Conserving gas light

Up to 1934 or 35, our house only had Gas, and this was our main source of artificial light. In the living room we only had one central light, two gas mantles inside a

fancy glass shade with a double chain and finger pull pendant to a lever by which the gas flow was controlled. We tried to manage as long as possible by the firelight as the room got darker, as you had to put pennies in the gas-meter to ensure a continuous supply. The mantles were lit by using a taper, (a stiff slender ‘straw’ of wax round a string wick), lit from the fire and held close to the mantles while you tured the gas on. You had to be careful not to touch the mantle as they were very brittle and easily damaged, but they gave good light to the whole room. If Dad was due home as it was getting dusk and I complained that I couldn’t read my book just by the firelight, Mum would say that she was not going to light the gas till Dad gets home or he’ll think we’ve had it on all afternoon, use a candle.

For an 8 year old to balance a book and a candle whilst perched on a stool is not easy but you accepted the ruling. We used a candle to go to the bedrooms or down into the cellar, sometimes a storm lantern or a Tilley lamp if working down there. The cellar was large (to me) with the coal place walled off in one comer and one half of the rest had a thick stone shelf on which perishable goods were kept, plus a meat safe - a wooden shelved box with a mesh ventilated door- as although flies were rare in that cold room you couldn’t be too careful; even the milk jug had a fine linen beaded-edge cover.

Gas lighting in the two bedrooms was via naked flames , one near each bed. Each consisted of a 12” long slender pipe hinged from a wall bracket and gas tap to swing out from lying against the wall. When swung out, turned on and lit by a taper you had to adjust the flame so as not to scorch the ceiling for although they were set about 2ft below, if left unattended they could do damage. We weren’t allowed to keep them on for long anyhow as gas was expensive.