INTRODUCTION OF LIGHTING BY COAL-GAS. 17 



sent an insurmountable obstacle to its further progress. Lighting a town 

 with gas was still thought a visionary scheme ; Sir Humphry Davy considered 

 the idea so ridiculous, that he asked " if it were intended to take the dome of 

 St. Paul's for a gasometer ?" To which Mr. Clegg replied, that he hoped to 

 see the day when gasometers would not be much less. They are now (1841) 

 made 100 feet diameter and 39 feet deep ! 



The Gas Company at first fitted up and supplied shops and houses with gas 

 free of expense, in order to induce others to adopt the plan ; so things went on 

 for nearly two years, with only a few retorts in action. It was strangely believed 

 that the pipes conveying the gas must be hot ! When the passages to the 

 House of Commons were lighted, the architect insisted upon the pipes being 

 placed four or five inches from the wall, for fear of fire, and the curious would 

 apply the gloved hand to the pipe to ascertain the temperature. Mr. Maiben 

 (a Scotch gentleman, I believe), who had erected several small apparatus, took 

 out a patent for gas-pipes made of wood and paper. So great was the difficulty 

 of obtaining service-pipes, that they were also formed of old musket-barrels, 

 attached to each other, the muzzle of one being screwed into the breach of 

 the next. It was some time before the manufacturers could be prevailed upon 

 to make welded tubes for gas-pipes : Mr. Russell's patent for welded pipes has 

 now superseded all other methods. 



The Insurance Companies also started objections, such as this, " If a burner 

 were by carelessness left open, what would be the consequence ? " To ob- 

 viate this fresh obstacle, Mr. Clegg invented the burner described hereafter, 

 which answered the purpose of overcoming the opposition of the Insurance 

 Companies, though, from the expense of manufacturing such burners, they 

 were never afterwards used. 



In 1813 Mr. Clegg commenced the Gas-works at Peter Street, Westminster ; 

 the ground on which they were erected was a swamp, nearly on a level with 

 the Thames, and formerly overflowed by the river ; it was therefore impos- 

 sible to sink for a tank, and an iron one was then very expensive ; this gave 

 rise to Mr. Clegg's revolving gasometer, which worked with greater regularity 

 and less friction than any other ; but the expense of construction was as great 

 as that of an iron tank ; it was besides complicated and difficult to repair. 

 The collapsing gasometer was never put into action. 



After the works at Peter Street had been some time in operation, Sir Joseph 

 Banks and several other members of the Royal Society were deputed to 



