Something to hang them on: lamp-posts and brackets

Left: Plenty of lamp-posts required here - SOX lanterns along the A541 Mold-Wrexham road, North Wales, U.K., December 2004.

Well, I wouldn’t exactly use streetlighting columns as a topic of conversation at a dinner party, but there are quite a number of interesting types out there, especially for older lanterns. Two items connect the lantern to the ground — the column (lamp-post) which is a metal or plastic tube positioned vertically in the ground (or alternatively, a wooden telegraph pole can be used), and the bracket which connects from the top of the column to the lantern and which can have different shapes.

So let’s take a brief look at lamp-post design over the years. This section is far from exhaustive, but in any case it is perhaps just as worthwhile to admire the overall shape or appearance than to go into too much technical discussion about them. Much of the information on the types of lamp-posts is from Mike Barford’s UK website.

Modern column/bracket arrangements from the last 15 or 20 years are usually some sort of inverted ‘L’-shape, of varying heights, made of steel, aluminium, or perhaps plastic (e.g. fibreglass, made by GEC), with a side-entry lantern on the end, unless it is one of those ‘heritage’ installations where Victorian or other styles of lamp-post are used. These designs are perfectly reasonable. But older streetlights in particular can be found on cast iron, concrete or wooden (telegraph pole) posts; and the shape can be an inverted ‘L’, inverted ‘J’, swan-neck, question-mark or other shape with a top- or side-entry lantern to finish it off.

Right: A metal lamp-post with an unusual bracket in Felinfoel, South Wales, U.K. The lamp is possibly a GEC Z9480. (Ian Young, WWSL)

Types of lamp-post

METAL: Metal columns are by far the most common type of column in England. As discussed later in this chapter (in the “Mounting heights” section), they come in a variety of heights (usually between 4 and 12 metres tall, or 12 to 36 feet) and can easily be cut to the appropriate size. Columns for mounting road signs are normally the shortest so that drivers can easily see the sign without having to look up too far. The very tallest columns, about 60m high, are known as ‘High Masts’, and are used to light large areas, such as car parks and busy intersections on ‘A’ roads and motorways. They tend to have a winch system that allows the ‘gantry’ (the supporting framework that holds at least four lanterns) to be lowered, so that maintenance can be carried out on the ground. Not too many people are willing to go up to them in a bucket!

On major routes, for example motorways and dual carriageways, special columns are used that are designed to fall if they receive a high impact and absorb the energy — to try and protect the vehicle and its contents. Another special column used is the ‘drop down’ or ‘raise and lower’ column. These columns are used in places where it would be impossible for a bucket van to get to, or where a hazard, such as low power lines, can be a safety issue. By dropping the column down, engineers can carry out maintenance safely and confidently on the ground. Problems arise when the column cannot be dropped due to obstruction, in which case a ladder is required anyway. Trees can often also cause difficulty, as their branches often get in the way of the column's rotation and so brute force is often needed!

Steel can be ‘galvanised’ — coating it with zinc to give the metal some protection. Galvanised steel columns are the main type of column that councils use as replacements or when installing new columns, as they are relatively inexpensive, and take a much longer time to corrode than untreated steel columns. Often a short section at the base of the column is painted with a bitumen paint, to further protect the column from traffic splashes or dog urine. Stainless steel columns are not as widely used, as they cost more than galvanised columns, but these columns can maintain a ‘new’ look for longer.

Cast iron columns are only made to special order nowadays, so the majority of replica cast iron columns are actually steel. Many original columns are around a hundred years old, so maintaining them can be hard work. They need several coats of paint every few years otherwise rust can set in. Many have preservation orders on them, especially in rural areas, so if one becomes damaged a similar replacement has to be found. Columns with doors in the base are newer than columns which have no door (these have a control box below the bracket instead). These older columns are ex-gas columns from the days before electric lighting, and as gas lanterns needed no controlling, no door was provided. Electric lanterns need somewhere for the fuse, occasionally control gear and originally a time switch, so an extra section was needed. This can be done by raising the column and placing a door below it, but the above method of using a control box is much more conventional.

CONCRETE: Concrete columns were available before the Second World War. However their popularity with authorities increased in the years after the war, when metal was in limited supply. Many post-war housing estates had concrete columns installed, as they were considerably cheaper than metal columns, and required no painting, unlike their cast-iron equivalents. Their heights could not be shortened, and so mounting heights were severely limited to 5, 8 and 10m. Nothing could be higher than 10m because the weight was too great to lift.

Above: Two Beta 5s on concrete brackets. (left) a 20° side-arm bracket with a metal adaptor for a top-entry lantern (Mike Barford). (right) A top-entry bracket detached from its column; the lamp is shining red (Mike Docherty).

