Edward Cockey

Edward Cockey (1781–1860) was an industrial entrepreneur in Frome, Somerset, England, descended from a local family of metalworkers.

The early part of the nineteenth century was a hard time for Frome, industry declining over the years as its dependence on the wool trade fell.

In 1826 William Cobbett commented on what he found during one of his Rural Rides in his Political Register: These poor creatures at Frome have pawned all their things, or nearly all.

The youngest son, Edward (1669–1768) stayed with his father and became notable for his exceptionally complicated astronomical clocks, helped by local patronage, particularly for Lord Weymouth at Longleat.

The second son, Lewis Cockey Junior (1666–1703) was a pewterer and bellfounder who moved to work in Frome in 1682 and was buried in the local church there in 1703.

Over the years he held almost the whole of the trade of the West Country in the production of gas plant and carried out many contracts in Russia and elsewhere for gasholders and the like.

[17] It was said that on Edward Cockey's daily inspection of the works if he met any item which displeased him, the person responsible, whether one of his sons, a foreman or workman, was liable to receive a heavy blow across the shoulders from a stick he always carried.

[22] The company extended its work into iron foundry of all kinds: fences, gates, stairs, balustrades, boilers, valves, steam engines, roofs, gasometers.

On the evening of 14 May 1871 a tremendous explosion took place next to the Ship at 6 Christchurch Street West: a 20 yard stretch of paving stones were torn up, a water closet exploded and two boys walking past were thrown into the air.

One unusual requirement in 1886 was to lay pipes in the town to supply a gas balloon for George Sanger’s circus.

[32] The original foundry, with its warehouse frontage of lifting crane and window-gates overlooking Palmer Street, had a space behind that was too small for their expanding business.

The buildings were mainly concentrated towards the boundaries, leaving plenty of open space to pre-assemble gasometers, before dismantling them for delivery by rail.

[34]From 1903, the 200 gas lamp standards erected by Cockey in Frome were converted to electricity, after a generating station was built and cables laid.

The foundry was used to pour metal into casts, making gas-holders, regulating valves and tar extractors, lamp standards and oil storage tanks.

They specialised in their own patented wash scrubbers: for the recovery of ammonia, tar and carbonic acid, by-products of making gas from coke or coal.

"[43]The firm wound up voluntarily in April 1960 but its memory remains with bollards, gate-posts, drain covers and lamp standards, many displaying the name.