Victorian gas holders on Regents Canal
Bethnal Green, London, November 2021
These two Victorian gas holders are scheduled to be converted to apartment blocks, despite many objections from locals and heritage groups. They are the only surviving in-situ gasholder guide frames on the Regent’s Canal,
One of them was built in 1865, and is now the oldest surviving gas holder guide frame in the world. The other was built in 1888, and is one of the few surviving examples of a structure built by local firm Samuel Cutler & Sons of Millwall.
Copyright Debbie Smyth, 23 November 2021
Posted as part of Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge
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Travel with Intent 
Looks great
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Mixed feelings from me too but I found it interesting to see.
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I have difficulty seeing apartments in these Do they build them inside the existing structure?
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Yes. They dismantle the hanger and send away for restoration work. Then I assume they build the apartment block and put the frame back up at the end. Will be interesting to watch. The ones at Coal Drops Yard are an example of what can be done. https://travelwithintent.com/2019/07/09/modern-reimagining-industrial-revolution-coal-gas-london/
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Oh thanks for this.I have been to coal yards.
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Wowsers the apartments are pretty pricey! Even for London. Or maybe not for London. I have been gone for several decades.
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Not really for London – and this area is attractive now. I’ll be very interested to see how the price of the ones in Tower Hamlets compare.
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Yes it will. Our son has a two story flat with a nice roof garden in the Finsbury Park area. I know from when we have visited him the area has changed quite a bit and several of the streets have been gentrified considerably. He bought it in 2004 and now he says he could not afford it.
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Yes. There have been big changes in Finsbury Park. I was there a few weeks ago and found a great wine bar and changes to the station. He chose well!
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I think that’s a great idea for apartments, similar to the ones near Coal Drop Yard maybe.
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Yes but bright colours I think. Will be designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour who usually use a lot of yellow green and red.
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I think it will look brilliant
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I have mixed reactions. It is good they are being reused for something needed but the sight of these has a romantic if not skewed vision of the past 🙂 🙂
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They’re not the prettiest things, but it would still be a shame to see them go.
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yes, I think it will be sad for the last one to go – though at least they get renovated as part of the redevelopment.
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It would be great to retain some original gasholders. But on the other hand, the Gasholder development has been pretty much a success.
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Yes, I’ve got mixed feelings about it. I do like the development at Kings Cross, and the fact that they kept one empty.
This is going to be a bigger development, I think, with these two filled and another three similar blocks of apartments without the metal frames.
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Hmm. Less character perhaps?
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Great reflections 😀 😀 Thanks Debbie for playing along 😀
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