The Gashouse at Shepherds Dene

The Gashouse at Shepherds Dene is a gas house, now used as a store, built around 1906-1907. It is located to the west of the main house of Shepherd's Dene. The structure is octagonal and constructed from roughly squared rubble sandstone, featuring dressed blocks for the lintels and sills. Its roof is also octagonal, covered in thin tiles made of mineral felt, with angled corners. At the top, there is a wooden ventilator finial with a square base, which has tall pierced panels and is topped with wide dentilled coping and a tall tapered finial.

The south-facing entrance has a door made of flat boarded panels, flanked by two window openings that are currently boarded up. Inside, the walls are plastered, and there is a tap on the east side along with a wide drain that leads out through the side wall. A panel on the rear wall reveals timber at intervals, indicating a possible wall fitting. Acetylene gas, which was discovered in 1836, was used as a lighting source and became well established by the end of the 19th century. This gas was produced by combining calcium carbide and water, a process that could be explosive, making it necessary to carry out the production away from the main house.