Just as with other materials, the concrete framework for a streetlight consists of two parts — the column, and the bracket which connects to the lantern. In the photo above (left-hand picture), you can see the join between the bracket and column; in the right-hand picture, the bracket and lantern have been detached from the column. Concrete brackets on small columns were designed for top-entry lanterns, although side-entry brackets were also eventually made as lantern design changed. Some bizarre-looking brackets were also used, allowing either top or side entry. On larger columns, side-entry brackets were preferred, but top entries were made for a time.

When new, the concrete columns are smooth, with a white-grey colour, but as years of weathering take their toll, the columns begin to feel much rougher, and their colour becomes a dull brown.

Today, many concrete columns still survive in towns, but many are being 'sleeved'. A sleeve is a steel bracket that takes the place of the old concrete one, and can raise the column height. Councils do this because moisture can become trapped in the gap between the join of the concrete bracket and the concrete column (the join can be seen in the above photo (left), although in this case it is intact), and through time this moisture erodes the metal pipe inside that contains the wires, and eventually the outer concrete shell cracks. This is known as 'spalling' and is a great problem since spalled brackets can break and fall to the ground. Anything below the bracket will be instantly crushed due to the colossal weight. Sleeving virtually eliminates any such worry, and can often lengthen the column's life. In a way, you are getting the best of both worlds with sleeving, as on the one hand they are stable at the base and are better protected against vandalism, whereas on the other hand the steel bracket gives the lamp-post a longer life.

An example of a sleeved concrete column	...or replace it with a modern steel/aluminium column.

Concrete columns are no longer made. The main reason is that it is no longer economical to make them. It is also true that they are dangerous if a vehicle were to collide with a concrete lamp-post, as it would not give way much and the vehicle would be much the worse off. (However, the same thing could be said about trees!) (ref: Simon Cornwell)

Some companies that made concrete columns are Concrete Utilities Phosco (CU Phosco), Eleco, GEC, Revo, and Stanton and Staveley. (ref: Mike Barford)

Stanton 6B column with Revo 90W 'Dalek' in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England (removed spring 2002)	CU (Concrete Utilities) Avenue 2D columns with 'C' bracket and 35W BTH lantern, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, England		A ZP1000 with GEC lantern in Bridgwater, Somerset, England.

Looks like someone's taken a bite out of this one.	An old column with a new lantern - Stanton 6B column with Philips MA (probably 135W)

Here we see a SON light on an steel or aluminium column being replaced with a Stanton 7A column with BTH 35W SOX lantern in Leighton Buzzard. No, wait, it's the other way round.	CU Avenue 3D column in Canonstown, Cornwall, England. Note the small square hole in the casting just above the bottom of the curve. Nobody seems to know what it's for.	Stanton 18 columns at Flitwick, Bedfordshire, England. I think one of these streetlights might be standing vertically.

...and here's a photo from someone else. Two Thorn Alpha 9s on a double bracket at Tenby, South Wales, U.K. Photo by Ian Young. This pair of streetlights was removed in spring 2008 - the concrete bracket apparently fell off in high winds.

Right: A 90W 1950s Revo C13723 or 'Dalek' mounted on a wooden telegraph pole in Burry Port, South Wales, U.K. (Ian Young, WWSL)

WOOD: Most often, if a lantern is supported on a wooden column it is a telegraph pole, although a few examples of specially-installed wooden columns do exist. The lantern is often supported on a wall- (flat) or pole- (curved) bracket, although standard brackets can also be used so long as they are properly secured to the column. Since no door can be built into the column, a control box is used (unless the lamp is integral gear), and all the wires have to be secured into the wood. (ref: Mike Barford)

Wooden telegraph poles for streetlights are much more common in Wales than in England, being common in both north Wales and south Wales.

Mounting heights

The mounting heights of streetlights, as you would expect, depend on the size of the lamp. The figures below are only a rough guide:

Some top-entry lamps have a finial as a decorative adaptor piece which enables a top-entry lantern to be fitted onto a side-arm bracket. An example is shown in the pictures at the top of the "Collection" page.

As a final piece on lamp-post design: when the steel columns went into production, they were slimmer than the old bulky concrete posts, and one concrete manufacturer, Stanton & Staveley, made a move in order to make sure they didn’t lose out. Unfortunately, their own new slim-line concrete columns were too thin and their columns could be knocked over! Sometimes you will see sleeves around the base of these columns in order to make the column a little sturdier. (ref: Mike Barford)

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© Matthew Eagles 2005. Last updated 16th August 2010.