Key Words :- gas company

Address :- car park off Peppercorn Lane, Kendal, Cumbria
Grid Ref :- SD 51613 92187
Co-ordinates :- Lat 54.322955 , Long -2.745433
Local Authority :- Westmorland and Furness Council
Pre 1974 County :- Westmorland
Site Status :- Listed - Grade II
Historic England List No :- 1319008,

Description and History of Site:-
Facade of original Kendal Gas Company Meter House, removed from original site at Gas Works in Parkside Road and reconstructed (1984) on west elevation of extension to Museum of Lakeland Life and Industry. Dated 1825 on keystone. Attributed to Francis Webster.

Entablature has EX FUMO DARE LUCEM carved on fascia and KENDAL UNDERTAKING painted in red on frieze.

Kendal Civic Society plaque:
GAS METER HOUSE FACADE
Designed by Francis Webster, this facade was erected in 1825 on the gas meter house of the Kendal Gas. Light and Coke Company in Parkside Road. It was preserved when the gasworks was demolished in 1969 and its re-erection here in 1984 was sponsored by North West Gas.
The text on the pediment, 'Ex fumo dare lucem' (from smoke let light break out), comes from Horace's 'Ars Poetica' (The Art of Poetry). Here applied to gaslight, it referred originally to poetic inspiration.

Further Reading and References:-
'Gasworks and Gasholders: Introductions to Heritage Assets'. Historic England, 2020
Thomas, Prof. Russell. 'The Manufactured Gas Industry: Volume 3 Gazetteer'. Historic England, 2020

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Contributor :- Robert Mason - 28 October 2024
Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © Robert Mason