William Sugg & Co

Funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth II – and Gas Lights

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The end of the amazing reign of our late Queen Elizabeth II was marked by a truly majestic series of events in London and finally in Windsor and, whilst not wishing to belittle any aspect of the ceremony there was for some of us an additional feature that linked us to the story. Because of the remarkable coverage by the BBC we were able to glimpse many historic locations that retained original William Sugg gas lights going back to well before Her Majesty – indeed as far as HM Queen Victoria when Buckingham Palace was fitted with the magnificent lamp clusters on the front gate posts dating back to 1901 – and still on gas. There are many Sugg lights supplied around the same time to Windsor Castle, most if not all of which have been converted to electricity but still show their handsome age.

At the entrance to Westminster Hall in New Palace Yard there are 4, 8-Panel Sugg gas globes standing sentinel to witness the occasion as they have for generations.
The Gun Carriage arrives to collect the coffin after the Lying in State.
Gas lamps at the entrance to Westminster Abbey.
Passing the gas lamps and into Horseguards Arch from Whitehall.
Exiting Horseguards Arch past two Grosvenor gas lamps onto Horseguards Parade.
Down The Mall with a lit gas Grosvenor flanking the way.
Past the main entrance to Buckingham Palace with the 1901 Sugg gas lights.
Another view of the coffin passing Buckingham Palace on its way to Constitution Hill.
The flambeaux at the top of Constitution Hill
The Gun Carriage enters The Wellington Arch flanked by a pair of Windsor lamps.
Windsor Castle awaiting the arrival of the hearse overlooked by an original special Sugg fixture from around 1900 converted to electricity.
A squeeze through the gate with two more original William Sugg lamps converted to electricity.

Finally, heading to the Chapel for the final rest. RIP Your Majesty.

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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.

William Sugg & Co