uk question: i live in walthamstow, east london, in a terraced
property, presumably built to house workers in the textile industry,
which was predominant in that area (tho I can't be sure of that). it
was built in 1870, and the bathroom installed in 1971.

i want to know: would the house always have had electricity, or would
they have have used candles or other forms of lighting? when is it
likely that the house would have been connected to the power network?

i'm obviously not asking about my house in particular, just the
general area (since it's likely that the whole town was done at much
the same time).

Dear els24uk-ga 

I used to work and live in North London so I know the type of property
you are referring to. It would have been built for artisans and the
lower classes.

Candles were the basic form of lighting until the 1880s.  Gas began to
be accepted following its installation in the House of Commons in
1852. It was then in increasing demand for street lighting, domestic
lighting and later for cooking. In 1889 'Penny-in-the-slot' meter was
introduced for gas lighting.

The first houses were lit by electricity 1881, but of course these
were installed by the very rich and those unafraid of the new
technology. In 1896 was the first large scale installation of domestic
electric lighting. By 1914 most new large and medium houses were being
fitted with electricity. My old house in Havering, built in 1910, was
originally installed with gas. The old lead pipes and mantle points
were still there when we moved there in 1986. An inspection of your
house may reveal evidence of gas pipe installation.

As regards Walthamstow I found these interesting memoirs of a former
resident of Walthamstow. Around 1926 Eric Carrington Smith recalls
that "most houses had coal-fired ranges as well as gas cookers. The
ranges had hobs, ovens and hot water boilers. There was no electricity
and all lighting was by gas, oil-lamps and candles."
He goes on to say "in the early 30's Walthamstow Borough Council
extended their electricity supply into the area…..". Therefore I think
I can say that electricity was installed in your house after 1930. I
recommend you read the memoirs as they are fascinating and give a real
insight into life in Walthamstow in the 20s and 30s.
http://www.hmsweb.co.uk/html/ericsmith.html

The home page for the History of Walthamstow is 
http://www.hmsweb.co.uk/html/home.html
You may find there additional information and photographs.

I was unable to find any further direct information on electricity in
Walthamstow.

Other sources include:
History of gas 
http://www.igaseng.com/gashist.htm

History of a London house
http://www.thelondonhouse.co.uk

Vestry House Museum – your local Walthamstow museum and archive has
records on the Walthamstow Gas Co
http://www.lbwf.gov.uk/leisure/intro/vestry_intro.stm
http://www.hmc.gov.uk/NRA/searches/COdocs.asp?CR=8141

Other indexes of the museum
http://www.hmc.gov.uk/archon/searches/locresult.asp?LR=93

This Enfield site has some information on gas and electricity for that
area. I think some similarities can be drawn from their experience.
http://www.enfield.gov.uk/histind.htm

I hope this research has been of assistance and has answered your
question. Please ask for clarification of this research, or if the
links do not work before rating the answer.

answerfinder-ga

Search strategy
Variations of Walthamstow London history electricty lighting gas
‘local history’

excellent answer - thanks!

Gas was commonly used for domestic lighting in the UK, even in the
1930's.

Electricity supplies then started becoming available. Hence, in the
1930's, many domestic radios (then known as 'wireless sets') were
powered by rechargeable wet batteries.

The 'Local Studies' section of your local Library would probably be
able to help you ... Unless, of course, a Googler can unearth the
stuff you require.