites volunteers 'need more support'. 15 May.
---Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1998. Steam runs out of gas museum repair bid. 24 July.
---Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1989. Bit to boost gas museum. 8 December.
---Newspaper Article: 1987. Eastern Daily Press. 20 May.
---Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2010. Unique to Norfolk. 16 March.
---Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2010. Life's a gas as museum is given a fresh start. 28 May.
---Photograph: 1984. Photograph's of Gas Holder, Fakenham Gar Works.. Black and white.
---Photograph: 1987. Fakenham Gas Works. Print.
---Secondary File: Secondary File.
---Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1996. 'Step on the gas' plea. 20 July.
---Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2011. Industrial heritage is threatened. 7 April.
---Designation: English Heritage. 1990-2013. English Heritage Scheduling Notification. Notification. DNF464.
<S1>Fiche: Exists.
<S2>Article in Serial: Wilson, G.B.L.. 1973?. The Small Country Gasworks.. Newcomen Soc.Trans.. Vol 46, p 4.
<S3>Monograph: Falconer, K.. 1980. Guide to England's Industrial Heritage.. p 2.
<S4>Article in Serial: Shaw, M. 1984. The Preservation of the Fakenham Gas Works. CBA Group VI Bulletin. No 29 pp 5-8.
<S5>Article in Serial: Ashley, J. 1987. The Fakenham Gas Works: Making Town Gas. CBA Group VI Bulletin. No 32 pp 37-41.
<S6>Unpublished Document: DTZ Pieda Consulting. 1999. Fakenham Town Gasworks Museum. Feasibility Study. Interim Findings.

Related records - none

Find out more...

Norfolk County Council logo Heritage Lottery Fund logo

Powered by HBSMR-web and the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd, and mojoPortal CMS
© 2007 - 2024 Norfolk Historic Environment Service