| In 1921
there were two gasholders which provided the village until the early 1930`s
when the national electricity supply arrived. The Bures Gas & Coke Co
went into decline from that time, Two forms of gas were produced, both from
heating coal in ovens, but in one method, steam was passed across the coal
for greater efficiency. This was known as Mond gas.
In
1930 a Mr Brand of Bures was generating electricity using a petrol engine and
a dynamo to charge lead acid batteries The power he produced was used to supply
houses in the High Street, and the Baptist Church.
Mr Deaves, who later took
over the Gas Works in Bures was also producing electricity at that time.
Mr
Beard (see credits) recalls that Mr Deaves batteries
would last for some days on one single charge.
Sudbury had its own generating
station. In 1920 the Old Granary building fell into disuse as the river barges,
which operated along the river Stour from Sudbury to Mistley, ceased to be viable
as the railways took over as a means of transport.
The old East Anglian Supply
Company acquired this building and in it came one of the first public generating
stations
The Old Granary was fitted with a thick concrete base on which an
ex German U-boat diesel engine was mounted and coupled to a dynamo. Why this engine
was transported from Harwich by road, and not by the river, is a mystery.
This combination was never actually used to provide a supply for the public, as
trouble soon came when the engine broke down and spares could not be obtained.
It was perhaps appropriate that the replacement engine was from an American Submarine
Chaser. This worked satisfactorily and produced up to 150kW of power. This engine,
although originally diesel, was converted to run on Producer Gas, and with a little
help from a German Lanz Traction Engine, was able to cope with the demand for
some time.
The switchboard for this was mounted on a raised platform, which
helped to avoid the risk of flooding from the nearby river It was common practice
at that time to build switchboard at high level.
This was in 1923 when memories
of the first world war were still vivid. Which probably accounts for the time
when a man from Norfolk was working at the station, and having a strange accent,
was mistaken for a German! He was tormented to the point of having a brick thrown
through the front window of his house.
So successful was this new Station,
and so confident was the Supply Company that each new customer was offered three
lamps and one power socket free of charge when the supply was connected. This
incentive was actually used in other places at around that time.
Some of the
larger houses, and some Factories in Sudbury were already generating their own
electricity
Examples of this were found in Melso's Knitting Mills and France's
Corn Merchants. These factories did actually sell some of their surplus electricity
to neighbouring properties. .
The generators in the Old Granary eventually
became overloaded. This became very apparent on a Saturday night when all the
shops were open. The lights began to flicker and the candles were again lit to
provide the illumination for the customers.
Fortunately, in 1927 a high voltage supply arrived in Sudbury under the control
of the East Anglian Supply Co. The point of supply was in Edgworth Road at the
rear of Brunton`s Propeller Factory (now demolished, adjacent to Waitrose)
As the incoming supply was alternating current, rectifiers had to be installed
so that the supply could be converted to direct current and so be compatible with
the existing equipment
High voltage switching equipment was installed in this
substation in Edgworth Road.
In fact the same building exists today with more
modern switchgear but performing the same function
The Old Granary was no
longer needed for generation and so became a Storeroom for the Electricity Company.
It was sold to the Gas board in 1955 for £300.
Later, in 1963, The building
was to be demolished, but it was bought by Mr Harry Turner for conversion to an
indoor cricket net.
Before it could be fitted out as a cricket net there was
the small problem of the
concrete base on which the generator stood. This
defied many attempts at removal After some Pneumatic Drills were damaged in the
effort to break the block. a total of 90 sticks of gelignite were detonated in
order to finally break the concrete .The walls of the building did not suffer
from this explosions.
This is perhaps not so surprising when you realise that
they are 21 inches, or over half a metre thick
This massive building was constructed in 1791 and it is a credit to it architects
and builders that it stands in such perfect splendour over 200 years later.
It is almost a monument to Michael Faraday himself as it was built in the year
that he was born.
The building
on the left shows it during the early 1950`s. This old structure has been
transformed into the building we know today as "The Granary",
part of the Quay Theatre
During 1927 an 11000
volt overhead line was built from Halstead to Sudbury and to Edgworth Road Substation.
This line was to replace the previously abandoned underground cable, as by that
time 11,000 volts was becoming the standard for rural electrification and remains
the standard today.
A retired EEB engineer, recalls how the line was actually taken through
a large tree which was in the route of the line. The insulator was then
fixed to the tree to support the wire and prevent accidental contact.
Such methods of construction, definitely not used these days"
When in 1927
the Company brought a supply to towns such as Sudbury, large mercury - vapour
rectifiers had to be installed so as to be able to supply the existing Direct
Current systems and so replace the dynamos. In some places, alternating current
motors were used to drive the original dynamos to get back to DC.
As the DC supplies were gradually replaced with alternating current the rectifiers
and rotary convertors also became obsolete. In
1932 the construction of an 11000 volt overhead line was completed from Sudbury
along the riverside to Bures. This line again is clearly visible, as with some
reinforcement, it is one of the lines bringing the supply here today. The fact
that it crosses the river so many times does not make fault location and maintenance
an easy task. After some two
years of trying to raise capital for the Company. known then as East Anglian Electricity
Ltd, the city finance houses failed to find the necessary money
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In 1925 the Company was restructured
and renamed The East Anglian Electric Supply Company Limited and
capital was still not available.
At this time some American businessmen visited this Country and
showed interest in financing the new Company.
However, hopes were dashed as
they returned to the States without investing any money at all.
Then in 1926 a second group of American financiers were introduced
to the Company. They were approached with some reluctance bearing
in mind the previous experience. This time they did indeed show
great interest and the much needed money was forthcoming"
It was this money together with new Act of Parliament, which enabled
the Company to provide supplies of electricity to the towns of Braintree,
Witham, Coggeshall, Kelveden, Halstead, Sudbury and a large number
of neighbouring villages- including Bures in 1932.
Left:- account dated 1946
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In about 1946 the 33,000 volt overhead
system was constructed and brought immediate reinforcement to the system
around Sudbury as it became overloaded.
There
are of course the lines coming up from the Colchester direction but in the early
days there was no national standard and local companies were free to build there
own networks. Some used different voltages, others different methods of phase
transmission. Even today this is evident, the 11kV system North and South of the
river has different phase relationships. This means that it is not possible to
connect the Essex system to Bures without the need to switch off the supply from
the Suffolk side first. For
this reason Eastern Electricity provided an alternative supply from Suffolk -
which actually comes from another Primary Substation at Groton where supply is
transformed from 33kV down to 11kV. The
supply to Bures today is fed from Gt Cornard via overhead lines through Henny
and Lamarsh and from Groton near Boxford as part of a ring main system.This means
that the supply can be taken from either way around the ring in the event of a
failure of the one side.
Extract
of a talk given to the Bures History Society 1992.
Credit to the following who supplied this information:-
Mr Beard of Colchester Rd (deceased)
Mr Harry Turner of Sudbury.
Mr George Tilbrook previously of Corn Hall (Area Manager EEB, rtd)
© Mr Derek Beales of Tostock who gave the talk (Distribution Engineer
EEB, rtd)
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