Kings Cross gasometer

[editor]

http://www.urban75.org/london/images/gasometer.jpg

I passed this tonight, and grabbed a couple of shots with my Ricoh GR camera.

Once one four famous gasometers serving the area around Kings Cross, this one - officially known as "Single Gasholder No 8" is the lone survivor and faces an uncertain future.

http://www.urban75.org/london/images/gasometer1.jpg
Originally erected by the Imperial Gas Light and Coke Company in 1880 and decommissioned in the 1980s, there is an unexpected twist to the story: far from being scrapped, all the Grade II-listed gasometers have been carefully stored with planes to restore them once work on the St Pancras Eurostar rail link (and the regeneration of the area) is completed.

Let's hope it happens because gasometers rock!

[editor]

The whole area around Kings Cross is definitely worth another look too. It's changing rapidly and there's some really interesting stuff to snap that won't be around for long.

http://www.urban75.org/london/images/constitution.jpg

Here's a picture taken from the Constitution boozer on the canal by St Pancras Way

[Hocus Eye.]

Me and a friend tried to start a rumour that our local gasometer was being used to store nerve gas many years ago. We were hoping it would affect local property prices so that we could get into the housing market.

It didn't work obviously, or the rumour would have spread from town to town causing property prices to fall all over the country. I don't suggest anyone try it again, you would probably get locked up as a terrorist.

I am slightly surprised to see that the gasometers being discussed are being stored with 'planes'. Perhaps it is a secret RAF Stealth Plan.

Edited to add: one of the supposed problems with buying in Russian gas to keep our power stations running is that apparently we have insufficient storage capacity to hold spare gas capacity which would act as a cushion against fluctuating prices. Many towns still have lots of these old gasometer going back to the days of the making of Town Gas from coke. They could readily be brought back into use if the will was there.

[drag0n]

I used to be fascinated by the one in kennington. It was right near my primary school.

[zenie]

I used to be fascinated by the one in kennington. It was right near my primary school.

I love watching them to see if they'll go up or down :o

Nice pics ed! Moody :cool:

[marty21]

i worked in kings cross for a few years, the area is changing rapidly, not totally in a good way

[zenie]

i worked in kings cross for a few years, the area is changing rapidly, not totally in a good way

In what way? yuppies?

I dont really know that area too well (well it is north of the river :o)

Might go for a stroll with the dog next week :cool:

[marty21]

In what way? yuppies?

I dont really know that area too well (well it is north of the river :o)

Might go for a stroll with the dog next week :cool:


slightly, they are redeveloping a vast area by the station, seemed to be ignoring local views, there used to be some great victorian looking streets (film makers used to love them), i'm not sure tbh, if these have survived all the works

[Dan U]

slightly, they are redeveloping a vast area by the station, seemed to be ignoring local views, there used to be some great victorian looking streets (film makers used to love them), i'm not sure tbh, if these have survived all the works

quite a lot is being pulled down

progress eh!

[Blagsta]

Here's my pic of it

http://www.avgp39.dsl.pipex.com/london/photos/DSC01396.jpg

[Skim]

Gasometers give me the creeps but they are very photogenic :cool:

This thread has inspired me to have a walk around King's Cross – I haven't visited much since living there a few years ago and it's been changing so much.

I took a photo of that gasometer a few years ago :)

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/221/477010442_a373d0353c.jpg

[editor]

I'm amazed my pic even came out to be honest: it was 10pm with no light and I had to photograph the gasometer through a wire fence with a 1second handheld exposure.

(((Ricoh GR)))

[editor]

slightly, they are redeveloping a vast area by the station, seemed to be ignoring local views, there used to be some great victorian looking streets (film makers used to love them), i'm not sure tbh, if these have survived all the worksThe whole area from Kings Cross to Camden is one vast building site and there's an uncomfortable mix of beautiful Victorian architecture and cheapo modern commercial structures/'lifestyle' apartments.

Some of the restoration work on the east side of the St Pancras station building is immaculate though.

