John Burgess
John Burgess (1825-1894)
1895 Obituary [1]
JOHN BURGESS was born at Furness Vale, near Stockport, on the 29th of September, 1825. In 1846 he entered the Gasworks Department of the Corporation of Manchester, where he remained ten years, acting during a considerable portion of that time as assistant manager of the Gaythorn station.
In 1856 he was appointed engineer and manager to the Huddersfield Gas Co, his services being retained on the purchase of the works by the Corporation sixteen years later.
When Mr. Burgess entered upon his duties at Huddersfield the works were small, having a storage capacity of about 400,000 cubic feet only. From his designs there have since been erected four new gas-holders, the latest of which has a capacity of 1,100,000 cubic feet, the total capacity being about 3,600,000 cubic feet. Other additions were a large retort-house of modern design, fitted with regenerative furnaces and adapted for the application of the latest labour-saving machinery; a purifying house with hoisting machinery and a hydraulic travelling-crane ; a new engine-house; new scrubbers of modern design ; a large plant for continuously producing sulphate of ammonia from the residual ammoniacal liquor ; and a new station meter, with house and testing-laboratory. He was also actively engaged in connection with the laying down of plant for lighting the town by electricity-a work which was undertaken by the Corporation.
On the 2nd of March, 1892, Mr. Burgess was compelled by a second attack of paralysis to retire from the service of the Corporation, with the position of consulting engineer. From that time he was confined to the house, and a third attack proved fatal on the 6th of July, 1894.....[more]