Newport Gas Works

The Newport Gas Light Company was incorporated in 1823 with the principal objective of lighting the streets of Newport, Isle of Wight.

The Gas Works was located at Pan Bridge and closed in 1857. Following its decommission after the new works was built in 1851, the site was a foundry operated by Charles Wheeler (who was later joined by William Hurst to form a partnership, the predecessor to the modern W. Hurst & Son), then Smith & Whitehead, a small engineering company, and is now (2018) the location of the Multiplex cinema and retail units.

A new Gas Works for Newport was built on the east quay of Newport Harbour on the river Medina by The Newport (Isle of Wight) Gas Company in 1851. When the new Gas Works opened in January 1852, newspapers reported that the gas gave better lighting that the previous gas.

Initially, coal would have been delivered to the gas works via barge to the adjacent quay.

After the railway from Ryde was opened (1875), coal could be transported by rail from Cowes to the gas works and delivered directly from the railway viaduct which ran alongside the works.

The company was nationalised in 1949 and became part of the Southern Gas Board.

The works closed in 1957 when a new Gas Works was built at Kingston, East Cowes to supply the whole island.

The gasometer continued to be used at the Newport site, to locally store the gas, until the cross Solent gas main was laid in the 1970's to supply the island with Natural (North Sea) gas,

The site is now (2016) largely occupied by the Riverside Centre.