South Bailey Sewer Lamp in Durham, England
Sewer lamps, such as this one, were invented after The Great Stink of 1858.
During this event, London’s sewers created an incredibly foul stench, one so bad that even the House of Commons was aware of the issue. The curtains of the House of Commons were supposedly soaked in chloride in an unsuccessful attempt to keep out the smell.
It was said that the smell was so bad that the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Benjamin Disraeli was seen running from chambers with a handkerchief pressed to his face. It didn’t take long for funds to be allocated to create an effective sewer system in the capital and design a way to vent them properly. Thus, sewer gas destructor lamps were born.
Joseph Edmund Webb of Birmingham patented the sewer gas destructor lamp. His lamps were designed to draw sewer gases up from the sewer and discharged them above the heads of passers-by to dissipate odors.
These ornate, 20 to 30-foot tall, cast-iron creations were designed to remove the harmful, potentially explosive sewer gases. These lamps eventually spread to the northeastern parts of the country. Today, there are currently 100 under the care of Northumbrian Water. This lamp can be found in the Old Bailey area of Durham City.
