Date:5th September 2022. Picture James Hardisty. Professor Barbara English, local historian is taking part in the Heritage Open Days: The History of Gas - in Beverley. Barbara is pictured near the grade 2 listed lamps positioned around Beverley Minster. The cast iron lamps were originally gas, now electrified are believed to be the oldest in the world dating back to 1824.
"He had to find a site, buy it, build a gasworks, put machinery in, get the lamps shipped from Sheffield , dig up the streets, put in the gas pipes from Figham all over town and put the street back .Before gaslighting, people used candles or"rather mucky torches" which smelt and could be dangerous. The gas lamps stayed in use until the outbreak of the Second World War – some Beverlonians still remember the gaslighter, a trusted figure, who used to scoot up and down a ladder to do his job.
Many can be found in the area around the Minster, newly repainted in red and"Beverley green" and loaded with symbolism. The lamps used to be on Toll Gavel, but kept getting hit by trucks.