Almost a hundred and thirty years ago, in early September 1881,
the local paper reported that the borough's Lighting Committee
were considering "the
desirability of lighting the borough by electricity, and with
this view have made arrangements with a London firm of electricians
to fix two or three lamps as an experiment". The experimental
lights were to be installed over the following fortnight[1].
Mr. Mellersch, a local auctioneer, sold shares in the Godalming
Gas and Coke Company (Limited) on the 9th and reassured potential
purchasers at the outset that "the property was not
affected in the slightest by the announcement that Godalming
would be illuminated very shortly with the electric light"[2].
Mr. Thomas Wood, Chairman of Dorking's Local Board, visited
Godalming on the 13th and afterwards reported his findings
to his own Board, saying that "the electric light was
about to be tried as an experiment, with the view of its adoption
for the street lighting of that town, and that arrangements
had been made by some company with the proprietors of a mill
for the supply of the requisite water power"[3].
The mill he referred to was R. and J. Pullman's Westbrook
Mill.
At the end of the month, one of the London papers was full
of praise: "... little Godalming to turn its river, the
slender and rippling Wey, into a piece of machinery, and set
it, just like any other mechanical servant, to the task of
lighting its streets. There will come a time when history surveys
the achievements ... pages will be dedicated to how the ordinary
forces of nature were first utilised for the production of
electricity.
Godalming wins the prize of being first in the field, and to
it and its enterprising citizens the honour must for ever be due
of showing the country how to generate its own electricity
without the adventitious aid of steam engines and huge, expensive
furnaces of coal"[4].
Surrey Advertiser, 1 October 1881
ELECTRIC LIGHTING BY WATER POWER.
"On Monday evening [26th Sept] the upper portion
of the Borough of Godalming was lighted by electricity
for a few hours as an experiment, and continued each
night since, the motive power to generate the current
being an auxiliary face water-wheel at the Westbrook
Mills, of Messrs. Pulman Brothers, the skin dressers,
who have made arrangements for lighting their mills
with the Swan lights, and for the larger opens spaces
with Siemans' differential lamps of 300 candle power
each. Three of the latter have been erected in the
town, on iron poles 22 feet high, opposite the Vicarage,
another on the south side of the Town Hall, to light Ockford-road,
and the third opposite the Town Clerk's office. The lighting
has so far been most satisfactory, eliciting the high praise
of the hundreds of persons who have nightly congregated in
the street, including a good contingent from Guildford. On
Wednesday the Mayor (Alderman Eager, Mr. Alderman Enticknap,
Mr. Alderman Rea, and nearly all the members of the Council
- Messrs. H. Bridger, S. Challen, and W. Hoar alone being
absent - visited Pulman's Mills, to see the machinery at
work, when a lucid explanation of the same was given by Mr.
Barrett, of the firm of Calder and Barrett, who are the electricians
carrying out this work. The Council have hitherto been divided
upon the question of adopting the electric light in place
of gas for the lighting of the town, but they were expected
to arrive at some definitive conclusion last evening (Friday)
when they met in committee. It is a somewhat singular fact
that the contract with the Gas Company expired last evening,
so that it was essential some new contract should be made,
as the arrangements at Westbrook are not nearly forward enough
to light the whole town from the present time. A section
of the Council would have liked the contract with the Gas
Company from month till month until the question was settled,
but the Gas Company - who are for the time being still masters
of the situation - decline to enter into any contract for
a period less than three months, but have named a considerably
lower price for the year's lighting of the public lamps than
they received last year. No definitive price had, we understand,
been named up to yesterday for the electric light although
2l. per. lamp per. hour was suggested as being near
the mark. Godalming has the honour of being the first place
where water has been adopted as the motive power for electrical
purposes, a fact that has been made the most of in a glowing
leader in the Daily Telegraph of yesterday, and the
town is fully deserving of the honourable position therein
accorded to it". |
It was not until 12 November 1881 that the "Graphic" published
its now famous black and white image of the event, shown
above.
In 1981 Godalming marked the centenary one of its more celebrated
achievements. A Godalming Electricity Centenary Celebrations
Committee was formed and they published a sepia postcard,
using another copy of the above image, to mark the event.
Their version was printed by Craddock's of Godalming. On
the back of the 1981 cards is the following statement:
"On 26th September 1881 Godalming became the first
place in the world to have a public and private electricity
supply. This illustration appeared in "The Graphic" on
12th November 1881". |
References (coloured
links are to transcripts or more information elsewhere on
this web site):
[1] "Surrey Advertiser",
5 Sept 1881. Godalming. Proposed Lighting of the Town
by Electricity.
[2] "ibid", 10 Sept
1881. Commercial. Sale of Gas Shares and Cottages.
[3] "ibid", 17
Sept 1881. Dorking Local Board. The Lighting.
[4] "Daily Telegraph & Courier" (London),
30 September 1881. |
