The Gas Museum, also known as the National Gas Museum, is situated in the former gatehouse of a

gasworks A gasworks or gas house is an industrial plant for the production of flammable gas. Many of these have been made redundant in the developed world by the use of natural gas, though they are still used for storage space. Early gasworks Coal ...

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and deals with the history of domestic and industrial gas supply. It is claimed to be "the biggest collection of gas and gas related artefacts in the world".Gas Museum leaflet (2010) The building is a

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

, dating from 1878, with a clock tower. The public museum is on two floors, with over 4000 items in storage. It was opened 29 April 1977,According to a sign in the entrance then called the John DoranJohn Doran was then the Chairman of the East Midlands Gas Board Museum. It was one of 2 museums run by the

British Gas Corporation British Gas (trading as Scottish Gas in Scotland) is an energy and home services provider in the United Kingdom. It is the trading name of British Gas Services Limited and British Gas New Heating Limited, both subsidiaries of Centrica. Serving ...

until its

privatization Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

in 1987 when it was taken over by the National Gas Museum Trust, a charity set up for the purpose. The collections of the London Gas Museum and of the South West Gas Historical Society were transferred to this site in 1998. Displays include accounts of the history of gas usage in the UK and examples of technology. There is a tableau of 1920s kitchen with gas equipment. Domestic items include washing machines, gas irons and even a gas-powered radio. Much of the collection is of items made to operate on

town gas Coal gas is a flammable gaseous fuel made from coal and supplied to the user via a piped distribution system. It is produced when coal is heated strongly in the absence of air. Town gas is a more general term referring to manufactured gaseous ...

which had to be replaced when UK gas supplies were changed over to natural gas in the 1970s, and were collected by British Gas engineers. It is run by the National Gas Museum Trust with financial support from

Centrica Centrica plc is a British multinational energy and services company with its headquarters in Windsor, Berkshire. Its principal activity is the supply of electricity and gas to consumers in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is the largest su ...

and

National Grid plc National Grid plc is a British multinational electricity and gas utility company headquartered in London, England. Its principal activities are in the United Kingdom, where it owns and operates electricity and natural gas transmission networks ...

. File:All Gas Kitchen 01.JPG, The All-Gas Kitchen, 1920s, display File:Gas Museum Upstairs 01.JPG, Part of the upstairs displays File:Gas Meters Display 01.JPG, Gas meters File:Gas Radio 01.JPG, Gas-powered radio set File:Gas Engine in the Gas Museum - geograph.org.uk - 2120293.jpg, A gas engine in the museum File:Leicester Gas Museum - Aylestone Road - geograph.org.uk - 2120285.jpg

References

External links

National Gas Museum website
Museums in Leicester Buildings and structures in Leicester Museums established in 1977 Technology museums in the United Kingdom Industry museums in England History museums in Leicestershire Industrial buildings completed in 1878 Grade II listed buildings in Leicestershire Natural gas infrastructure in the United Kingdom Gas museums 1878 establishments in England {{UK-museum-stub

See also

References

External links