Summary
Six cast-iron gas street lamps of the mid-C19; two altered in the mid-to late C20; by The Horseley Company, Tipton.
Reasons for Designation
The six mid-C19 gas street lamps on Harcourt Road are designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Intactness: the lamp standards are intact, with the exception of the replacement of an arm to one of the ladder rests and two replacement lanterns, and they all remain lit by gas;
* Technological: they illustrate a technology which once transformed everyday existence;
* Group value: they form a functionally-related and co-visual group along the road;
* 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.
The six lamps on Harcourt Road were manufactured by The Horseley Company of Tipton in the West Midlands, and installed in the mid-C19. Two of the lanterns were replaced in the mid- to late C20.
Details
Lamp at NGR SO7606544998
The tapering Windsor lantern is supported on four scrolled brackets, set on a tapering octagonal column with a heavily-moulded octagonal ring. The moulded base is set on an octagonal plinth with chamfered and stepped stops; plinth is cast with the founder's mark. The ladder rest is octagonal with octagonal knop finials.
Lamp at NGR SO7610844982
The tapering Windsor lantern is supported on four scrolled brackets, set on a tapering octagonal column with a heavily-moulded octagonal ring. The moulded base is set on an octagonal plinth with chamfered and stepped stops; plinth is cast with the founder's mark. The ladder rest is octagonal with octagonal knop finials.
Lamp at NGR SO7621245028
The tapering Windsor lantern is supported on four scrolled brackets, set on a tapering octagonal column with a heavily-moulded octagonal ring. The moulded base is set on an octagonal plinth with chamfered and stepped stops; plinth is cast with the founder's mark. The ladder rest is octagonal with octagonal knop finials. The column carries the stencilled number 11.
Lamp at NGR SO7624445101
The tapering Windsor lantern is supported on four scrolled brackets, set on a tapering octagonal column with a heavily-moulded octagonal ring. The moulded base is set on an octagonal plinth with chamfered and stepped stops; plinth is cast with the founder's mark. The ladder rest is octagonal with octagonal knop finials. The column carries the stencilled number 10.
Lamp at NGR SO7629845148
The square Maxilla lantern is supported on four straight brackets, set on a tapering octagonal column with a heavily-moulded octagonal ring. The moulded base is set on an octagonal plinth with chamfered and stepped stops; plinth is cast with the founder's mark. The ladder rest has two different arms: one is octagonal with an octagonal knop finial; the other, which has been brought from elsewhere, is reeded with a moulded finial.
Lamp at NGR SO7634545211
The square Maxilla lantern is supported on four straight brackets and a modern upward extension, set on a tapering octagonal column with a heavily-moulded octagonal ring. The moulded base is set on an octagonal plinth with chamfered and stepped stops. The ladder rest is octagonal with octagonal knop finials; plinth is cast with the founder's mark. The column carries the stencilled number 7.
