The "Wizard" Who Brought Gas Lighting to Britain – And Its Dark Side

Send us Fan Mail 💬 What was life like before gas lighting? Just over 230 years ago, even the wealthiest homes were poorly lit by modern standards. But when a Scottish engineer began experimenting with gas, he sparked a revolution that would transform everyday life. ⚡ In this episode we hear from Russell Thomas, Technical Director at WSP and gas historian. We discover how William Murdoch earned a reputation as the “Wizard of Cornwall”, why Victorian gasworks were such dangerous and unpleasant places to work, and how early gas companies employed spies to catch customers using too much gas! Don't miss an episode - subscribe now: https://podfollow.com/what-we-did-before About the podcast: What We Did Before is a podcast exploring the history of everyday life, from how we kept food fresh before fridges, to how we survived without shoes and what came before AI. About your host: Ollie Guillou is an award-winning podcast producer and broadcaster. He's co-founder of OG Podcasts, working with the likes of New Scientist, Dr Karan and Lessons From Our Mothers. Connect with Ollie: Website: www.ogpodcasts.co.uk  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ollie-guillou  Email: [email protected] Image Credits: Statues of Matthew Boulton, James Watt and William Murdoch by Philip Halling, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0 via Wikimedia Commons Sudbury Hall: Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net)., CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0 via Wikimedia Commons Martyn Gorman / York: Gas lamp in the precincts of York Minster Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.  Open Hearth fire: Acabashi, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0 via Wikimedia Commons Murdoch’s model steam carriage: Thinktank, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0 via Wikimedia Commons Learn more about the ArtMuse podcast here: https://www.artmusepodcast.com/ Thanks to Grace Anna for partnering with us! Support the show