How Godalming led the world with its public electricity supply - 140 years ago

Surrey County Council has announced it is bidding for funding to turn its streetlights back on in the small hours, in response to concerns about the safety of people out and about in the dark.

No doubt the people of Godalming had the same thoughts about increased safety on the streets when the town's public electricity supply first went live 140 years ago.

The modern-day wonder threw light into formerly darkened corners which until that point had been lit only by the dull glow of gaslamps, and allowed the townsfolk to brighten their living quarters using electricity - the first town in the world to offer that benefit to its residents.

Godalming led the world when it launched its public electricity supply 140 years ago, on 26th September 1881. Three of the world's major cities - London, Paris and San Francisco - had streetlamps powered by electricity, but Godalming was the first to offer its residents the luxury of electric light in their own homes.

Waterwheel.

Godalming's lighting system was powered by the waterwheel at Westbrook Mill, owned by tanning company R and J Pullman. The Surrey Advertiser of 1st October 1881 reported: "On Monday evening (the 26th September) 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. Pullman brothers, the skin dressers, who have made arrangements for lighting their mills with the Swan lights, and for the larger open spaces with Siemen's differential lamps of 300 candle-power each." The lights were mounted on 22-foot iron poles and were situated at Deanery Place; next to the Pepperpot, which was the the town hall; and opposite the town clerk's office. Pullman's, in recognition of the fact that it was helping to generate the power via its waterwheel, had three lights, in its yard, factory - and in Mr J Pullman's house. Around five miles of smaller streets in the area were lit by incandescent lights in pear-shaped lanterns placed into the gas lamp holders. They were connected to the supply by bare copper wires. Townsfolk could pay for the electric lights to be installed in their homes and businesses: one of the first shops to take advantage of the scheme was a draper's shop owned by Stephen Tanner, which stood on the site now occupied by the Jack Phillips pub. The town council backed the scheme for a trial period of one year - the cost being £195. Until that point the town had been lit by gas lamps powered by gas supplied by the Godalming Gas and Coke Company. The electric scheme was cheaper and cleaner, which may well have been a persuasive point in favour of its adoption by the council. Siemens.

In January 1882 the generating plant was moved from Pullmans into the town. Now run by Siemens, the project saw the supply cables laid in the gutters.

However, by 1884 Siemens decided to pull the plug: to make money on the venture the company required that 400 to 500 lamps needed to be lit in homes and businesses in the town. Instead, the project had seen around a dozen buildings lit, with 160 lamps.

So, on May 1st 1884, the power supply reverted to gas for the town's public streetlights.

It wasn't until 1902, when the Urban Electric Supply Company Ltd opened its works in Borough Road, that the town's lighting became wholly powered by electricity.

Plaque.

If you stand under a particular streetlamp towards the top of the High Street and look up, you will see a plaque recording the fact that the town was the first in the world to have a public electricity supply. It was put up on June 5th 2014, and marked the completion of a programme to overhaul and refurbish all of Surrey's public streetlights. It reads: "This marks the replacement of street lighting for Surrey County Council which was undertaken by Surrey Lighting Services Ltd between 2010 and 2014. "A total of 87,762 County street lights were replaced or refurbished to improve the visible environment and enable future energy conservation. "As Godalming was the first area to receive a public energy supply and lighting system in 1881, the completion of the street lighting replacement was recognised here on the 5th June 2014." This article was originally published in our weekly Newsletter. Sign up in the coloured box on this page to join our mailing list.