Lamp standard adjacent to the south entrance of the Prince Alfred public house on Castellain Road

Summary

Cast-iron lamp standard of around 1898, adjacent to the southern entrance to the Prince Alfred public house.

Reasons for Designation

The lamp standard adjacent to the south entrance of the Prince Alfred public house on Castellain Road, erected in around 1898 as part of the remodelling of the pub, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* as a cast-iron lamp standard of around 1898 with intricate relief detailing;

Historic interest:

* as a very rare example of a lamp standard installed as part of a pub remodelling scheme undertaken at the height of the late-C19 ‘pub boom’, once a common part of the external appearance of many Victorian pubs, though now constituting one of a very small number known to survive;

Group value:

* with the Grade II*-listed Prince Alfred public house and the adjacent Grade-II listed lamp standard on Castellain Road, which was also installed as part of the remodelling of the pub in around 1898. There is also strong group value with the Grade II-listed buildings at 2-18 Formosa Street, 1-5 Formosa Street, and, to the south on Warrington Crescent, the Colonnade Hotel Warrington Lodge.

History

The streets around Warrington Crescent and Warwick Avenue were set out from the 1850s on land that formed part of the Bishop of London’s estate. Development of the area was characterised by substantial stuccoed houses, with those built along the northern part of Warwick Avenue (originally named Warwick Road West and later Warrington Terrace) completed by 1863. Formosa Street was laid out at the same time to function as a connecting service road lined with shops, following the pattern of development established by the 1824 masterplan by Samuel Pepys Cockerell for the Tyburn Estate or ‘Tyburnia’, to the south of Paddington. The Prince Alfred was built at the junction of Formosa Street and Castellain Road (known as Warwick Road North prior to renaming in 1869) as part of this early development of the area; recorded under its present name in trade records from 1869.

The lamp standard on Castellain Road was installed as one of a pair to light the main south-western façade of the Prince Alfred. This formed part of a complete remodelling of around 1898; undertaken at the height of the London ‘pub boom’ which saw extravagant spending on remodelling of pubs as breweries and publicans jostled for market control within the context of strict control of license distribution. Lighting was an important component of the overall glittering effect pubs of the 1890s sought, and often involved a combination of kerb-side lamp standards, etched-glass windows, and hanging lanterns; as are all noted at the Prince Alfred. Although a relatively common feature of pubs of the late C19, very few examples survived into the later C20, as Mark Girouard noted in 1984 (‘Victorian Pubs’, p154). The two lamp standards at the Prince Alfred fell into disrepair into the 1970s, with the original lanterns lost at around this time. Replacement ‘Nico’ lanterns were fitted as part of work to the Prince Alfred in 1988 (City of Westminster reference: 88/04069/CAC).

Details

Cast-iron lamp standard of around 1898, set on the kerb adjacent to the southern entrance to the Prince Alfred public house on Castellain Road.

DESCRIPTION: tapered, fluted shaft with bands and four crest emblems to the plinth, featuring a lion holding a staff. Cross bars at the collar have a central floral motif and elaborate paired brackets. Above the capital is a replacement glazed ‘Nico’ lantern with a finial, fitted in 1988.

Sources

Books and journals
Girouard, M, Victorian Pubs, (1984), 154
Pollard, N E, A Short History of Public Lighting in the City of Westminster in IPLE Lighting Journal, (March 1984), 53-58

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