Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee Commemorative Lamp Standard

Summary

Commemorative lamp standard 1897, the lantern was replaced in the late C20.

Reasons for Designation

The Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee Commemorative Lamp Standard, Withernsea, erected in 1897, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:

* erected in 1897, it is a relatively rare surviving example of a commemorative lamp standard erected to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria; of which there are only four on the List.

Architectural interest:

* it is an elegant, finely crafted cast-iron lamp standard, embellished with good-quality ornate baroque-style decorative detailing;
* the celebratory nature of the lamp standard is clearly expressed in its design;
* it is largely intact, and the renovation work that has taken place has been carefully undertaken to replicate the appearance of the original design.

History

The Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee lamp standard was erected in 1897 by the inhabitants of Withernsea to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria; the only British monarch at that time to have reached sixty years on the throne. The event was celebrated in Britain by the erection of many buildings and structures, ranging from schools and alms houses, through to fountains and lamp standards. It was originally sited at the centre of the junction of Queen Street and Seaside Road. It was later moved to the pier tower steps on the seafront, before finally being moved to its present location within the Municipal Gardens, close to the Municipal Buildings and the library. It is unclear when the lamp was converted to electricity, but it was probably in the mid-C20. The present electric lantern conforms to the basic appearance of a standard late-C19 design, known as a 'Windsor' lamp.

Details

Commemorative lamp standard 1897, the lantern was replaced in the late C20.

MATERIALS: a cast-iron lamp standard, mounted on a concrete base, with decorative cast-iron chain posts.

DESCRIPTION: the lamp standard stands on a square concrete base, surrounded by a narrow flower bed within a raised square concrete surround, with stylised cast-iron dolphins at each corner, supporting a spiked-chain. The lamp standard comprises a splayed pedestal with scroll feet, set on a base with concave faces and a beaded architrave. A crown flanked by the initials VR, with streaming ribbons to either side dated 1837 / 1897, is set between the scroll feet, with the maker's plate below that reads: KING and Co LIMITED / ENGINEERS / HULL. The front access panel is hinged at the base and displays a dedication that reads: 1837-1897 / IN COMMEMORATION OF THE / DIAMOND JUBILEE / OF HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY / JUNE 22ND 1897 / THROUGH THE INDEFATIGABE / EFORTS OF A LOYAL / & GENEROUS COMMITTEE / PRESIDENT. M. CHEVERTON-BROWN / VICE PRESIDENT. CHAS. THOMPSON / HON. TREASURER. CHAS. SIMPSON. / HON. SECS. J.T. WOOLLONS. L.S. KIDD. The side and rear panels of the pedestal have foliated decoration and a conduit pipe projects from the southern side. An ornate baroque-style base rises off the pedestal, formed of a baluster vase resting on a scroll foot base with fluted panels, supported by seashells over female heads with garlands in their hair, and the base of the shaft is flared and decorated with swags. The tapering fluted shaft has a rounded section and rises to a moulded architrave beneath a narrow foliate frieze, with two ladder rests and a projecting round cornice. An electric lamp is housed in a late-C20 'Windsor' style lantern, with a false flue forming a finial.

Sources

Websites
Queen Victoria Jubilee Lamp, accessed 23 April 2021 from https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/6374819
Withernsea in Pictures -Queen Street, accessed 23 April 2021 from https://withernsea1.co.uk/QueenStreet.html
East Riding Media Library, accessed 23 April 2021 from http://www.eriding.net/media/withernsea.shtml

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