Tag Archives: Tunbridge Wells Gas Company

Further images from the Demolition of the High Brooms Gas Works

The cranes moved in to start demolishing (or ‘deconstructing’ if you prefer) the final Victorian gas holder on Monday, by Thursday morning they had almost reduced its height by half as they steadily moved around the structure attaching long chains from one crane whilst the workers were suspended in a cage from a second crane using welding gear to cut away large sections which are then lowered to the ground and added to the ever growing pile of scrap metal.

This is an image heavy blog entry so would not recommend viewing it on a mobile device unless you are connected by WiFi.

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Many thanks also go to Tim Bodiam who has supplied some of the images displayed here in the slideshow (as marked!)

Further images can be viewed on the LoveTunbridgeWells.com website at: http://lovetunbridgewells.com/gallery/events/2014-2/gasworks-demolition/

If you have something to contribute to this blog, or just want to let me know you are enjoying it feel free to comment below, email me at HighbroomsSociety@gmail.com or send me a message on twitter to: @HighbroomsSoc

Copyright for all images belongs to Daniel Marsh @danieljmarsh unless otherwise stated – please do not replicate or use in any form without prior permission being granted.

Watching it come down

The last of the giants in High Brooms is coming down….

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Following on from previous entries about the Victorian gasometers in High Brooms today has seen the arrival of the heavy plant that will be used to dismantle the final giant structure that housed the expansion chamber when it was full of coal gas back in the days when the Tunbridge Wells Gas Company made and supplied gas to light peoples houses.

Victorian Gasometer at High Brooms, July 2013

I remember as a child looking at this chamber as it slowly moved up and down within the steel frame but it has not been used for many many years (the gas is stored in the pipe networks these days) and the site has been desolate awaiting redevelopment but still dominating the skyline of the local area.

The Gas Works as they were in 1938 (courtesy of Mick White via New Old Tunbridge Wells Photos on facebook)

I arrived at the site hoping to get some shots of the workers in the crane cage with their welding gear fired up cutting away but I timed it with the arrival of heavy rain and the cage was already being lowered to the ground, I waited for a while hoping that they would resume the work and was rewarded with a beautiful rainbow over High Brooms instead.

Cranes set up for removal of the main structure

I will endeavour to get some more photos as the huge steel sections are cut away and the structure is reduced back into the ground – I would really appreciate it if you have taken photos that you are willing to share here as well – just zip them across to me at the usual address as below and I will credit you for your works!

Close up on the rainbow over High Brooms

Copyright for all images belongs to Daniel Marsh @danieljmarsh unless otherwise stated – please do not replicate or use in any form without prior permission being granted.

Dominating the skyline - the view from Holmewood Road

Still dominating the skyline in January 2014 – the view from Holmewood Road

The floods in High Brooms!

Watching it come down – update on the demolition of the Highbrooms gas holders

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Watch it come down! Demolition underway…. gas holder reduced to ground level in the background – July 2013

With the arrival of July the huge red machines with savage jaws have been ripping out the Victorian gas holders in High Brooms for about three weeks and they seem to be making good progress. My earlier blog entry on this subject showed that the demolition company had just broken through the outer skin on one of the main holders but now large sections have been removed and the machines are additionally attacking it from the inside.

The holders have been on this site since around 1880 and were still in use until the late 1960’s and many people in the area had ties to those who worked here and were involved in the production of coal gas, and even those that weren’t can still remember the smell!

The New Gas Works, Tunbridge Wells – 1880 (photo TWBC_museum)

Susan Roberts grew up in the area and added the following memories: My dad worked at the gasworks in the mid 1950’s and I can remember watching him working near the top of the holder when we lived in Holmewood Road. We could barely watch our TV then because of the “ghosting” caused by the holders. So sad to see them go. Did you know when we were kids and you had whooping cough you would be pushed around the perimeter and apparently the sulphur that would be in the air helped stop the coughing. My dad suffered from psoriasis and was told by the doctor that checked him when applying for the job there that it would disappear – it did.

Brickworks in Highbrooms next to the Victorian gas holders

Others, who shall remain nameless, have other memories of entering the site and climbing the tall metal towers or firing mud at them from the end of a stick to see who could leave the highest mark.

Access to the site is obviously restricted for safety reasons but you can still see the work progressing from a distance. Today the inner workings and Victorian construction have now been fully exposed showing how metal plates were hot riveted over the seams to prevent the gas from leaking.

Demolition of the Highbrooms gas holders – progress July 2013

Copyright for all images belongs to Daniel Marsh @danieljmarsh unless otherwise stated – please do not replicate or use in any form without prior permission being granted.

Tunbridge Wells Gasworks plans (photo TWBC_museum)

And so it begins – after a century of dominating the skyline of Highbrooms the Victorian gas holders are finally being demolished

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Highbrooms has been witness to many strange sounds during the last week as the work to remove the Victorian gas holders has finally begun. Having stood tall like ancient giants overlooking the houses in the area for the last century they are finally being demolished with sections being cut and ripped away from the walls, revealing the inner workings of these great industrial chambers.

N.B. Clicking on the images opens up a full resolution image in a new browser window if you want to view in more detail

The view from Holmewood Road…

Many, like me, who have grown up in and around this area have always known the gas works to be there, maybe they are a blot of the landscape but also they have become quite an icon of the area, being visible from many of the Victorian houses on the hill to the west as well as the newer houses all around and of course from the train line that runs in their shadow.

Across the railway line

When asked it is a mixed response that you get from the locals, many will be glad to see them go as some consider them to be a massive eyesore (of course their opinion may change when the new housing arrives bringing added congestion under the narrow railway bridges!) but others who have memories and attachment through family connection will be sad to see the area undergo yet another major change and the loss of its history in the name of urban development.

I have been wandering around the site, prior to the closure of the overgrown alleyway that gives the best views of the work, in order to capture a few images, hopefully of historical value, and will continue to try and collect a few more images as the work progresses, I hope you enjoy these too.