Former Gasworks

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

An extensive complex of buildings and structures used for gas making and storage between 1855 and 1987. For the purposes of this description, the site has been divided into 17 components, numbered clockwise (see sketch map). Most of site is enclosed in rubble stone walling with some brick walling to the south boundary.

1. Manager’s house
A three-bay, two-storey building with two-storey rear return and outshot, aligned east-west along Irish Quarter South, at the north end of the site. This building dates from c.1855 and was built to house the manager of the gasworks. In 1947, the building was converted to offices and a showroom. In 2002, it became a visitor reception area, exhibition rooms and library for Flame.

Pitched hipped natural slate roof, with skylight to rear return. Rendered brick chimney to each gable and one to the return. Cast iron half-round rainwater gutters and down pipes. Random rubble walls are lined, painted and rendered.

The principal façade faces north on to Irish Quarter West. There are stucco quoins at both ends of this elevation. At centre is the former vehicular entrance to the site, set in an advanced stucco surround and containing a pair of folding tongue-and-leaf doors. The ground floor entrance passage has been converted to a reception room (see interior descripton). To the left of this opening is a 6/6 timber sliding sash window with stone cill (as are all other cills unless otherwise stated). To right is a 2x1-paned timber shop window (concrete cill). At first floor level are three 6/3 sliding sash windows, all in line with the ground floor openings.

The east gable was formerly abutted by a single-storey thatched house, the ghost of which is still discernible.

The south (rear) elevation has a doorway to centre, containing a pair of glazed timber doors with side- and overlights. At left is a 6/6 sliding sash window. There are to 6/3 sash windows to the first floor, over the ground floor openings.

The right bay of the rear elevation is abutted by a two-storey return. It has a hipped natural slate roof; its rainwater goods and walls are detailed as the main block. There are 6/3 and 6/6 sash windows to the ground and first floors respectively of its west elevation and a small 1x2-paned window to the first floor of its south elevation.

The return’s south elevation is abutted by a single-storey extension. This was formerly a kitchen but has been converted into public toilets. It has a monopitched natural slate roof, rainwater goods and walls, all detailed as before. It has a tongue-and-groove door to its west elevation and 3x2 window on its south elevation.

The west gable is abutted by a lower two-storey house. The exposed section of the gable is blank.

Roof: Pitched natural slate.
Walling: Rendered random rubble basalt.
Windows: 6/6 and 6/3 timber sliding sashes.
Rainwater Goods: Half-round cast iron gutters.

2. Governor house and laboratory
A 1940s two-bay, single-storey building abutting the north and middle retort houses. Pitched corrugated cement-fibre roof; half-round gutters and down pipes also of cement-fibre. Non abutting walls are of brick. Timber door on west elevation of south bay and metal-framed multi-pane windows to west and north elevations. All openings have concrete heads; the windows have concrete cills.

Roof: Pitched cement-fibre sheets.
Walling: Brick.
Windows: Fixed metal frames.
Rainwater Goods: Half-round cement-fibre gutters.

3. Retort houses
This was the heart of the gasworks, where gas was manufactured from bituminous coal imported from Britain.
3.1 North retort house
This late 1940s single-bay, single-storey building partly abuts the north elevation of the middle retort house. Pitched cement-fibre roof with raised ridge, also of cement-fibre (all on steel trusses). Cement-fibre half round gutters and down pipes. Lower sections of wall mainly of brick (some random rubble incorporated into west gable) and upper sections clad with corrugated cement-fibre sheets on a steel framework. Steel door at west end of north elevation. Continuous glazed panels along west and north elevations.

Roof: Pitched corrugated cement-fibre sheets.
Walling: Brick and corrugated cement-fibre sheets.
Windows: Fixed timber frames.
Rainwater Goods: Half-round cement-fibre gutters.

3.2 Middle retort house
A single-bay, single-storey building with pitched natural slate foor with raised cement-fibre ridge (on steel trusses) and tiled verges. This was the original retort house and dates from 1855. Cement-fibre half-round gutters and down pipes. Lower sections of walls are of random rubble and upper portions of brick.

Semi-elliptical brick-arched entrance on west gable, with sliding timber door. Semicircular window openings to all elevations, all without frames.

At the south end of the east gable are the truncated remains of a square brick chimney on a random rubble base. This structure served the furnaces in all the retort houses.

Roof: Pitched natural slate.
Walling: Random rubble basalt and brick.
Windows: No frames.
Rainwater Goods: Half-round cement-fibre gutters.

