Survey Data

Reg No

50020490


Rating

Regional


Categories of Special Interest

Architectural, Social, Technical


Previous Name

Alliance & Consumers' Gas Company


Original Use

Chimney


In Use As

Playground


Date

1840 - 1860


Coordinates

317308, 234179


Date Recorded

14/04/2015


Date Updated

--/--/--


Description

Circular-plan industrial chimney, erected c.1850, now retained as a feature in public play space. Red brick, laid in English garden wall bond, with decorative string courses, corbelled red brick balustrade having short red brick pilasters, granite coping and polychrome brick parapet. Square-headed door opening to base with red brick architrave, render lintel and sheet metal door. Recent climbing grips to base. Set to north of playground.

Appraisal

This impressive chimney survives as a landmark and reminder of the industrial heritage of the area. It formed part of the Alliance & Consumers’ Gas company gasworks. Gas, in the nineteenth-century, was important for domestic and commercial purposes, providing a source of heat, power and light before the arrival of electricity. The addition of climbing grips at the base allows the chimney to function as part of the playground