London : capital lights

We’ve checked out some of London city’s amazing clocks (some famous examples here, some less well known here), and its design-rich historic guttering; now let’s focus on some of its historic sources of illumination.

There are two of these ornate lamp standards, commemorating the opening of Chelsea embankment in 1874, one at the west end of the embankment gardens and one just to the east of Albert Bridge. 

The design, by Timothy Butler, was originally submitted to the London Metropolitan Board of Works when it was looking for lamps to light the newly completed Thames Embankment but Vulliamy’s dolphin design (at right) was chosen instead. 

On the Chelsea embankment lamps two climbing figures of young boys, one passing a burning torch to the other, twist artfully around standards that are adorned at their bases with overflowing cornucopias. 

These delightful lamp standards were made in cast iron by a company in Coalbrookdale and sit on plain granite pedestals.

This next light is to be found on Chelsea Bridge, one of the many bridges that cross the Thames in central London. Constructed between 1934 and 1937, the listing on the Historic England website explains:

The bridge is painted mostly white with a red trim and greyish blue along the balustrades. It is embellished with five sets of lampposts, decorated with golden galleons, on either side of the bridge and smaller bulbs fixed into the swooping metal supports. There are heraldic designs on the four tall turrets at either end of the bridge: a golden galleon with two shields underneath (each marked with different symbols); crests of Middlesex and other counties around London; and a series of doves holding olive branches.

The lamp standards in the above photos were spotted in Whitehall (on the left) and at the entrance to Downing Street (on the right).

Surmounted by small gold crowns, these lamps cast their light along The Mall leading to Buckingham Palace.

And so to Buckingham Palace (the two photos above and the two immediately below) where, as you’d expect, even the lights on the external fences and gates are ornate, opulent and rich-looking. The Historic England listing says these lamps, both the candelabra and single lanterns, are part of the overall Victoria Memorial scheme designed by Sir Aston Webb and date from 1901-11.   

You would expect the World Heritage site that is Westminster Abbey to have magnificent everything and this is certainly true of its lamps.

It wasn’t easy to get a good look at the Palace of Westminster during my recent visit to London – the building was covered in the scaffolding required for its renovation and restoration, and the pavements surrounding it were awash with protesters. Luckily, when we rounded the corner, heading towards Westminster Bridge, I noticed a magnificent line of old trees and, near them, a row of 14 lamp standards running along next to the driveway. These cast-iron standards (one is shown below, left), with their ‘crown finialed globe lanterns’ were made c. 1860-67.  

On the right, above, is one of several lamps that grace the balustrades of Westminster Bridge. Dating from 1862, the cast-iron standards are surmounted by ‘twin bracketed octagonal lanterns and crowning lanterns - all with gilded finials’.

These beauties were found in the area surrounding the Tower of London complex, the blue-painted standard on the left adjacent to a nearby pathway, and the more ornate, crown-surmounted lanterns on the railings leading to the tourist entrance to the Tower.

Of course, most people looking at Tower Bridge are fascinated by its age, its architecture, the fact that its central roadway lifts to allow tall river traffic to pass through.... I also admired those things but my eyes were drawn to its handsome light fixtures. On the balustrades leading up to the bridge is this row of light-blue lamp standards that date from 1886-84. The coat of arms is that of the City of London, with the motto Domine dirige nos, roughly ‘Lord, guide us’ – in this case, safely across the bridge.

As the sun went down on our day of stomping around the streets of London, I caught sight of the iconic dome of St Paul’s Cathedral behind Southwark Bridge, where commuters were heading home from work and tourists paused to take photos along the Thames of the magnificent sights of this capital city, of lights and so much more.