William Sugg & Co Home Page

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Welcome to the William Sugg Web site!

Hello, my name is Chris Sugg and I am attempting to secure the history of a family company called William Sugg & Co through the posting of as much data as possible that I, my Father and previous family members before, have collected over several lifetimes of interest in the business!

Founded in 1837 by William Sugg, it was doubtless his father, Thomas, who inspired William to start a company - as grandson William Thomas stated in a lecture, subsequently printed, to the Liverpool Institute on April 23rd 1887:

"The great Gas Industry, (which) made its public appearance in my grandfather's time, on the 21st January, 1807, when Pall Mall was lighted with gas, and he made the first gas pipes, and fitted Carlton House, has grown etc .............."

Interestingly, for a significant historical date, there are several alternative claims! Murdoch had lit Boulton & Watts Works near Birmingham in 1802 to the astonishment of the populace who turned out in huge numbers.
According to the "Monthly Magazine" of July 1807, Winsor first lit a number of lamps on the wall of Carlton House Gardens to celebrate the birthday of George III on 4th June 1807. We do know that Winsor first started his series of lectures in 1804 and who are we at this distance to say that William Sugg had made a mistake over the date, although of course it was well before his own birth. However, the fact that it was his own grandfather who was involved does add to the credibility of the claim.
The August 1807 issue of the Athenaeum Vol 2 , reports that The Golden Lane Brewery had erected several gas lamps in Golden Lane and the adjoining Beech Street. Significantly however, King's Treatise states that the first public street lighting with gas, took place in Pall Mall, on the 28th of January 1807, which is only one week different from William Sugg's claim!
Finally, on this issue, in William Matthews 1827 book, “An Historical Sketch of the Origin, Progress & Present State of Gas-Lighting” he states: “Mr Winsor removed his exhibitions to Pall Mall, where, early in 1807, he lighted up a part of one side of the street, which was the first instance of this kind of light being applied to such a purpose in London.”

In June 2007 Westminster City Council agreed to mark the bicentenary of the "World's First Demonstration of Street Lighting by Coal Gas from a Retort Located Here" by the provision of a Green Plaque, so worded, mounted on the wall at 100 Pall Mall, London, the nearest position to the original location. The picture shows 'unveiling in the rain' by the Deputy Lord Mayor and the President of the Institution of Gas Engineers.

William Sugg & Co has a long and illustrious history in the Gas Industry of the United Kingdom. With offices and sales of gas lighting in many parts of the world, particularly during the last quarter of the 19th century and the first quarter of the 20th century, there are many enthusiasts and collectors of Sugg products who I hope may benefit from knowing a little more about both the products that they may have collected, the enormous range of gas and related equipment that the Company produced, and the background and history of a Company that has its origins at the very beginning of a modern industry.

The "One Hundred Years" Brochure
"Service During Six Reigns 1837 to 1937"

As far as I am aware, the only previous attempt at the history of the company was made in 1937 for the centenary of the founding. The booklet complete with silk ties as shown above was produced for the occasion outlining the major steps in the development of the Company. Several pages from this document are reproduced within this site. Obviously the development of the Company from 1937 onwards was dictated by many things, not least of which was the decline of gas lighting which had been the mainstay of the Company since its inception. How the Company finally embraced the 20th century in its new factory in Crawley is all part of the story which I shall attempt to unravel.

Although William Sugg & Co. Ltd was subject to an unwelcome takeover in 1969, a group of ex Wm.Sugg employees with Chris Sugg and Keith Bouracier at the helm started a new company in 1973 which in due course became Sugg Lighting Ltd. The heating products of William Sugg & Co. Ltd. having been absorbed into another company following the takeover, the once famous name now lies as a moribund company unused on a shelf.

Sugg Lighting Ltd, however, manufacture both gas and electric lighting equipment with a strong flavour of the past and the eye-catching open flame "flambeaux". Their website is included in the Contacts section.

Chris Sugg independently offers a super-specialist service in interior gas lighting fixtures, spares including glassware and advice and assistance on all matters Sugg! See Contacts.

The site is split into a number of sections built around product groups which are then split further into individual products or even further groups. During the development of the site there may well be sections that remain empty or carry only an introduction as this is an enormous task! However, do not let this prevent you from enquiring should you have a specific question on a 'blank' section.

Finally, I would like to add that the vast majority of documents, illustrations and pictures used on this site are from my own collection. Literally hundreds of pictures from this collection have been scanned professionally at very high resolution for the Gas Industry Archive through the auspices of John Horne for the future enjoyment, historical interest and for researchers in the future. Some items that I have included have been photographed when a collector has brought them along or even sent a picture and I apologise if I have not recorded the source. The source of independent articles that may have been quoted are given where known and my grateful thanks go to many people and any unspecified sources that help to make up this unusual history of a Company that helped to form the world we live in.

The 'History' section provides a sequential story of the people and the business whilst the huge range of products are split separately into 'Lighting', 'Cooking' and 'Heating' and a 'Technical' section that covers gas control, carrying, measurement and testing equipment - and anything else that doesn't fit in the obvious sections!
Many Sugg pieces of literature are collected in their own right so these have been given a section under the title 'Publications', to enable collectors to recognise them. Meanwhile I have included a separate 'Collectors' section to show relevant collections which will not necessarily all be Sugg but will always include some 'home' products! The 'Contacts' section provides means of increasing your knowledge of the subject from museums to archives to gas lit pubs! Time will show if more sections are required!

This last comment has now come true! In order to assist the reader in finding something relevant or of interest to their particular search I have started a section called 'Indexes' which starts by carrying thumbnails of all the pictures on the site collected into the groups in which they are used. Thus, if you have a query about 'lighting' for instance, you can review all the pictures within this huge group without having to wind up and down many pages of full size text and pictures.

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A few sayings about light which William Sugg would doubtless have appreciated:

"Light is the most beautiful of materials, it connects us to the natural world, as this world becomes more artificial its purity becomes even more powerful"
David Chipperfield

"The existence of light allows us to walk along the tightrope between translucency and transparency" Nicholas Grimshaw

"All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish a candle" Anon

"Light gives objects existence as objects and connects space and form"
Tadao Ando

"Shadows are holes in light. An enlightened environment is what we all seek, politically, economically and physically" Ian Ritchie

Enjoy Your Visit

and do let me have any practical feedback.

See 'Contacts' for my email address.

Chris Sugg.

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