 19th
century Jericho had its own tallow factory.
Tallow was animal fat which was used to make cheap candles until the mid
19th century when candles and lamp oil made from paraffin became available
and affordable, providing cheap and odour free lighting. Candles or oil
lamps would have been the only lighting
in early Jericho houses until gas lighting was available and affordable;
since gas meters were only available from the 1890s this probably meant
well into the 20th century in many homes. Later houses would probably have
gas laid on from the first, at least to the ground floor rooms. Electricity
was not available in Oxford until 1892 and only the better off could afford
it in their homes until at least the 1930s. |
