The Supply came to Ashcombe

The South Western Electricity Board lights up Aschcombe

A film showing how modern electricity is installed by the South Western Electricity Board or SWEB in the village of Ashcombe near Teignmouth, Devon taking it from old gas lighting to modern fluorescent lighting and a more stable metered electricity supply almost overnight. The current is carried by new electricity pylons into homes in the village. A couple show off their new comforts from lights to a hot cup of tea giving a glimpse of modern domestic bliss in post war Britain.

Electricity at this time is generated from coal fired power stations with the first nuclear power station opened at Calder Hall, Sellafield in 1956. In 1948 a quarter of British homes have no electricity and government grants and new house-building schemes after the Second World War lead to a radical modernisation of factories and homes alike. Many rural locations are also connected and electricity has important consequences for farm yields and increased food production.