Electricity in Rural England

[rhiannon_s]

Hey all. I'm tentatively plotting a story that takes place in a village in England's West Country. Precise location in the West Country doesn't really matter at this point, as I'm hoping to keep it as vague as possible, but I am trying to find out when electricity started getting introduced across the region. One of my principal characters is going

Comments

[lied_ohne_worte]

I've one instance of electricity from a contemporary novel. In "Busman's Honeymoon" by Dorothy L. Sayers (written in 1937, and I think also taking place then), the protagonists buy an old house in a fictional village located in Hertfordshire and go there for their honeymoon. They have plans of modernising the house, including getting electricity. Dialogue scene in question:

[Peter Wimsey]: ‘Do you know anything about running an electric light plant, by the way?’

[Crutchley, the gardener]: ‘Yes, my lord; there’s one at the garridge where I work.’

‘Because,’ said Peter, with a smile at his wife, ‘though candles and oil-stoves have their romantic moments and all that, I think we shall really have to electrify Talboys [that's the house].’

‘You’ll electrify Paggleham [the village] if you do, my lord,’ said Crutchley, with sudden geniality. ‘I’m sure I’d be very willing-’
---

So, apparently the village does not have electricity, although the "garridge" (which I think is in the nearby small town) does. "Running a light plant" is a somewhat specialised skill, but can be done without an electrician. And it seems as if the "electrifying" of the house would cause a bit of a stir in the village and perhaps also cause others to have their houses modernised? (if I understand all the implications of the expressions; I'm not a native speaker)

[sollersuk]

What the "light plant" needs is someone who can run a petrol (or similar) powered generator; a garage mechanic would be ideal for that.

Judging from the "Diary of a Provincial Lady", there were areas in rural Devonshire that did not have electricity of any kind in the early 1930s. Things could be very patchy; a couple of months ago a house in the North West of England got electricity for the first time. Basically, the more remote the area, the more expensive it was to put in the cables and the slower it was to get mains electricity. Lord Peter could probably bring pressure to bear; once mains electricity had reached Tallboys, it would be comparatively cheap for the rest of the village to be connected.

[lied_ohne_worte]

Aah, thanks - that explains things.

[rhiannon_s]

Would it realistically be the mid 1930s then for someone to be talking about introducing electricity to the rural West Country, or would it be earlier? I want the character in question to be keen on introducing it as something new and exciting, so I'd like it as early as is feasible for the area you see.

[derekl1963]

I suspect they could realistically be talking about introducing it if your location is handwavingly remote enough... (Which would require an expert on that area to assist.)

But being keen on it being new and exciting? I'd be careful on that. That seems to me like it would be like someone being keen on the 'net being 'new and exciting' in 2002... There may be people still without it, but only the most isolated would not be aware of it and quite aware it's not really all that new.

[rhiannon_s]

That seems to be the problem I'm coming up against. New enough to seem like an event, realistic enough so that it isn't stupidly early, but the problem seems to be that in deep rural areas if you are leaning to the latter it is more like "about bloody time" rather than "new event". I've a horrible feeling that the precise confluence of vaguely realistic, new enough, and, not "about bloody time" lies within the period of either during or just immediately either side of WW1 and that is a can of worms I'd rather not open an peek inside.

I suspect this may require altering a significant character or two. It may involve turning a silly-ass into an overbearing patronising ass instead, but it also means a shades-of-grey character into someone quite sinister (its one thing to resist a change when it is relatively new and unknown, but quite another to do so when it is well trodden in and not only of clear benefit, but the way of the future to boot). Oh well, if that is how it needs to be, then that is how it needs to be :o)

[nineveh_uk]

I think that electrifying a rural village in the 30s would still be an event. Remember, many very rural places still wouldn't have gas (they still don't - people have bottled gas or oil heating), so electricity would make a huge difference not just to individual houses, but in making things like streetlights possible. It wouldn't be something that individuals had never come across - the local town would have it, farmers might have a generator, large houses might, but - going back to "Busman's Honeymoon" though we see in that a London character being appalled that somewhere 50 miles from London doesn't have electricity yet, no-one who knows the environment thinks that it is unusual. Put your village slightly out of the way, maybe a bit geographically isolated, and you're entirely plausible.

[rhiannon_s]

That is very similar to what I was looking for, thank you.

So, mid 1930s is realistic, but it has to be a home generator?