The Bethnal Green gasholders have spent over 150 years overlooking Regent’s Canal. Now, archaeologists from UCL are urging locals to help discover the memories behind these giant structures.
The site was established by the Imperial Gas Light and Coke Company in 1853, to store gas for their Shoreditch works on what is now Haggerston Park.
These gasholders are some of the oldest in the world. Gasholder No.2 was completed in 1866, making it 156 years old and the earliest surviving large gasholder frame in the world.
In 2012, the site was decommissioned and is soon to be redeveloped for housing. However the towers will remain as they are.
The archaeology team at UCL have undertaken the mission to trace the history of these gasholders, and what they meant to the community.
Senior buildings archaeologist Dr Michael Shapland said ‘The gasholders at Marian Place have been a landmark for generations of local residents, as well as for traffic moving up and down Regent’s Canal over the years.’
Have you or anyone you know worked in these gasholders? Have you lived among these vast structures? Then get in touch!
2 Chapel Place, Portslade, East Sussex BN41 1DR
01273 426830
m.shapland@ucl.ac.uk