_ B E C K T O N _ G A S W O R K S

One of the places I wish I had a chance to explore before its demolition was one of the largest coal gas works in the world which was established in 1870 on the north bank of the River Thames in Beckton, East London. The works covered a 550-acre (220-hectare) site to the south of the Northern Outfall Sewer, between Woolwich Manor Way and the Thames. The riverside location allowed direct delivery of coal by sea from Durham and Northumberland. Ships owned by the company docked at a T-shaped jetty founded on concrete-filled cast iron piles. The coal was unloaded using hydraulic and steam cranes and placed in iron hopper wagons. Trains of 16 wagons each were pulled by steam locomotives along twin elevated railway lines from the jetty to the 12 retort houses inside which coal was heated to high temperatures. Gases given off by heating were extracted, cooled, washed with water and cleaned with lime. The resulting coal gas was then stored in gasholders ready for supply. The gas works had at least nine gasholders. In 1895, a second T-shaped jetty was added to the south of the first and its construction also featured concrete-filled cast iron piles. This jetty was used for the export of residual by-products, notably coke.
Beckton Gas Works stopped producing coal gas in the 1960s. The discovery of natural gas reserves in the North Sea meant it was uneconomic to manufacture gas. The last shipload of coal was delivered to the jetties on 16th April 1969 and the last train left the works in 1970. The only traces of the works that survive are the 'Beckton Alps' (a grass-covered artificial hill - toxic spoil heap left over from the works), some concrete foundation pads, a few disused gasholders next to bleak shopping centre and the remnants of the two jetties.
Gasworks were used as a location for TV and cinema filming on a number of occasions. Probably most famous was Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket movie with the battle scenes shot at gasworks shortly before demolition. Apparently the gasworks were built by an architectural firm that also constructed much of a Vietnamese city Huế. The video for Loop's 1990 single 'Arc-lite' was filmed on the set of Full Metal Jacket. The gasworks was used as the main background scene for the Oasis video 'D'You Know What I Mean?', as it shows the band members playing on a concrete slab within the gasworks. The videoclip for Marcella Detroit's 1994 single 'I Believe' was shot in this location. Derek Jarman's 1986 promotional video for The Smiths 'The Queen is Dead' single was partly shot at Beckton Gasworks.