Summary
Three C19 gas street lamps, one by Hardy and Padmore of Worcester, one unmarked, the third by Baxendale and Co of Manchester.
Reasons for Designation
The mid-C19 gas street lamps on Lower Dingle are designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Design interest: the lamp standards are well cast, and each has a neatly-detailed tapering lantern;
* Intactness: the lamp standards are intact, and they remain lit by gas;
* Group value: the lamps form a functionally-related group along this steep lane;
* Historic interest: these lamps are 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 about 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 and Company which was founded in 1837 to provide elements for gas lighting, and Foster and Pullen Ltd of Bradford.
The three lamps in Lower Dingle were installed in the C19.
Details
Three C19 gas street lamps, one by Hardy and Padmore of Worcester, one unmarked, the third by Baxendale and Co of Manchester.
Lamp at NGR SO7637045659
The lamp is constructed of cast iron with a Windsor lantern, supported on four scrolled brackets, set on a reeded column with moulded base on a tapering octagonal plinth to a square foot. The ladder arms are reeded, with moulded finials. The plinth is cast with the founder's mark.
Lamp at NGR SO7635445627
The lamp is constructed of cast iron with a Windsor lantern, supported on four scrolled brackets, set on a tapering octagonal column with a heavily-moulded octagonal ring, with a moulded base set on an octagonal plinth with ogee stops. The ladder rest is a single long arm with a curved finial.
Lamp at NGR SO7637345577
The lamp is constructed of cast iron with a Windsor lantern, supported on four scrolled brackets, set on a tapering round column on an octagonal plinth with a square base with broaches. The faces of the plinth are cast with the founder's marks. The ladder arms are round in profile, with ball finials.
