Summary
Three cast-iron C19 gas street lamps.
Reasons for Designation
The three C19 gas street lamps on The Quabbs are designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Intactness: the lamp standards are intact, and they remain lit by gas;
* Technological: they illustrate a technology which once transformed everyday existence;
* Group value: they form a functionally- and spatially-related group along the path;
* Historic interest: as part of an extensive network of similar gas-lit street lamps which survive across Malvern.
History
In 1851, permission was given for the building of a gas works at Sherrards Green in Malvern, the first to be built in the town. It opened in 1856, with the capacity to serve around 500 houses in the vicinity, as well as 200 street lamps. Further gas plants were opened around the town, and eventually all of Malvern, even remote locations, was provided with gas street lighting. In 1872, a lamplighter was paid 14s a week to light the lamps each evening. In total there were around 250 lamps, of which around 100 are still lit by gas, with a hand-wound clockwork mechanism to light them automatically. A further 125 have been converted to electric lighting; there are some replica lamp posts, and a few have been tapped off or lost entirely. The lamps were cast by a number of foundries, many of which were local, others much further afield, including Sheffield and Manchester. The lanterns were supplied by William Sugg & Company which was founded in London in 1837 to provide elements for gas lighting, and Foster and Pullen Ltd of Bradford.
Details
Lamp at NGR SO7622245865
The tapering Windsor lantern is supported on four scrolled brackets, set on a tapering octagonal column with a heavily-moulded octagonal ring; it has a moulded base set on an octagonal plinth with ogee stops. There is a distinctive single ladder rest with an upturned terminus.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
488246
Legacy System:
LBS
End of official list entry
