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REVO Small Swan Neck Bracket
Genre: Swan neck bracket
The "swan neck" bracket probably gained prominence as the electric arc lamp became popular in the late
19th century. The arc lamp required suspending above the roadway by its canopy, so a sweeping, curved
bracket was utilised to position the lantern relative to the column. With the advent of the inverted mantle,
gas manufacturers followed suit; suspending lanterns by their canopies prevented shadows
and the dark spaces associated with the early post-top Windsor style frame lanterns.
Finally, the first lanterns for tungsten filament bulbs followed the trend and were also top-entry.
The swan neck was easy to manufacture from a iron or steel rolled tube. They were either fully formed to
support the lantern directly, or finished on the horizontal so a decorative finial was required.
Other decorations included the purely aesthetic scrollwork and collars, whilst tulip and leaf husks
not only beautified the spigot cap, but also provided additional protection from rust at the
joint between the bracket and spigot.
The swan neck was a popular choice for a "gas conversion" in the 1940s and 1950s where the original gas
post-top lantern was removed and replaced with a swan neck and high level termination. As columns were
originally made in various heights, swan neck brackets were also made in different sizes so the lantern
height above the road could be standardised.
By the 1950s, the swan neck bracket was still extremely popular, as manufacturers were still producing large
numbers of top-entry lanterns. However, the lines became simpler, and the decoration was eventually scaled
down and finally removed entirely. It was a practical move: scrollwork and spigot joints formed dirt
and moisture traps where corrosion could set in.
As side entry lanterns became popular, the swan neck declined in numbers. Brackets evolved into simple
bracket arms, or became part of the column (as with the popular "hockey stick" column). However, the swan
neck does live on, albeit in smaller numbers, and is still available as a "traditional" option for
decorative and/or heritage style street lighting.
Name: REVO Small Swan Neck Neck Bracket
Date: Circa 1950s - 1970s
Dimensions: TBA (height), TBA (width)
Specs: Simple swan neck with spigot
Lantern: REVO A16610/T "Prefect"
History
Many catalogues and brochures of REVO equipment describe the earlier, more flamboyant and decorated brackets.
Unfortunately no catalogues for this later, simpler, functional swan neck bracket have yet surfaced, so its name and number are unknown.
It is one of the last swan neck designs from the company, comprising only a single loop of B.S.P. with a standard spigot cap.
Popularity
This style of bracket was only moderately popular, being used in plainer REVO installations of the 1960s.
The REVO Small Swan Neck Bracket In My Collection
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facing profile
I found this bracket in the bushes adjacent to the public footpath alongside the Cane Hill Hospital. The replacement column, fitted
with a Thorn Beta 5, had obviously been there for years; but the original column had never been removed.
The bracket had come unscrewed from its spigot and had fallen into the undergrowth, smashing the REVO Magnalite it
originally held.
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front profile
The broken Magnalite was unremoved and I stripped all the original silver paint removed from the bracket. A spigot cap, snapped from
a REVO B19 bracket, was restored and screwed in place. It was then painted green
and a REVO Prefect was installed.
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trailing profile
It was one of the last designs of swan neck bracket designed by REVO. Scrollwork, collars, finials and spigot decoration weren’t
considered; it was simply a curved piece of B.S.P. piping with a standard C2035 spigot cap.
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top of the bracket
This style of bracket would’ve been introduced to the REVO range in the late 1950s. Therefore I installed the contemporary
REVO A16610/T Prefect, whose simple, functional lines suited the bracket perfectly.
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