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merton park / epsom / ewell

Whilst I'm familar with the older installations around Wimbledon and Sutton but never really ventured into Merton Park, Epsom and/or Ewell, Lee Gale has. And he's found evidence the old installations; either still lighting the roads or rescued in peoples' front gardens.

ESLA Bi-Multi Group-A Two Way on cast iron column with Lucy swan neck bracket

A familiar configuration and one that was extremely common in South London. It should be of no surprise that this old street light should match the specification of the Wimbledon examples - they all shared the same council, namely Merton Borough Council.

This street light was obviously rescued by residents of this bungalow which is on Dorset Road.

ESLA Bi-Multi Group-A Two Way on cast iron column with Lucy swan neck bracket

Twenty yards down the road and there's another. Again, this shows the great diversity of these older installations: the column is slightly different, the fuse box is larger (to cater for a time-switch as well as fuses) and the swan neck bracket is slightly larger.

The first street light could've been purchased from a reclaim centre and not be representive of the original lighting in the street. But to find two very similar street lights within such a short distance seals the deal: these are the originals.

ESLA Bi-Multi Group-A Two Way on cast iron column with Lucy swan neck bracket

And here's another example rescued from becoming scrap. This lantern stands in the front garden of a house on Erridge Road.

This lantern has been fitted with a large, modern CFL bulb.

LPS lantern on CU Byway 'X' Column

At first glance, these look like fluorescent lanterns. The canopy and clips are very similar to GEC fluorescent lanterns, but I would've expected a much deeper bowl.

I believe they're SOX lanterns, the precursor to the popular Z9536 range. I believe these are the 55W SOX versions.

The columns are classic concrete columns made by Concrete Utilities.

LPS lantern on CU Byway 'X' Column

Finally, a day-burner to verify they're SOX lanterns.

These lanterns can be found on Poplar Road.

ESLA Bi-Multi Group-A Two Way on Needham column with Lucy swan neck bracket

The next two street lights are part of a small installation of five which light the grounds of Merton Mansions, a collection of Art Deco flats just off the A298 Kingston Road.

Whilst they are perfectly in keeping, and contemporary, to the 1930s architecture they're not original. The Needham columns are modern reproductions fitted with embelishment kits. However, the brackets and lanterns are original, being made by Lucy and ESLA respectively.

ESLA Bi-Multi Group-A Two Way on Needham column with Lucy swan neck bracket

This ESLA is almost triangular, and therefore of a smaller angle than the standard. I suspect it's a 120° version, especially designed for tree lined roads or bends.

Philips GT 51 on plain fluted column with Lucy bracket

"In March, we looked at a house near to here, in Ewell. I commented to the estate agent that the area had some superb lighting. He looked bemused. This is on Plantagenet Close, off Salisbury Road in Ewell. At the time, the whole estate had these street lights, but in the space of three months there seems to be many more new columns appearing. But there are still scores of these columns around - loads, in fact. The old columns are fluted and in dire need of paint - although I find I'm into the faded, flaky paintwork these days. It read 'Lucy' on the box." - Lee

Unlike neighbouring Sutton and Merton, the existing side-road incandescent stock of Epsom and Ewell was upgraded to low pressure sodium in the 1970s. Therefore the plain fluted column (either probably REVO or ESLA) and Lucy medium sized swan-neck was now fitted with a Philips GT 51 35W SOX lantern.

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GEC Z9583 on slim plain fluted column with modern bracket and extension piece

"This is on Timbercroft, Ewell - the backwards lean seems to be the norm around here. Unusually, this one is painted grey and the bracket isn't as fancy as its neighbours." - Lee

The extremely slim column is planted in soil which has probably encouraged the lean. The bracket is more modern, and sports a GEC Z9583 lantern (which dates it to the 1980s). This modern bracket, complete with ungainly extension piece, probably replaced a damaged bracket in the past.

"The long bracket is a hybrid, between a Lucy and an extended BLEECO pipe bracket, an ‘in-house’ creation. One of the old hands (now retired) said that back in the early eighties his job used to consist of taking down the GEC deep bowl and slim bowl fluorescents and taking them back to the council workshops for any required repairs, not something that generally happens these days with modern fittings. He was also involved in removing a lot of the ESLA Bi-Multis in this area which were replaced for GEC and Thorn lanterns, sadly most ended up scrapped" - P.

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GEC Z9583 on plain fluted column with Lucy bracket

"Another column on Timbercroft, right in front of the house we were looking at. Glad we didn't buy it - we'd have been in trouble now. Also, when we visited here in March, 20 minutes after viewing the house (and the street lights), I dislocated my knee at a supermarket up the road. My leg was in a brace for a month. Very painful. Although the Lucy bracket is in shade, note the new column to the right - much taller, but lacking grace and style." - Lee

A word of caution here: spotting old street lighting can lead to painful injury. Always warm up before taking any photographs.

These fluted columns and medium sized swan-neck brackets were probably the original installation. This time the lantern is a GEC Z9583.

"I removed this cast iron column in Timbercroft on Monday the 15th of December, (the one next to the new 6 meter, which incidentally I topped out back in the summer months). That type of column in that area to which there are quite a number left usually have a big lump of concrete round them but that one came out OK. I believe them to be of a BLEECO origin as a lot of Epsom and Ewell's original stock was made by them. That column along with a few others in the area were removed that day." - P.

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Thorn Beta 5 on Concrete Utilities Avenue 2D

"I found another installation of CU Avenue 2Ds today - a number line the B290 between Epsom Racecourse and Tadworth. In some places there seem to be three generations of street lighting all living happily together. The installation continues into the lovely village of Walton on the Hill, where this was taken. It's difficult to park, but I managed to grab a space and took this shot." - Lee

The iconic Concrete Utilities Avenue 2D fitted with the equally iconic Thorn Beta 5.

Philips GT 51 on John Every George IV column

"This was the only unusual column I found in Dorking. It stand right outside a barber's shop on Ansell Road, off High Street. As the column is so close to the barber's, both bracket and lantern have been twisted to illuminate the entrance to a row of cottages. It read at the base of the column: John Every (Lewis) Ltd Lewes & London." - Lee

The column is an extremely popular design, first being installed around Buckingham Palace. Foundries then made their own versions and this one was cast by John Every (Lewis) Ltd.

The swan-neck looks like it was made by A C Ford.

More about John Every can be found here.

"Here are a few updated SV shots of the columns Lee Gale originally photographed. Sadly the Surrey PFI has seen the back of these columns now, they were all removed in the early part of 2012, most side roads in Surrey have been completed leaving mostly main roads left to do. In the case of Fir Tree Road all the columns were relocated to new spacings and all set on one side of the road, unusual as Surrey generally replace on a point for point basis to keep cost down. The official verdict is that Surrey's street lighting will be completed within the next 18 months." - P.

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