Monument record 7924 - Site of Poynton Gasworks

<1> Ordnance Survey, 1896-1898, Ordnance Survey First Revision County Series (Epoch 2) 25 inch to 1 mile - Cheshire (Maps and Plans). SCH3848.

Poynton Gas works first shown in the 2nd edition OS maps. A circular gasometer and several rectangular buildings are marked.

<2> Ordnance Survey, 1909-1912, Ordnance Survey Second Revision County Series (Epoch 3) 25 inch to 1 mile - Cheshire (Maps and Plans). SCH4361.

Circular Structure and rectangular buildings shown on the 3rd edition OS map

<3> Ordnance Survey, 1928-1954, Ordnance Survey Third Revision County Series (Epoch 4) 6 inch to 1 mile - Cheshire (Maps and Plans). SCH4533.

Circular and rectangular structures shown on the 4th edition 6 inch OS maps

<4> Shercliff W H, Kitching D A & Ryan J M, 1983, Poynton, A Coalmining Village, /32-33 (Monograph). SCH2683.

Gasworks in Poynton first appears on the 1849 Survey and map, situated on the north side of the colliery railway close to the level crossing on London road. 1875 report on Poynton Colliery records that the gaswoarks require considerable extension. Description of the buildings and machinery at the gasworks in a 1920s sales catalogue. Works closed in 1935 when Stockport gas connected to the mains. Remains of the gasworks reported as being visible in 1982. Including derelict retorts, a gas hoder pit and preimeter wall. Gasholder recordeded as being moved to a site near Hilltop farm to be used as a water tower.

<5> ArcHeritage, 2017, Hazelbadge Road, Poynton, Cheshire: Desk-Based Assessment, R4378 (Client Report). SCH8797.

A desk-based assessment and walkover field survey were undertaken in 2017 for land off Hazelbadge Road, Poynton, Cheshire (NGR SJ 91238 83891), in support of proposals for a residential development. Poynton Gas Works were constructed in the western part of the Site in the 1870s; they were closed in 1935 and had been demolished by 1945. The respective railway sidings were also dismantled.

The walkover field survey identified that the site of Poynton Gas Works is now occupied by woods. The remains of several gas
works’ buildings and features survive within the wood, including the bases of some of the perimeter walls and the partial remains of the principal gas holder. The latter is a large, circular feature that retains much of its brick lining below ground level. A substantial brick retaining wall is present along the former works’ perimeter, immediately to the north-east of the site of the gas holder, while a relatively shallow, circular depression immediately to the south-east may mark the site of a second gas holder.
The remains of some of the principal gas works buildings survive in the woods to the south. These include recognisable features such as retorts. Demolition rubble from the retort house itself, now heavily overgrown with vegetation, is scattered throughout this area while further features are largely obscured by the density of the vegetation. A concrete gate post, part of a perimeter wall and several sections of the outer walls of buildings survive within the wood. The longest of the walls appears to have been the southeast wall of the gas works’ coal store. Several buttresses are visible on what was originally the exterior of the wall, presumably to support the structure against the weight of the stacked coal. The former interior of the coal store is heavily wooded and overgrown with vegetation, as is the former embankment of the railway sidings to the south of the gas works. The rails and sleepers have been dismantled and the embankment is visible largely as a relatively flat area within the wood