Norchard Power Station near Lydney.


The top photo shows the north end of the partly-demolished
Power Station, at Norchard near Lydney.
Bottom
photo:
1 Tom Beard, 3 Stan Frowen from Lydney, 4 Ralph Hill from Whitecroft,
5 Stan from Whitecroft, 7 Mr Robins, 8 Don
Hancock Ralph Probert from Blakeney, 10 George Rudge, 12 Mr Walter Oaten, 13 Grantley Andrews, 15
Edward [Ted] Drew from Blakeney, 16 Harry Murt, 17 Henry Bearcroft, 18 "Monmouth",
21 Roy Bennett.
Ian
Davies wrote (Sept 2006): "Staff at Lydney Power Station 1966. Far
left is Don Hancock, to the left of
the door is "Monmouth". The little guy in the front wearing
a beret is little Stan from Whitecroft. He was a lovely guy and
my Mother and I used to sometimes give him a lift back home".
'The Norchard' generated electricity from 1923 to 1967 (A look back at Norchard
- Dr Graham J Field - 1978).
It may surprise the younger generation that
mains electricity was not generally available for people's homes in The Forest
until it was supplied from 'The Norchard' in the mid 1920s. Not everyone
took up electricity as soon as it was available and often the first electrical
item in a house was a "bare" lightbulb hung from the ceiling.
The Power Station used
coal,
taken in by overhead conveyor from the adjoining Norchard
colliery,
and coal brought in by rail.. Researchers should be aware that there was
another entrance to Norchard colliery, the New Norchard Level or Norchard
Pillowell,
near
Whitecroft.
However, ex-miners
that I have spoken to, refer to this simply as "Norchard". If you
follow the link below, you'll learn that this entrance was driven up from
below
to the surface in 1937. - GKD
An excellent account of the Norchard coal operations, by Forest author Ian
Pope can be found here: Norchard
Thanks to Ray Brown for pointing out (Oct 2006): "Lydney Power Station was
built in about 1924. I was born in
1935 and although we lived about 200 yards up the road from it I can remember
not having electric in the house".
Thanks also to Michael Bennett who
added (Mar 2007): "I Think number 1 is Tom Beard from Summerleaze Road Lydney".
Thanks also to Brian Drew son of Ted Drew.
Thanks to Harry Murt who added (Oct 2008): "Mr
Robins (7) was the Father-in- Law of Grantley Andrews(13)".
Lyn George added (Nov 2008): "The man
numbered 1 in the Norchard power station photo is Ted Beard. A very nice
chap who seldom removed the cigarette from his mouth when speaking. Ted was
very good at getting Stan Reeks to climb onto the messroom table and sing 'Has Anybody Seen My Tiddler'".
Thanks also to Richard Bearcroft.
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