Lamp post outside 4 Tufton Street

Summary

A gas street light comprising a Brompton-type column, which is generally thought to date from the late C19, with a later extension shaft and a Windsor-type lantern probably installed in the early C20.

Reasons for Designation

The lamp post outside 4 Tufton Street, probably dating from the early C20, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* for the well-crafted, decorative column in cast iron, which is a good example of historic street furniture;
* for the design of the Windsor-style lantern, a popular and enduring style of lantern.

Historic interest:

* as a good example of a historic gas lamp post probably dating from the late C19 and early C20.

Group value:

* as part of an adjacent set of historic lamp posts on Gayfere Street, Tufton Street and Great College Street and a wider group across other key streets within the Smith Square area.

History

Gas street lighting first appeared in London in June 1807 when Frederick Albert Winsor gave a public demonstration of gas lights in Pall Mall. The expansion of the railways coinciding with the development of urban gas works in the 1840s facilitated the proliferation of cast iron lamp posts with open-flame gas burners across the capital in the mid-C19. This feature of industrialisation was seen to contribute to London’s international standing and also facilitated the development of modern urban living, increasingly unconstrained by daylight hours.

Electric street lighting was introduced from the 1880s and the gas industry responded by making technological improvements to gas lights, principally the incandescent gas mantle in 1896. This significantly increased the efficacy of gas light, but it was not until the introduction of the inverted gas mantle in 1905 that gas street lights were really able to match the efficiency and brightness of the rival electric carbon filament lamps. In the 1920s and 1930s, many gas lamp posts in Westminster were upgraded with new lanterns fitted with inverted mantles. Gas remained an important source of power for street lighting as late as the mid-C20, and smaller numbers of lamps have continued to run on gas into the early C21.

The Smith Square area was laid out in the C18 and is named after Henry Smith who owned the land to the north. At the centre of Smith Square is St John’s Church, 1713-1728 designed by Thomas Archer. To the north, early C18 terraced houses are located on Lord North Street, Cowley Street and Barton Street. Great College Street includes a mixture of C18 houses and early C20 houses and offices. This pattern is also seen on Gayfere Street. Tufton Street includes early and mid-C20 offices. To the south, Dean Trench Street and Dean Bradley Street include examples of mid-C20 houses and offices. Neoclassical mid-C20 offices are also located on Dean Stanley Street. Together, the Smith Square area is a clear illustration of a unified C18 development punctuated by later C20 buildings.

The lamp post outside 4 Tufton Street was probably installed a part of a linked lighting scheme that included additional gas lamps on Great College Street as well as those on Barton Street and Cowley Street. A historic image indicates that the lamp post was in situ by at least the 1970s. The style of column is known as Brompton Parish, which are generally understood to date from the late C19. The extension shaft to the top of the column was added later to raise the height of the lantern and improve light distribution, possibly around 1930 when the present Windsor-type lantern was installed to replace an earlier, outdated lantern.

Details

A gas street light comprising a Brompton-type column, which is generally thought to date from the late C19, with a later extension shaft and a Windsor-type lantern probably installed in the early C20.

MATERIALS: cast iron lamp post with a glazed lantern of iron, spun copper and enamelled steel.

DESCRIPTION: the lamp post consists of a tapering ‘Brompton’ column with acanthus leaves at the base and top and topped with an extension shaft and a Windsor lantern. The lantern is square shaped, with tapered and curved glazing panels with metal glazing bars, topped with a decorative circular ogee finial to the tent. One of the panels is an enamelled reflector blanked off to reflect light forward. The square base of the column has an oval plaque number 8030 on one side. Inside there is a six-mantle inverted burner with a Horstmann 14 day clockwork time controller and a steel reflector. The lantern is mounted on a four-legged frog attached to the collar of the column.

Sources

Books and journals
Bradley, S, Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England, London 6: Westminster, (2003), 700-701, 717-719
Pollard, N E, A Short History of Public Lighting in the City of Westminster in IPLE Lighting Journal, (March 1984), 53-58
Watson, I, Westminster and Pimlico Past, (1993), 42-43, 51-52

End of official list entry

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