Electrical specification in sales particulars. When and where?

I was asked out a couple of weeks ago for afternoon tea in the garden of the mother-in-laws’ friends daughter and husband.

After tea we were invited into the garage to see the cars, there’s the moment when you go weak at the knees when you enter another guys garage and think “Why isn’t mine like this” the steam car was the most impressive thing in there, but actually the MGP was exceptional as well and doesn’t use a gallon of water per mile in addition to the fuel.

The auction particulars are for Wednesday, the 12th day of July, 1911.

It is described as being on the site of the old Hall and completed in 1897. It goes on the say that during 1899-1903 it was considerably enlarged.

The Estate enjoys the advantage of ready accessibility, being within about 2½ miles of Hook Station on the Main Line of the London and South-Western Railway.

Regards

BOD

So what's the answer, BOD?

I think that there was quite a boom period at the turn of the 19th/20th centuries.

My house was completed circa 1902 and there is no evidence of early 'lectric. By contrast, there is evidence of gas lighting in the circa 1923 extension, so presumably candles and oil lamps before then.

The house was requisitioned in 1940 - it is difficult to imagine that it didn't have electricity by then, but I haven't ever found any sign of pre-1960s electrics. Must search more!

I worked at a large country house where my great grandad had been a gardener for the Players (cigarette) family in the early 1900’s, I found loads of lead gas pipe work, but it had never had a mains gas supply. 

There had been an acetylene bank outside the back door with water dripping down onto carbide, the owners who I worked for said it was still in place when they bought the house and they tried it out once, and only once, as it produced eight inch long yellow and sooty flames and once was enough.

Acetylene light was fairly popular back in day. If properly installed and used it give a good light at a lower cost than private electricity generating plant.

The acetylene generator was invariably fully automatic, giving a constant gas pressure at any load.

Alternatives included petrol vapour which was surprisingly safe. The vapour was produced in a central generator and piped around the house to be burnt in standard gas lighting equipment. Older members may recall the wartime film “How went the day” in which a petrol vapour lighting plant is depicted, though not accurately.

“Hollow wire lighting” was popular in the USA, less so here. This used liquid fuel under pressure from a central pressure tank, distributed via microbore copper tube.  The lamps vapourised the fuel and worked as a modern pressure lantern does, but with the pressure tank remote instead of built into each lamp. Dangerous, but very bright with the largest lamps being equivalent to 1,000 watts of electric light.

When I was a lad, we could buy calcium carbide from the village bicycle shop.

There used to be a gas plant at home, but its remains are long gone save for what appear to be brackets for a flue. I assume that it was a small-scale coking plant.

Calcium carbide is less used these days but is still available on line.

Acetylene for welding and cutting is usually supplied in steel cylinders these days, but modern acetylene plants do exist for on site production.

Acetylene under significant pressure is very dangerous as it is liable to spontaneous explosion. The risk is increased by use of copper pipes as in time copper acetylide forms which is even more liable to spontaneous explosions.

Some old but still extant law limits the working pressure of acetylene systems to some low figure.

Acetylene cylinders contain the gas dissolved in acetone under relatively low pressure. They are still rather dangerous. 

broadgage: 
 

Acetylene light was fairly popular back in day. 

Moreso for those “down pits” using the miner's “Davy Lamp”. As kids we would buy the same Carbide to make bombs.

Jaymack

The Davy lamp was a safe type of oil lamp, not acetylene.

Acetylene lamps would be most unwise in a coal mine, but were used in other mines such as salt mines or for metallic ores.