15/11/2025
Great Yarmouth's Gasworks.
"Come and see our gasworks, it really is the best.
Unless you like clean air, or wish to be impressed
By things that aren't quite sooted, or smelling faintly sweet,
We’ve got a thousand tonnes of coal stacked up on Regent Street!
See Great Yarmouth’s gasworks, it is a grand design,
Built by Queen Victoria in eighteen sixty nine,
We burned the coal and baked it hard, and choked out all the tar,
The locals swore our nightly fumes obscured the brightest star.
The manager, old Mr. Grime, with all his staff would joke,
“Take deep breaths and then you’ll find you have no need to smoke!
'Forget your healthy seaside air,' he'd bellow with a cough, 'Our gas will light your hallways up, and keep the darkness off!'
But then the sixties rolled along, with changes had to be,
For now they pumped in natural gas from the cold North Sea,
They said our coal-fired magic was obsolete and done,
We sighed and pulled the plug on the industry and fun.
So come and view the history, where industry once reigned,
It’s a magnificent eyesore, perfectly maintained!
It proves that even when your firm has shut its dirty doors,
You must still take some notice of the preservation laws.
