Daily archives: February 8, 2023

As early as 1889 there were discussions about whether Sawley should have gas or electric street lighting, as it had neither at the time.  This was rather ambitious, as small-scale electrical supplies were only just beginning to appear in Britain.  As it turned out, Sawley only received gas lighting in 1897, about the same time Long Eaton was converting to electricity.   The gas lights themselves were donated by Ernest Terah Hooley.  A large crowd gathered to see them first lit on 31st March 1897, which was followed by a dinner at the Harrington Arms.  The rector (Rev E A Clarke) lit the first lamp.  Sawley’s first employed gas lighter was Stephen Smith.  Harrington Mill (off Wilsthorpe Road) set up its own electric lighting system in the 1890s.  In 1899 Long Eaton council decided to install their own electric cables and lighting, powered by a coal-fired generating plant between Milner Road and the Erewash Canal.  This opened in 1903 using a 3-wire direct current system. Three years later it was converted to alternating current.  The system was a financial success for the council and mains electricity seems to have reached New Sawley about 1913.  In 1931, when the Wilsthorpe Road […]