3.3 South retort house
This early 1900s single-bay, single-storey building partially abuts the south elevation of the middle retort house. Pitched corrugated cement-fibre roof with raised ridge (on steel trusses) and tiled verges. Cement-fibre half-round gutters and down pipes. Lower sections of walls are of random rubble, with a high proportion of concrete block replacement. Upper sections are of brick.

Entrance porch on west gable with slated monopitched roof, rubble masonry walls and double-leaf timber doors. Semicircular window opening on gable above and an identical window to south elevation (neither with a frame).

Roof: Pitched corrugated cement-fibre sheets.
Walling: Random rubble basalt and brick.
Windows: No frames.
Rainwater Goods: Half-round cement-fibre gutters.

4. Condensers
A pair of tall double-skinned metal condenser tubes for the removal of tar. As the hot gas passed through each column, it made contact with its cold surfaces and the suspended tar condensed out.

5. Exhauster house
A single-bay, single-storey building abutting the east gable of the south retort house. Probably erected in the 1940s. Here the coal gas was drawn from the retorts and condensers and pushed through the purification plant to the gasholder.

Pitched fibre cement slate roof with two circular ridge cowls. Cement-fibre half-round gutters and down pipes. Whitewashed brick walls. Metal-framed windows and timber doors to north and south elevations. All openings have concrete heads and the windows have concrete cills.

Roof: Pitched artificial slate.
Walling: Painted brick.
Windows: Fixed metal frames.
Rainwater Goods: Half-round cement-fibre gutters.

6. Washer and scrubber
In the yard immediately south of the exhauster house is a Livesey Washer for the removal of ammonia from the gas. It was manufactured by Robert Dempster & Sons, Elland, Yorks. This particular example is a second-hand installation of 1923.
Beside it is a Scrubber by W.C. Holmes & Co, Huddersfield for the removal of tar fog. It is dated 1908 but has undoubtedly been imported second-hand from elsewhere.

7. Wash room
A small single-bay, single-storey building abutting the middle and south retort houses. It was erected in the 1950s for the manual staff to take their tea breaks and get cleaned up before going home.

Monopitched corrugated cement-fibre roof with steel half-round gutters and down pipes. Brick walls. Timber door to west end and 3x3 metal-framed window to south elevation (with concrete head and cill).

Roof: Monopitched corrugated cement-fibre sheets.
Walling Brick.
Windows: Fixed metal frames.
Rainwater Goods: Half-round cast iron gutters.

8. Tar tank
An open steel tank supported on uprights on the outside of the west gable of the middle retort house. Accessed by vertical steel ladder. Small defunct Weir pump at base.

Most of the tar was sold directly to the general public for use on tin roofs and around the base of walls (to counteract damp). Some was also sold to Tennants Tar Distillers in Belfast for refining.

9. Workshop
A detached three-bay, single-storey workshop aligned north-south along the east side of the premises. Here the fitters stored all the tools required to maintain the works and gas distribution pipes. Small items of metal were also fabricated and pipes were bent, threaded and tapped as the need arose.

Pitched natural slate roof with steel half-round gutters and down pipes. Walls are of random rubble basalt, with dressed basalt quoins and advanced brick eaves course. Much of the west elevation has been replaced with brick in the 1940s; this section was originally open and supported on cast-iron columns. On the yard-facing west elevation are double-leaf timber doors to the north and middle bays, a 4x2 metal-framed window to the middle bay, and a glass brick window to the south bay. On the east elevation is a roller shutter door to the north bay and brick-infilled doorway to the middle bay. All the opens have concrete heads, and the windows have concrete cills.

Roof: Pitched natural slate.
Walling: Random rubble basalt and brick.
Windows: Fixed metal frames.
Rainwater Goods: Half-round cast iron gutters.

10. Air-raid shelter
A World War 2 single-bay, single-storey building aligned east-west along the south side of the premises. It was intended use by the gasworks' staff and the inhabitants of Irish Quarter South. A gasworks would have been an obvious target, the blast from the exploding gasholder reinforcing that of the bomb. At Carrickfergus the main danger was actually from bombs jettisoned over Belfast Lough after air raids on the city. Fortunately the gasworks was never hit.

Flat reinforced-concrete roof, projecting beyond walls on all sides. Brick walls with external pilasters. Doorways to east and west ends; the former is infilled with brick and the latter contains a timber door. Otherwise no openings.

Roof: Flat reinforced-concrete.
Walling: Brick.
Windows: None.
Rainwater Goods: None.

