County of London Electric Supply Company - opening of the new power house at Creekmouth, Barking, by HM King George V, 19 May 1925 - front cover
A beautifully produced brochure, resplendent in a presentation envelope, and issued by the County of London Electric Supply Company to commemorate the opening of their new power house (power station) on the banks of the River Thames at Creekmouth in Barking. This great event took place on 19 May 1925 and, one strongly suspects, was the one time Royalty set foot at Creekmouth! The brochure has a potted history of the company that has been incorporated in 1891 to serve parts of South West London and some inner parishes adjacent to the City of London itself. These two supply areas were the reasoning behind their first two power stations at City Road, Islington and in Wandsworth.
The UK's fledgling electricial supply industry was rather an unholy mess with not just a multiplicity of supply undertakings (private and municipal) but also a wide range of supply voltages and phases. Some consolidation took place and the County of London Company was typical of the larger players in that they extended their supply area serviving a multiplicity of administrative areas that did not develop undertakings of their own as well as becoming 'bulk' suppliers of power to 'independent' undertakings. By the early 1920s their supply area had grown to cover much of East London and South Essex as seen on the map.
The construction fo Barking "A" as it would become known was first mooted in post-WW1 years to firstly increase capacity and also to ensure more thermally efficient production of supply than their older and smaller stations could obtain. The riverside plant allowed easy delivery of the coal fuel by river and allowed for the necessary cooling water. The designers and consultants were Merz & McLellan, the bulk of the equipment supplied by Vickers of Barrow and the turbines were by C A Parsons.
Barking was also effectively the outcome of increased co-operation the company had with three other closely connected concerns - the City of London Electric Lighting Company; the South London Electric Supply Corporation Limited; and the South Metropolitan Electric Light and Power Company Limited. This cooperation was something increasingly demanded of the industry by increased legislation and in 1926 the Central Electricity Board was formed. The CEB not only instituted the National Grid, interconnection requiring a national standard of production, but also 'designated' efficient stations. City Road was not, and closed in 1929, Wandsworth was and Barking saw expansion with the construction of the "B" section stage that was commissioned in 1933 and reached full capacity in 1939. The Company was nationalised in 1948 and it fell to the state to construct what was Barking "C" in 1954. Barking "A" was decommissioned in 1969, "B" in 1976 and finally "C" in 1981. The whole site was then cleared.
The brochure has a number of colour plates and sketches by artist Norman Howard as well as photographs of the plant. It is spledidly printed and produced by one of the better printing houses of the day, the esteemed George W Jones, at "The Sign of the Dolphin" in Gough Square, Fleet Street.
County of London Electric Supply Company - opening of the new power house at Creekmouth, Barking, by HM King George V, 19 May 1925 - front cover
A beautifully produced brochure, resplendent in a presentation envelope, and issued by the County of London Electric Supply Company to commemorate the opening of their new power house (power station) on the banks of the River Thames at Creekmouth in Barking. This great event took place on 19 May 1925 and, one strongly suspects, was the one time Royalty set foot at Creekmouth! The brochure has a potted history of the company that has been incorporated in 1891 to serve parts of South West London and some inner parishes adjacent to the City of London itself. These two supply areas were the reasoning behind their first two power stations at City Road, Islington and in Wandsworth.
The UK's fledgling electricial supply industry was rather an unholy mess with not just a multiplicity of supply undertakings (private and municipal) but also a wide range of supply voltages and phases. Some consolidation took place and the County of London Company was typical of the larger players in that they extended their supply area serviving a multiplicity of administrative areas that did not develop undertakings of their own as well as becoming 'bulk' suppliers of power to 'independent' undertakings. By the early 1920s their supply area had grown to cover much of East London and South Essex as seen on the map.
The construction fo Barking "A" as it would become known was first mooted in post-WW1 years to firstly increase capacity and also to ensure more thermally efficient production of supply than their older and smaller stations could obtain. The riverside plant allowed easy delivery of the coal fuel by river and allowed for the necessary cooling water. The designers and consultants were Merz & McLellan, the bulk of the equipment supplied by Vickers of Barrow and the turbines were by C A Parsons.
Barking was also effectively the outcome of increased co-operation the company had with three other closely connected concerns - the City of London Electric Lighting Company; the South London Electric Supply Corporation Limited; and the South Metropolitan Electric Light and Power Company Limited. This cooperation was something increasingly demanded of the industry by increased legislation and in 1926 the Central Electricity Board was formed. The CEB not only instituted the National Grid, interconnection requiring a national standard of production, but also 'designated' efficient stations. City Road was not, and closed in 1929, Wandsworth was and Barking saw expansion with the construction of the "B" section stage that was commissioned in 1933 and reached full capacity in 1939. The Company was nationalised in 1948 and it fell to the state to construct what was Barking "C" in 1954. Barking "A" was decommissioned in 1969, "B" in 1976 and finally "C" in 1981. The whole site was then cleared.
The brochure has a number of colour plates and sketches by artist Norman Howard as well as photographs of the plant. It is spledidly printed and produced by one of the better printing houses of the day, the esteemed George W Jones, at "The Sign of the Dolphin" in Gough Square, Fleet Street.