6. A new form of business began in London during the Regency
London saw the formation of the first public gas work in 1812 when the Chartered Gas Light and Coke Company opened for business. The first public gas work in the world, it supplied gas from coal and coke for heating and lighting. By the end of the Regency Era over 290 miles of underground piping crisscrossed London, and other works operated across Great Britain. The pipes supplied coal gas to over 51,000 burners. London’s famed fog found itself intensified from the residue of burning coke, coal, and coal gas. The company was run by a Board of Directors, which hired Samuel Clegg, who supervised its rapid expansion. Clegg also developed a practical gas meter to monitor usage by customers.
Clegg invented lime purifiers to cleanse coal gas of some of its impurities, producing a cleaner and brighter flame. He also erected a gasworks at the Royal Mint during the Regency, as well as in other locations in and around London. The company grew to include docks, warehouses, colliers, locomotives and rolling rail stock, horse-drawn vehicles, and barges, all for the movement of coal and coke. Clegg’s gas meter, for which he received patents in 1815 and 1818, remained the basis for measuring gas usage into the 21st century, though with many modifying improvements over the years. The Chartered Gas Light and Coke Company remained in operation until 1949. Its coal gas and coke-fueled Britain’s industrial revolution.