11. Iron-oxide shed and tanks
A single-bay, single-storey building aligned east-west towards the south end of the site. Dates from 1940s. Here hydrogen sulphide (“rotten eggs”) was removed by passing the gas through purifier boxes which contained iron-rich ore which absorbed it. After about six months, the ore became saturated with sulphide and could not absorb any more. The boxes were opened and the ore replaced. The spent ore was spread on the floor of this shed where it was left for about four weeks. The oxygen in the air gradually absorbed the ore's sulphide content, thus revivifying it and enabling it to be reused. Yellow-coloured sulphur was also formed during this regenerative process. Residual hydrogen sulphide was also released, giving rise to the distinctive smell associated with all coal gasworks.

This building has a pitched corrugated cement-fibre roof (on steel trusses). Cement-fibre half-round gutters and down pipes. Concrete block wall along south side, but otherwise open to all sides.

Along the outside of the west elevation are four iron-oxide tanks of cast-iron construction which bear the following details: “Milbourne’s Patent; Sole makers C & W Walker Ltd, Donnington, Newport, Shropshire”. These were imported second-hand from a gasworks in England in 1943. There is an overhead steel beam for a block and tackle to lift the lids of the tanks for cleaning-out purposes. In a brick-lined trench protected by a two-bar steel railing along their outside face is an in- and out- gas pipe to/from each tank.

Roof: Pitched corrugated cement-fibre sheets
Walling: Concrete blocks.
Windows: None.
Rainwater Goods: Half-round cement-fibre gutters.

12. Station meter house
A small single-bay, single-storey building containing the station meter which measured the amount of gas produced in the gasworks. Monopitched corrugated cement-fibre roof with steel half-round gutters and down pipes. Whitewashed brick walls. Timber door on north elevation; otherwise no openings.

Low single-bay outshot on west elevation, similarly detailed and with small timber hatch on west elevation.

Roof: Monopitched corrugated cement-fibre sheets.
Walling: Brick.
Windows: None.
Rainwater Goods: Half-round cast iron gutters.

13. Gasholder 1
A freestanding above-ground double-lift spiral-guided gasholder. It held 5660 cubic metres of gas (200,000 cu.ft.) - about two day's supply for the town - and was erected in 1949 to meet the demand from the Sunnylands Estate. It replaced two earlier holders, traces of which can still be seen in the yard. The holder was used to store coal gas until May 1967, when it was filled with gas manufactured at Belfast Corporation’s Sydenham Works.

The tank is still full of water and of riveted painted sheet steel construction. The top of the tank is accessed by a steel staircase on the south side of the tank. There is a walkway around the top of the tank with a two-bar handrail around. The telescopic outer and domed inner lifts are how grounded, but their spiral guide rails and rollers are clearly discernible.

14. Gasholder 2
Only the circular dressed edging stones to the below-ground tank of this 1850s single-lift gas holder is now discernible, the superstructure having been removed and the tank infilled. The latter was about the same size as that in gasholder 3 and it held 565 cu.m (20,000 cu.ft) of gas. It was superseded in 1949 by gasholder 1.

15. Gasholder 3
This column-guided holder dates from 1909. Its two lifts held 1130 cu.m (40,000 cu.ft) of gas. Only its below-ground tank survives, the superstructure having been removed when it was superseded by gasholder 1.

The circular tank is lined and paved with bricks. There is a conical brick ‘dumpling’ to centre, on which the crown of the inner lift formerly rested when the tank was gasholder was empty. A steel and timber footbridge was inserted with the site was converted to a museum to give access to the top of the dumpling. A submersible pump at the bottom of the tank now keeps it free of water. It is accessed by a vertical steel ladder down the side of the tank. A wire mesh safety fence was also erected around the void.

16. Dry coal shed
Just prior to conservation, this building was burnt down. The original stone walls were salvaged but the brick upper sections and roof were rebuilt.

A single-bay, single-storey shed aligned east-west opposite the middle retort house. Felted Belfast truss roof (continues over passage between shed and middle retort house). Cement-fibre half-round gutters and down pipes. Lower sections of walls are of random rubble basalt and upper sections of brick. Double-leaf timber door on east gable. No window openings.

Roof: Felted Belfast timber truss.
Walling: Random rubble basalt and brick.
Windows: N/A.
Rainwater Goods: Half-round cement-fibre gutters.

17. Pipe store
This building is in separate ownership and no longer part of the gasworks. It is a small single-bay, single-storey store aligned north-south and abutting the random rubble wall along the west side of the site, just below the manager’s house.

