Raphael Herring
Raphael Herring (c1838-1911), Gas Engineer of the Dover Gas Works
ca.1838 Born the son of Thomas Herring, a Painter.
1860 Married in Southwark to Matilda Gregg
1911 Living at Victoria House, Union Road, Dover: Raphael Herring (age 73 born Downham Market, Norfolk), Gas Engineer. With his wife Helen Herring (age 70 born Much Marcle, Herefordshire) and their two children Edward Herring (age 31 born Saltley), Gas Engineer Assistant, and Mabel Herring (age 35 born Dover).[1]
1911 Died.
1911 Obituary.[2]
We regret to record the death on Sunday last, as a result of heart trouble, of Mr. Raphael Herring, the Engineer and Manager of the Dover Gas Works, who has held his appointment with the Dover Company since 1887, and had attained the age of 74 years. Mr. Herring had devoted tho whole of his working life to gas production.
He started at the Equitable Gas Works, Pimlico. which undertaking was absorbed by the Chartered Gas Company, and Mr. Herring next was engaged with the Commercial Gas Company at Stepney, under Mr. Robert Jones.
In 1877 Mr. Herring obtained an appointment with the Birmingham Corporation Gas Company, with the profits of which Mr. Joseph Chamberlain did so much to improve the streets of Birmingham before he was known in the political world.
From Birmingham Mr. Herring moved to Dover in 1887, when he took up the position of Manager of the Buckland Gas Works, which position he has held with great credit to himself and benefit to the Company for nearly a quarter of a century. Mr. Herring was highly esteemed in his profession, and frequently read papers before the Southern District Association matters concerning gas making.
Before coming to Dover Mr. Herring was very busy in inventing and improving apparatus used in gas making, and many of the inventions he patented. One of his inventions was a fluid carburettor, which was widely adopted, and is still in use in Dover, for enriching the gas spraying the coal with oil, which saves the expense of cannel coal. Mr. Herring has been very successful at Dover, owing to Mr. Willsher Mannering, the Chairman of the Company, and his co-Directors working hand-in-hand with their Engineer and Manager, while, at the same time, Mr. Herring has cultivated a good feeling of loyalty and comradeship amongst the under officials and workmen, there being a centre of union on the Works in the form of a reading and recreation room, which he was the means of establishing soon after he took charge of the Works. The twenty-first anniversary of the establishment of this room was recently celebrated, and, referring to this institution, "The Journal of Gas Lighting" remarks that the end Mr. Herring had in view establishing the room now so long ago was to raise the standard of intelligence amongst the men, and so benefit them and their employers.
Mr. Herring leaves a widow, two daughters, and four sons. One of his sous, Mr. E. C. Herring, has been for some time Assistant Engineer on the Dover Works, and an elder son, Mr. W. R. Herring, is well known in the gas world, holding a high position at Edinburgh.
The funeral took place at Buckland Churchyard on Thursday afternoon, in the presence of a considerable number of people......