[N1 Buoy]

The Developers don't want to waste any space in this area: here's a design for the Kings X Gas Holders. It looks like at least one of them will be filled in with flats.

http://www.wtslondon.org/_assets/images/Kings%20Cross%20design.jpg

Perhaps like this one in Dublin:

http://www.egpropertylink.com/blogs/london-residential-research/dub-gas.bmp

[catrina]

Well, I can't say I'd be put off if they did fill them with flats. I take the bus up that way home from work, and I'm amazed at the sheer amount of unused space there is so central to London. What with all the complaints of housing crisis, they could house at least 10,000 people there I'd think, there's acres and acres of it! And once the rail link is complete all those temporary offices can be scrapped, as well, leaving even more room.

I agree with the editor, though. In the US, when they restore parts of old cities, they often build new versions of old style buildings, so as not to destroy the overall feel of an area. I wish they'd do that here. All this green glass and orange and wood blocks is going to be as cringeworthy as 70s concrete blocks, and we're going to be stuck with it. And if you look at all these modern flats, the ceiling height is about 7 ft. I guess that saves money and energy, but would feel really claustrophobic to me.

[poster342002]

Do any of the gasometers still around actually work anymore? When I was young there seemed to be loads of them all around London - you'd notice them rising and falling over the weeks as the gas inside them was used. Nowadays the few remaining ones all seem "stopped", if you see what I mean. They never seem to rise or fall. Does this mean they're all defunct now?

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

I love watching them to see if they'll go up or down :o

:

You will be there all day.

[N1 Buoy]

Do any of the gasometers still around actually work anymore? When I was young there seemed to be loads of them all around London - you'd notice them rising and falling over the weeks as the gas inside them was used. Nowadays the few remaining ones all seem "stopped", if you see what I mean. They never seem to rise or fall. Does this mean they're all defunct now?

Unfortunately I know far too much about this topic for my liking and yes there are a lot of operational gas holder installations in London (42 infact). They are still being used as it is too expensive to upgrade all the infrastructure to a high pressure gas system that doesn't require that type of storage.

It would be ideal if these things could be decomissioned for as they are an inefficent use of land. I've seen some good ideas for some currently operational sites including creating parks within the listed structures.

[poster342002]

Unfortunately I know far too much about this topic for my liking and yes there are a lot of operational gas holder installations in London (42 infact). They are still being used as it is too expensive to upgrade all the infrastructure to a high pressure gas system that doesn't require that type of storage.

It would be ideal if these things could be decomissioned for as they are an inefficent use of land. I've seen some good ideas for some currently operational sites including creating parks within the listed structures.
Interesting stuff. Is it true that Northern Ireland doesn't have any gas-supply at all - even though the Republic to it's south does? Why's that, if so? :confused:

[tommers]

The whole area around Kings Cross is definitely worth another look too. It's changing rapidly and there's some really interesting stuff to snap that won't be around for long.

http://www.urban75.org/london/images/constitution.jpg

Here's a picture taken from the Constitution boozer on the canal by St Pancras Way

actually that picture is taken from the towpath next to the constitution (which is above the lights to the left).

but then you know that, and I just wanted to shoe horn in how much I love the Constitution. It is my favouritest pub in the whole of Camden.

[editor]

actually that picture is taken from the towpath next to the constitution (which is above the lights to the left).

but then you know that, and I just wanted to shoe horn in how much I love the Constitution. It is my favouritest pub in the whole of Camden.Well, if you want to get itty-picky, it was actually taken with the camera resting on the wall of the Constitution, by the canal-side entrance to the basement bar. So there. :D

[London_Calling]

I love watching them to see if they'll go up or down :o


And the gasometers . . .

[FunkyUK]

http://i.pbase.com/u9/funkyuk/medium/7167549.KingxCrossGasworkscropped.jpg

nice pics ed. I took this a few years back when there was more than just the one.

[editor]

I went back today and grabbed some more shots on my Ricoh GX100 camera.


http://www.urban75.org/london/images/gasometer12.jpg


http://www.urban75.org/london/images/gasometer14.jpg


http://www.urban75.org/london/kings-cross-gasometer.html

[Sunray]

How many cameras do you have?

There are a couple of these things by Broadway market, clearly operational as they do go up and down. Used for dramatic effect in the film Spider by David Cronenberg.

I'd have to download the movie for the pictures.