Stench Pipe, Rathmore Road, Bangor, BT19 1NL

Stench Pipe, Rathmore Road, Carnalea, Bangor

This is a sewer ventilation pipe of the type employed to dissipate noxious gases from underground sewers and occasionally landfill sites, allowing fumes to disperse high above ground level where they could not be smelled or breathed in. These structures became known colloquially as "stink pipes" or "stench pipes". They were developed following the example of London in the aftermath of the Great Stink of 1858, when many growing urban centres upgraded or constructed new sewage systems. The design was devised for London sewers by Cornish engineer Goldsworthy Gurney (1793–1875) and was typically modelled on lamp posts, constructed largely of cast iron to blend with streetscape furniture. Some, particularly those sited on hilltops where gas pockets collected, featured lamp fittings at their crowns within which gases could be burnt off.

The pipe dates to between the 1920s and 1930s, based on evidence from its maker's mark and materials. The base is cast iron, plain cylindrical and slightly tapered, with six wide flutes. One of these flutes, on the south side, bears the maker's name "FARRER", identifying it as a product of William E. Farrer Ltd of Birmingham, a firm established in 1896 and known for its sewage purification products. The base must therefore have been manufactured after 1896. The riser pipe is a single section and appears to be asbestos, suggesting a date of manufacture around or after the 1930s when this material came into more widespread use for pipework. The crown top is cast iron and is attached to the riser with a crude bolt. The base, pipe and crown exhibit weathered green paint, with a black layer of paint visible beneath the green topcoat and red oxide primer also visible on the base. Some corrosion is evident at the crown bolt connection.

The pipe stands approximately 2.4 kilometres east-south-east of Bangor town centre and 1.4 kilometres south-west of the sewage reception facility on the coast at Stricklands Glen. It is located at the back of the pavement on the west side of Rathmore Road, south of Carnlea, outside Carnlea Methodist Church, where it currently serves as a bus stop, a role it presumably adopted from around 1965 onwards.

The exact date and specific role of this particular pipe remain uncertain. Until the 1960s–70s, the section of Rathmore Road and surrounding area was open fields, making the presence of an underground sewer at this location unlikely. There is no evidence that this was ever a landfill site either. It is possible that the pipe served a long sewage duct running from the Clandeboye demesne to the south northwards to the coast, or that it was relocated to this site when the area was developed, though the latter seems improbable.

Most surviving stink pipes in the British Isles date from the late Victorian and Edwardian periods. The introduction of individual house ventilation pipes and advances in sewage disposal generally rendered such structures obsolete. In more recent decades, many have been cut down to stumps or removed entirely, making intact examples rare. Historical records document their presence in various Irish towns: ventilation pipes were erected in Portadown in August 1884 (though at least one resident successfully petitioned against having one installed next to his dwelling); cast-iron ventilation pipes were fixed in Comber in 1892; several were included in sewage works in Carnlough in 1897; two are recorded in Downpatrick in 1898, with one specifically at the corner of Irish Street. At least one remains in place in each of Dromore, Newtownards and the Bangor area, though references to their presence in Belfast and Derry–Londonderry are surprisingly few. This pipe is believed to be one of only two intact examples surviving in Northern Ireland and is accordingly worthy of listing.