Imperial Continental Gas Association

The Imperial Continental Gas Association was constituted in 1826 to 'manufacture and produce inflammable air or gas from coal, oil and other materials ... and to supply Cities and Towns .... in foreign countries'. It was not concerned with the British market. Its founder Major-General Sir William Congreve Bt, MP, FRS (1772-1828) had toured the continent since 1824 promoting the adoption by municipal authorities of lighting by coal gas and concluding early contracts to supply such cities as Ghent, Rotterdam, Hanover and Berlin. From its London headquarters, the Association expanded its operations abroad in succeeding decades. It negotiated contracts in Austria-Hungary, Belgium, France, Prussia and the Netherlands, took over or built gas works in foreign cities and directed production and supply through a network of British and foreign agents and engineers. Its concern initially was with the lighting by gas of public places, but by the second half of the 19th century it was also supplying domestic consumers. Towards the end of the century, it branched out into production and supply of electricity.

Many of the Association's works and premises were damaged during the First World War. In addition, in 1916-17 its holdings in Germany and Austria-Hungary suffered compulsory liquidation by the German and Austrian governments. In consequence, after 1918, there was restructuring so that operations were increasingly restricted to Belgium and France and direct supervision transferred to locally constituted subsidiary companies. In 1928-9, the following allied and subsidiary companies were formed in Belgium: Antwerpsche Gasmaatschappij (A. G.M.), formed to take over the Association's interests in the Antwerp area; Societe Electricite et Gaz de l'Agglomeration Bruxelloise (Electrogaz) and Societe Provinciale du Gaz et de l'Electricite (Provinciale), formed to serve the suburbs and outlying communes of Brussels and the rural areas of the province of Brabant; Les Cokeries du Brabant, formed to produce coke and gas; Societe de Distribution de Gaz (Distrigaz), formed to create a long-distance gas grid throughout Belgium; and Union Intercommunale des Centrales Electriques du Brabant (Interbrabant), formed to produce and transmit electricity. In 1933 a Belgian holding company, Compagnie Belge et Continentale du Gaz (Contibel), was formed to administer the subsidiaries. In France, the Association's main interest lay in the Compagnie Continentale du Gaz, formed in 1907. This remained in Association hands until 1946 when the energy industries of France were nationalised.

The role of the Association in the affairs of its subsidiaries diminished progressively after 1945. In April 1987, in the course of company restructuring, the Association went into voluntary liquidation.

The Association operated from a succession of addresses in the City of London: 29 Swithin's Lane (1824-31); Levant House, St Helen's Place (1831-35); 7 White Hart Court, Lombard Street, (1835-1864); 30-31 Clement's Lane (1864-1891); 21 Austin Friars (1891-1920); 6 London Wall (1921-27); 2 Devonshire Square (1927-79); 14 Moorfields Highwalk (1979-1987).