Becton Gasworks

The jetty of Becton Gasworks was much drawn and painted by Wyllie and was the subject of a painting exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1881. In 'London to the Nore' Mrs Wyllie describes the gasworks:

'This great jetty, the cast-iron pillars of which remind one of Karnak or Baalbec, is the landing-place of coal for Becton Gasworks The hydraulic cranes load the railway trucks directly from the holds of the colliers; and the trains run direct into the retort-houses where the grimy toilers are ever feeding the furnaces, which seem to strech for mile in the smoke and coal-dust.'

M.A. and W.L. Wyllie, ‘London to the Nore’ (London: A & C Black, 1905)

Object Details

ID: PAF2100
Collection: Fine art
Type: Drawing
Display location: Not on display
Creator: Wyllie, William Lionel
Places: Beckton
Date made: circa 1890
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Caird Collection
Measurements: Mount: 14 in x 20 in