The site had two very large gas holders . The first , built in 1886 and of was the world 's first ' four lift ' ( moving section ) holder . The second , with six lifts and originally the largest in the world at , was reduced to when it was damaged in the Silvertown explosion in 1917 , but was still the largest in England until it was damaged again by a Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb in 1978 . It was later demolished . An extensive internal railway system carried coal from a large coaling pier to the rest of the plant
Silvertown explosion
Silvertown explosion
East Greenwich Gas Works