Water Heating pre 1910

(This is an element of ‘Heating’)Whilst water was heated over a fire and then on a solid fuel stove and eventually on a gas stove, it was, necessarily, a slow process heating a full container for purposes such as washing clothes or the weekly(?) bath. A huge step forward was to heat water as it was flowing and thus provide a continuous source of hot water. Gas has the advantage of providing very large amounts of heat from a relatively small volume, unlike electricity for which very large cables would be necessary to achieve the same performance. Once what we would call an Instantaneous water heater had been developed other equipment followed – and William Sugg produced some of the most entertaining!

Front Cover of October 1888 List No.8
The Instantaneous Water Heater

This delightful display was photographed in the North Thames Gas Museum at Bromley by Bow before it was closed. You may have noted the comment in the leaflet above – ‘Before getting into the bath care should be taken to see that the temperature of the water is suitable and the burners turned out’.

UNDER CONTINUOUS DEVELOPMENT – PLEASE TRY AGAIN LATER

“The Early History of Gas Lighting”, as published in “Once a Week”, October 26, 1872.

Funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth II – and Gas Lights

The Removal of Gaslights in Westminster 2021

The End of Street Lighting by Gas in the UK

The Real Story behind the Gas Lamps & Lamplighters in Mary Poppins Returns.

200 Years of Gas Supply 1792-1992

Site Background & Header

The background to the site is a modern picture of Westminster, the ‘home’ of William Sugg for so many years. It was taken from the roof of The House of Lords during a visit by the Heritage Group of CIBSE in 2004 and centres on Westminster Abbey. The header carries a woodcut of ‘Vincent Works’, the Sugg factory, which might well have been visible from this vantage point. William used this on one of his letter heads. The first and oldest logo also shows the intimate connection with Westminster as it carries the Westminster portcullis with the inscription ‘en avant’ – ‘in advance’. The second logo replaced the earlier one around 1920 and was used right the way through the century until the ‘modern’ era when the ‘flame’ logo was applied to the new era of gas heating equipment with the new factory in Crawley.