I’ve not got much by way of history, but there again it’s a gasholder – they aren’t the most storied of things. What I’ve found online is that it was built by the Tunstill’s (owners of Brierfield Mills which is just a stone’s throw away) and taken over by the Nelson Local Board in 1888 to supply the town of Nelson which was increasing in size. A large explosion occurred at the gasworks on Christmas Day in 1949 causing some damage and cutting off gas to 40000 people in the area.

I don’t know when the gasworks closed or when the gasholder subsequently went out of use, but I found it more interesting visually than historically.

I particularly liked this photograph. I saw the elements of the scene as I walked towards it and took several different compositions before everything fell into place – the angle of the road, the fence, the layer of trees and the gasholder. Its the combination of lines, shapes, textures and tones that appeal, as well as the somewhat banal nature of the scene – there’s a vague nod to the new-topographic movement in there.