Description:In 1792 William Murdock heated coal in the garden of his house at Cross Street, Redruth and piped it into the house, where he lit a series of burners attached to the other end of the pipe. This was the first practical gas lighting in the world. Years later his employers Matthew Boulton and James Watt used his discovery to illuminate their factory. This image of the house is from the turn of the century and on the side wall can be seen the commemorative plaque put there by the Tangye Company of Handsworth, Birmingham.
Taken from the T.E.Pemberton album held by the Handsworth Historical Society.