This photo was taken in 1983 at Caldergrove House just before it was demolished. An old Gas Lamp, with the pipes very much on display. Just looking at this, you can perhaps get an idea of how dangerous these kind of lamps were. Pipes could fail, joints open up, gas could leak. Not to mention the dangers of naked flames trying to get them lit.
Sadly, accidents in Blantyre’s history with gas and flames happened all too often, some of them fatal.
Blantyre Gas Company started in 1862. Wardrop Moore’s Greenhall brickworks were used to build the works at Stonefield. The annual AGM was held in July each year.
The unit price of gas in Blantyre was much more expensive than nearby Hamilton or Coatbridge due to the lack of network pipes and for this reason it often saw people trying to obtain illegal gas. On 18th February 1875, an advert was placed looking for contractors to build a new tank, expanding the capacity.
In the 1870’s and 1880’s Mr David Fisher was the Works Manager. The gas contractors responsible for installing gas in street lights and in some homes, was Mr William Hart and Co, based at Hart’s Buildings on Glasgow Road. William also had an ironmonger store and was also an advertised plumber. Serving High Blantyre was Mr James Hazeals.