William
Murdoch introduced the concept of gas for domestic use in 1812,
and for the next 60 to 70 years the fuel was almost exclusively
for lighting. It produced a much stronger light than either
candles or oil lamps, could be piped throughout the houses of
the upper and emerging middle classes and stayed alight in the
draughty houses of our ancestors. It actually took the introduction
of another and better fuel for lighting, in the form of electricity,
to drive the private gas companies and their associated manufacturers
into changing direction.
Socially this coincided with the separation of heating and cooking
and the creation of artisan and middle class housing that featured
a kitchen as well as a ‘living room’. With cooking
taking place elsewhere, the living room fire moved away from
the range design to purpose built units where the heating characteristics
were optimised. Coupled with this was the desire of the average
middle class user for fires that required less work than their
existing coal fireplaces.
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