Roof formed by riveted steel water tank which is supported on brick walls. The tank itself is greatly deteriorated and no longer capable of holding water (which served as a back-up reservoir for the boiler in the middle retort house). The north, east and south walls are now clad with timber. Small doorway at north end, now blocked by timber cladding.

Roof: Steel.
Walling: Timber-clad random rubble basalt and brick.
Windows: 6/6 and 6/3 timber sliding sashes.
Rainwater Goods: Half-round cast iron gutters.

Historical information

In 1854 a group of local businessmen came together to form the Carrickfergus Gas Company and supply the town with gas lighting. Three thousand pounds were raised to acquire land in Irish Quarter West, erect buildings, buy equipment and lay gas mains through the streets. A contract was signed with the Town Commissioners to supply 42 street lights with gas for a period of 31 years at £60 per year. These were lit for the first time on 17 September 1855, an occasion marked by a celebratory feast in the Town Hall.

The superiority of gas lighting over oil lamps encouraged many of the town's shop keepers and wealthier residents to adopt it. During its first year of operation, the Company signed up 171 customers. Over the next 50 years steady progress was made and 242 consumers were on its books by 1905.

During this period, the average amount of gas used by each customer tripled. This increase was due to the introduction of gas cookers and heaters, incandescent mantles, prepayment meters, and by a steady fall in the price of gas. To cope with this demand, additional retorts and a second gasholder were installed in the decades either side of 1900s.

Because of its low number of industrial users, Carrick Gasworks relied mostly on domestic consumption and receipts were unspectacular. Consequently, it was uneconomic to adopt more efficient vertical retorts as was the case at many other gasworks during the 1900s. The early Victorian process of producing gas using horizontal retorts persisted for well over a century. Second-hand equipment was imported from other gasworks when the need and opportunity arose.

A major development occurred in 1949 with the building of the Sunnylands Estate on the outskirts of the town. To meet the increased demand, a third retort house was constructed, a new gasholder built and much of the purification plant replaced.

Unlike many other provincial works, Carrick remained in private ownership for most of its working life. In 1962, it was taken over by Belfast Corporation Gas Department. By this time, coal-gas production had become prohibitively expensive due to the cost of coal and labour. Accordingly, production ceased in 1964 and the site was linked up to the Corporation's new gas plant on the Belfast Harbour estate at Sydenham. Here gas was made from naphtha, a by-product of oil refining, a much cleaner and cheaper process. From then on, Carrick was used as a storage facility for the reformed gas which was distributed to several thousand consumers around the town.

The spiraling price of oil eventually forced the closure of Ulster's gas industry; Carrickfergus Gasworks closed in 1987. The following year, the Carrickfergus Gasworks Preservation Society Ltd, a not-for-profit voluntary organisation, was formed to save the gasworks from demolition. The Society persuaded Environment & Heritage Service to purchase the gasworks and lease it to them for a period of 99 years.

In 2000 restoration of the site as a visitor and educational attraction commenced, with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Carrickfergus Borough Council, European Union Regional Development Fund, and Environment & Heritage Service.

In 2002, the restored site was re-opened by CGPS as a museum under the title of Flame! The Gasworks Museum of Ireland. Besides its gas manufacturing equipment, the premises also house an extensive collection of gas-related appliances and a comprehensive library of gas-related publications.

References – Primary sources:
1. PRONI OS/6/1/52/2. Second edition OS six-inch map, Co Antrim sheet 52 (1857).
2. PRONI OS/6/1/52/3. Third edition OS six-inch map, Co Antrim sheet 52 (1901-02).
3. PRONI OS/6/1/52/6. Fourth edition OS six-inch map, Co Antrim sheet 52 (1920-21).
4. Records held by Carrickfergus Gasworks Preservation Society Ltd.

References - Secondary sources:
1. Hamond, F.W. ‘Like a phoenix from the flames: Carrickfergus Gasworks’, in Carrickfergus & District Historical Society Journal, vol.4, pp 23-40 (1988-89).

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
E. Spatial Organisation
F. Structural System
H+. Alterations enhancing the building
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance
Z. Rarity
W. Northern Ireland/International Interest

Evaluation

This site's spatial organisation reflects the gas production process whilst the various additions thereto reflect the site's 130 years of development. The high survival of machinery is remarkable, particuarily the retorts which are the largest surviving set in the whole of western Europe. The site is of international significance because of the survival of its 19th century gas manufacturing technology. It is also of social interest as it supplied the town with light, heat and power prior to the advent of electricity. It is also extremely rare, being the only complete Victorian gasworks now surviving in Ireland and one of only three such gasworks in the British Isles.