Collection GB 0074 ACC/2216 - NATIONAL LIGHT AND HEAT COMPANY

Identity area

Reference code

GB 0074 ACC/2216

Title

NATIONAL LIGHT AND HEAT COMPANY

Date(s)

  • 1807 (Creation)

Level of description

Collection

Extent and medium

0.05 linear metres

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

Frederick Albert Winsor, born Friedrich Albrecht Winzler in Moravia, came to London in 1803 to exploit his ideas for the provision of public and domestic lighting from gas. When Winsor arrived in London he had much public scepticism to contend with. He established himself in Cheapside and in May 1804 obtained a patent for gas-making apparatus. Over the next five years he was to be awarded three further patents for gas generation. He began his campaign in 1804 with a series of public lectures at the Lyceum Theatre, and included a demonstration of an ornate chandelier and an explanation of how gas could be conveyed to different rooms in a house. He acquired premises for gas manufacture in Mayfair. In 1806 he relocated at 97 Pall Mall, and in 1807 he staged spectacular public demonstrations of gas lighting on the walls of Carlton House and in Pall Mall. All this was accompanied by a volley of colourful pamphlets and advertisements, some in other languages.

In 1807 Winsor issued a prospectus for the grandiose New Patriotic Imperial and National Light and Heat Company. He claimed that annual profits would amount to £229 million, of which nine-tenths would go towards redeeming the national debt. Individuals subscribing £50 could expect an annual return of £6000 and an eventual capital appreciation of £120,000. Few were taken in by this (though Winsor is said to have raised nearly £50,000 by subscription) and he was publicly ridiculed by such well-known public figures as Walter Scott and Humphry Davy. Nevertheless, hard-headed businessmen began to feel that there might be money in gas. An important consideration was that Winsor had recognized that the future of gas lay not in local generation but in central generation, and in distribution to a large number of customers through a network of mains and pipes.

In the same year a group of influential backers, led by James Ludovic Grant, met at the Crown and Anchor in the Strand to try to launch some sort of public venture. At that time any company raising capital by selling shares was deemed a partnership: if it failed, all its members were held personally liable for losses. It was therefore decided to seek a charter by act of Parliament. An initial application in 1809 seeking to raise £1 million failed, largely through opposition by rivals such as Murdock and the younger James Watt. However, a more modest application for £200,000 was successful in 1810, though stringent conditions were attached. By 1810 these had been fulfilled and on 9 June the Gas Light and Coke Company-commonly known as the chartered company-was formally established, with Grant as its first governor.

Source: Trevor I. Williams, 'Winsor, Frederick Albert (1763-1830)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004

Archival history

GB 0074 ACC/2216 1807 Collection 0.05 linear metres Winsor , Frederick Albert , 1763-1830 , gas engineer

Frederick Albert Winsor, born Friedrich Albrecht Winzler in Moravia, came to London in 1803 to exploit his ideas for the provision of public and domestic lighting from gas. When Winsor arrived in London he had much public scepticism to contend with. He established himself in Cheapside and in May 1804 obtained a patent for gas-making apparatus. Over the next five years he was to be awarded three further patents for gas generation. He began his campaign in 1804 with a series of public lectures at the Lyceum Theatre, and included a demonstration of an ornate chandelier and an explanation of how gas could be conveyed to different rooms in a house. He acquired premises for gas manufacture in Mayfair. In 1806 he relocated at 97 Pall Mall, and in 1807 he staged spectacular public demonstrations of gas lighting on the walls of Carlton House and in Pall Mall. All this was accompanied by a volley of colourful pamphlets and advertisements, some in other languages.

In 1807 Winsor issued a prospectus for the grandiose New Patriotic Imperial and National Light and Heat Company. He claimed that annual profits would amount to £229 million, of which nine-tenths would go towards redeeming the national debt. Individuals subscribing £50 could expect an annual return of £6000 and an eventual capital appreciation of £120,000. Few were taken in by this (though Winsor is said to have raised nearly £50,000 by subscription) and he was publicly ridiculed by such well-known public figures as Walter Scott and Humphry Davy. Nevertheless, hard-headed businessmen began to feel that there might be money in gas. An important consideration was that Winsor had recognized that the future of gas lay not in local generation but in central generation, and in distribution to a large number of customers through a network of mains and pipes.

In the same year a group of influential backers, led by James Ludovic Grant, met at the Crown and Anchor in the Strand to try to launch some sort of public venture. At that time any company raising capital by selling shares was deemed a partnership: if it failed, all its members were held personally liable for losses. It was therefore decided to seek a charter by act of Parliament. An initial application in 1809 seeking to raise £1 million failed, largely through opposition by rivals such as Murdock and the younger James Watt. However, a more modest application for £200,000 was successful in 1810, though stringent conditions were attached. By 1810 these had been fulfilled and on 9 June the Gas Light and Coke Company-commonly known as the chartered company-was formally established, with Grant as its first governor.

Source: Trevor I. Williams, 'Winsor, Frederick Albert (1763-1830)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004

Document donated December 1985.

Records of the National Light and Heat Company, comprising mounted facsimile of programme for admission to meeting at 97 Pall Mall to establish the National Light and Heat Company, to exploit F A Winsor's hydrocarbonic lights. Facsimile undated, original item 1807.

One item

Available for general access.

Copyright rests with the depositor.
English

Fit

Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm

Original in the possession of Mr W H Bennett, Minst Gas E, of Castle Gate, Reigate.

For the records of the Chartered Gas Light and Coke Company see B/GLCC.

Stirling Everard, "History of the Gas, Light and Coke Company" (Guildhall Library reference 24.41 EVE).
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997. July to October 2009 Company archives Industry Power industry Gas industry Energy policy Gas supply Energy supply Information sources Documents Business records Service industries Utilities Gas companies Winsor , Frederick Albert , 1763-1830 , gas engineer New Patriotic Imperial and National Light and Heat Company Gas Light and Coke Company , 1812-1949 x Chartered Gas Light and Coke Company

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Document donated December 1985.

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Records of the National Light and Heat Company, comprising mounted facsimile of programme for admission to meeting at 97 Pall Mall to establish the National Light and Heat Company, to exploit F A Winsor's hydrocarbonic lights. Facsimile undated, original item 1807.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

One item

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Available for general access.

Conditions governing reproduction

Copyright rests with the depositor.

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

  • Latin

Language and script notes

English

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

For the records of the Chartered Gas Light and Coke Company see B/GLCC.

Finding aids

Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Related descriptions

Notes area

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

London Metropolitan Archives

Rules and/or conventions used

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

    Sources

    Accession area