The annual Wolverhampton Floral Fete which was held in West Park between 1889 and 1939 was a great success. Each year large numbers of people paid the entrance fee for the three day event during the 2nd week in July. The proceeds from the 1893 fete alone paid for the building of the park’s conservatory, which opened in July 1896. From 1915 to 1918 the event was not held because of the First World War. For several years before 1915 the Electrical Exhibition was incorporated into the event.

Mains electricity was still in its infancy and Wolverhampton Corporation’s Electricity Department was seeking to increase the number of users, both in industry and in the private sector. The Electrical Exhibition allowed visitors to see the advantages of having electricity installed, particularly in the home.

Local Power Stations

Wolverhampton’s power station, originally called the Municipal Lighting Works, opened in Commercial Road on the 30th January, 1895 using generators supplied by two local companies, Thomas Parker Limited, and The Electric Construction Company. The initial plant was capable of generating 632 kW. Motor transformers were placed in the Art Gallery, the Free Library, and the Town Hall, where there was a sub-station which could be linked to future sub-stations. These supplied 200 volts DC to the area.

Commercial Road Power Station in its early days. Courtesy of Cathy Dennis.

By 1902 the plant was upgraded when electrically powered trams were introduced in Wolverhampton. The power station supplied 500 volts DC to the local tram network that used surface contact boxes, which were mounted in the middle of the track and operated by an electromagnet on each tram. It was known as the Lorain system. By 1908 the power station was capable of supplying 6 MW and by 1913 could supply 3 MW DC and 4 MW AC.

Wolverhampton power station in the 1950s, seen from Bilston Road canal bridge. Courtesy of Roger Taft.

Many of the neighbouring towns also built power stations. In December 1895 Walsall generating station opened in Wolverhampton Street, by the canal. This was superseded in 1916 with a much larger generating station at Birchills.

The original power station at Birchills.

Large scale electricity distribution became a reality in South Staffordshire with the formation of the Midland Electric Corporation for Power Distribution, in June 1897. Thomas Parker was the creative genius behind the venture and the Corporation’s chairman was Wolverhampton engineer, J. F. Allbright. In 1898 it was granted permission to supply electricity to Bilston, Brierley Hill, Coseley, Cradley Heath, Darlaston, Heath Town, Kingswinford, Old Hill, Rowley Regis, Sedgley, Short Heath, Tipton, Wednesbury, Wednesfield, and Willenhall. The power station was built on 14 acres of land at Ocker Hill, alongside the Walsall Branch of the Birmingham canal. Sub stations were built at Bilston, Brierley Hill, Darlaston, Old Hill, Tipton and Wednesbury.

Ocker Hill power station seen from Church Hill in Wednesbury.

As demand grew in Wolverhampton, the power station in Commercial Road was rebuilt and could supply 30,000 Kilowatts of power to a number of sub-stations. In 1925 all of the local power stations came under the control of the West Midlands Joint Electricity Authority which had offices in Dudley Road, Wolverhampton and in October 1932 opened the new power station at Ironbridge.

Charges for Electricity

In order to encourage people to have electricity installed at home, the rates charged were very low. In 1913 the so called new tariff was introduced for people’s houses. It consisted of a fixed annual charge equal to 15 percent of the rateable value of the house, plus a small charge of 4 pence per unit consumed. It led to consumers using more electric heaters and electric cookers and also encouraged manufacturers to produce more electrical products.

Thomas Smith, Wolverhampton’s Distributing Engineer

In about 1906, the Electricity Department based at Wolverhampton Power Station acquired an empty shop on the corner of Darlington Street and School Street that had been occupied by William Picken, a draper. It became the Electricity Department’s shop, which was a showroom for electrical goods of all kinds. Thomas Smith, his wife Maude and daughter Nancy lived above the shop with a general domestic servant. At the time the electricity network was expanding and so cables were being laid throughout the town and into the suburbs. Behind the shop was the cable store yard where the drums of cable were stored.

The electricity department's showroom on the corner of Darlington Street and School Street. As seen in 1911. Courtesy of Cathy Dennis.

Thomas Smith and his staff. Courtesy of Cathy Dennis.

An advert from 1915.

Thomas Smith and his staff became involved in the Electrical Exhibition, that for several years was part of the West Park Floral Fete. It allowed visitors to inspect all of the latest electrical household appliances and to encourage their use. There were also displays of machinery and large electric motors. There must have been a lot of visitors to the exhibition because the fete was extremely popular. There was a charge to enter the fete and so many people must have looked at the electrical displays which were an extra free attraction.

The entrance to the exhibition. Courtesy of Cathy Dennis.

A display of lighting. Courtesy of Cathy Dennis.

A cooking display with an electric clock. Courtesy of Cathy Dennis.

A display of sewing machines and vacuum cleaners. Courtesy of Cathy Dennis.

Wolverhampton Steam Laundry featuring electric irons and a fan. Courtesy of Cathy Dennis.

Electric vehicles. Courtesy of Cathy Dennis.

Electric fires, kettles, fans and food grills. Courtesy of Cathy Dennis.

Thomas was a keen photographer and some of his photos are included in this article. By 1914 the Smith family were living at 67 Bath Road with a second daughter, Margaret, born in 1913.

One of Thomas's photos showing the laying of tramlines in Lichfield Street in 1902. Courtesy of Cathy Dennis.

By 1925 Mr. Smith had left the Electrical Department and was working in his own business with Mr. C. Bellhouse as Smith & Bellhouse, based at 28 Darlington Street, on the south side of the street, in the row of shops that were next to the Methodist Church. Fold Street car park is there today.

Smith & Bellhouse occupied Eagle House in Darlington Street. Seen here in the 1970s.

Mr. Smith was born in Llanfair, Denbighshire and so became very involved in the Welsh Presbyterian Chapel in Bath Road. In 1936 he was Church Secretary, by which time he had retired.

Mr Smith's photo of the Welsh Chapel in Bath Road, as seen from the front bedroom window of the Smith family's home. Courtesy of Cathy Dennis.

Although Mr. Smith has long disappeared into the mists of time, his legacy lives on. The old electric tramway that allowed trams to go as far as Upper Green in Tettenhall and the electrification of many of the suburbs including Tettenhall, was carried out by Mr. Smith and his hard working staff. They greatly improved people’s lives through their work, which changed the face of Wolverhampton forever.