Summary
A gas street lamp, produced by Z D Berry & Son, probably installed in Churton Place in the 1880s.
Reasons for Designation
The lamp post in front of 8 Churton Place, dating from the 1880s, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* a good quality example of a popular design of gas lantern with a subtly enriched lamp standard;
* high level of survival of original features such as the twin ladder stands and the manufacturer’s mark.
Historic interest:
* although gas lamps were once a common feature of the street scene, original examples are increasingly rare.
Group value:
* the lamp post has a strong functional relationship and group value with the Unlisted Buildings of Merit in Churton Place, and with those buildings makes a positive contribution to the street it illuminates.
History
Gas street lighting first appeared in London on Pall Mall in 1807. The expansion of the railways coinciding with the development of urban gas works in the 1840s facilitated the proliferation of cast iron gas lamp posts across the capital in the mid C19. Electric street lighting began to be developed in the late C19 but gas street lamps continued to be used until the mid C20.
Master Builder Thomas Cubitt (1788-1855) constructed extensive terraces of stucco-fronted housing in Pimlico from 1835 onwards. Churton Place itself, the only true close of Cubitt’s developments in Pimlico, was not constructed until 1851-2, by which time Cubitt had lost interest in directly overseeing building work in Pimlico as he was occupied by work on Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. The terraces of Churton Place were probably built by the elder George Dines based on standard designs by architect Lewis Cubitt (1799-1883), brother of Thomas Cubitt.
Churton Place is described as being badly lit until the 1880s, which is when the gas street lamp was probably installed. The lamp appears to have been the sole source of light in the close ever since.
The lamp standard was produced by the local firm, Z D Berry & Son. Zephaniah Deacon Berry (1816-1880) was a gas engineer and ironmonger based at the Albion Works in Pimlico. His son, Zephaniah Augustine Berry, continued the family business until his own death in 1903. The company produced a variety of cast iron street furniture and lighting equipment and provided gas lighting for many public buildings such as the Grand Theatre, Islington in 1883.
The gas burner within the lantern is likely a later replacement as the original would probably have had a curved gas mantle. It is possible that the glazing panels have been replaced. There are no other signs of alteration.
Details
A gas street lamp, produced by Z D Berry & Son, probably installed in Churton Place in the 1880s.
MATERIALS
Cast iron lamp standard painted black; lantern with cast and wrought iron components also painted black and curved, tapered glazing panels.
DESCRIPTION
The lamp standard consists of a slender tapered shaft with an octagonal section and laurel ornamentation on the base and neck, set on an octagonal pedestal with moulded shoulders.
The front face of the pedestal bears the following text in relief: Z. D. BERRY & SON/ THE ALBION WORKS/ PIMLICO WESTMINSTER. Above this an oval panel, also in relief, bears a serial number: 6199.
A pair of iron ladder stands project horizontally from the top of the lamp standard. Above these, a set of four swan-neck brackets support a circular Grosvenor style lantern with tapered and curved glazing panels set in a cast iron frame. The lantern is surmounted by a circular, decorative, perforated metal crest and an ogee-shaped chimney finial.
There are some signs of corrosion where the collar and ladder stands connect to the top of the lamp standard, but otherwise the lamp is in generally good condition.
