|
|
|
the richardson candles
Page under construction
Trial lighting scheme in 1955.
Colmore Row, Birmingham illuminated by the REVO Festival lantern.
st. john's street
|
As St. John's Street narrows and twists as it travels south, the original lighting engineers chose columns
where they could be accommodated and switched to wall mounted Candles for the
narrowest section of the road.
The survival rate of the Candles has been good although one column was knocked
down outside the School Of Divinity and never replaced. This, and the less-than-optimal performance
of the remaining Candles (which aren't always burning their full compliment of fluorescent
tubes), has given Cambridge the epithet of being a 'dark city'.
|
Richardson Candle at the northern entrance of St. John's Street.
Two wall mounted Candles (which are day-burning).
Trinity Street looking northward and showing the mixture of Candle types.
bene't street
|
Most of Bene't Street and the continuing Wheeler Street was lit by wall mounted Candles with
two post-top versions on the opposite site of the road providing a staggered arrangement.
Both columns have been lost over the intervening years.
As mentioned in Why Snuff The Candles?, Wheeler Street was the trial location for
the 1980s Candle replacements. Therefore it's surprising to see the two wall mounted Candles still
in-situ although they've been supplemented by two Phosco Spheres (this is the
type of lantern which replaced the majority of the Richardson Candles in the replacement
scheme of the late 1980s.)
|
Wheeler Street looking west. Wall mounted Candle surrounded by modern Phosco Sphere supplements.
king's parade / trumpington street
|
Even in the 1950s it would've been unacceptable to place any columns on the western side of Kings Parade (and therefore
interrupting the views of King's College Chapel) so all the Candles along this historic street were mounted on the
buildings.
When the street was repaved in the early 2000s, a row of Philips lanterns on five metre columns were placed along
the road, supplementing the original Candles. They were probably considered temporary as they've never been properly
fixed into the ground.
All five of these wall mounted Candles have survived.
The northern part of Trumpington Street was lit with a staggered arrangement of wall mounted and post mounted Candles. Only one of the
post top Candles has been lost in the intervening years.
The northern end of Trumpington Street also serves as the council's area for trials. A lone wall mounted REVO
Festival lantern appeared in the 1990s (I assume it replaced an existing wall mounted Candle); whilst a post top
Candle was removed and upgraded in accordance with the Speirs And Major Street Lighting Strategy
document. Instead of using four fluorescent tubes, it uses two metal halide bulbs in a specially designed optical system.
|
The proposed replacement for the Richardson Candles.
The prototype upgraded lantern. The Festival lantern can be seen as the next lantern along on the right.
A lone REVO Festival wall mounted lantern.
And a wall mounted Richardson Candle (which can be compared with the Festival above). Note that the bowl
has split horizontally.
The intersection of Trumpington Street with Silver Street. Five candles can be seen.
silver street
|
Given the narrow nature of the majority of the road, the lighting engineers were forced to
install wall mounted lanterns along most of its length, with just a single column installed
at the road's eastern end.
This has ensured its longevity as the entire 1957 installation is still extant.
The university supplimented the Candles with HPS floodlight units in the mid 1990s.
Therefore the street doesn't appear as 'dark' as the other routes lit by the Candles.
|
Silver Street eastwards
Detail of wall mounted Candle
Silver Street view west
trumpington street
|
As Trumpington Street leaves the centre of Cambridge and widens, the lighting engineer installed post-top
mounted Candles along the entire stretch of the road. At its southern end, the road had widened to such
an extent that pairs of Candles were mounted opposite each other across the road.
Half the original installation has been lost over the years, the majority in the central area of the
road (mostly opposite the Fitzwilliam Museum). The resulting ad-hoc replacements have left the road
with no discernable uniform lighting scheme with a potpourri mix of lanterns, styles and even mounting
heights.
A lone wall mounted lantern can be found at the entrance to Pembroke Street. Its modern replacement
has stood next to it for years, yet the Candle hasn't been removed.
|
The Candles near St. Botolph's Church.
The last Candles mounted opposite each other.
The cluster of remaining Candles at the southern end of the road.
The stump of a recent knock-down.
some additional photographs
|
|
