Swan Village Gas Works - History

History

A royal charter founded the Birmingham Gas Light and Coke Company in 1812. Thirteen years later, an Act was produced which transformed the company into the Birmingham and Staffordshire Gas Light Company to manufacture and supply gas to Birmingham and a number of surrounding towns, including West Bromwich; the lighting of the main road through the town was also mentioned in the Act. The Old Works (as seen on the map) were the first part of the complex to be constructed, and when completed in 1829 were the largest in the country.

Coal was originally delivered to the Old Works by the Ridgacre Canal, with a basin connected to the canal constructed to allow the loading and unloading of coal barges. Eventually the railway arrived in 1854 with the opening of the Great Western Railway's Birmingham to Wolverhampton line. Swan Village Station was situated on the line, next to the works. From the station branched the Great Bridge line linking up with the South Staffordshire Line which ran to Dudley. The Swan Village Basin line also branched off just before the station at Swan Village that fed into the works. This line was solely used for freight transportation only. With the railways in place, more gas production was possible, thus lowering the price of gas for consumers. Canal traffic diminished as a result. The photograph on the right shows the works with the Swan Village Basin line feeding into the complex. The gas holder on the right still exists today, albeit being empty hence why it is missing height.

Over the years, changing working patterns and the increase in demand for gas following nationalisation in 1949 meant that the works needed to expand. A decision was made by the Gas committee of Birmingham City Council, and the New Works were opened in 1953. It was fortunate that surplus land bought a century and a quarter previously allowed for expansion. The increased rail traffic necessitated extensive new sidings outside the works to accommodate additional wagons.

With the discovery of natural gas in the North Sea during the 1960s, coal gas became a thing of the past. The development of the National Grid meant that delivering coal by railway was an out of date method, thus the Swan Village Basin line was removed. The Great Bridge line closed in 1964 as a result of the Beeching Axe with Swan Village Station eventually facing closure in 1972.