A History of Street Lighting in Old Chiswick 15 May 2015

The current lighting in Chiswick Mall and Church Street shows a continuation of style since street lighting was introduced here at least by the 1880s1. It is, therefore, of considerable significance and contributes enormously to the sense of place of the conservation area.

Gas lightingThe original streetlights were substantial, octagonal2, cast-iron columns with four-pane, lanterns lit by gas. There were not many of them along the Mall, in Church Street and in Chiswick Lane but their appearance can be seen in many of the photographs of the area from 1900 through the twenties3 until 19364. They virtually all appear to be painted a pale colour, sometimes with a dark base (cream with a green base was usual over this time). The colour temperature of these gas lamps would have been around 2900° K5 giving a warm white light.

Electric lightingA single photograph6 outside Strawberry House of c.1937 appears to show two columns near one another, one a new electric light and one the remains of a dismantled gas light. This is the date when many streets were being electrified. From the copy of the photograph it is very difficult to determine the type of new cast-iron column installed; it could be a REVO ‘Hull’7, named after the city of Hull. This identification is supported by a photograph of Church Street in 1947, where the streetlight outside the Post Office is more definitely a REVO Hull8.

These dark-painted electric lights had swan necks. At the time, these were widely considered to be more aesthetic than continuing with four-pane lanterns. The swan necks also appear to have had a degree of longevity: photographs of the Mall show them in later decades; one photograph of Church Street dated July 1961 shows a swan-neck light in place by Lamb Cottage9. Are these the original 1937 streetlights?

In the 1937 and 1947 photograph, the pendant glass ‘luminaires’ appear to be of the type known as ‘open reflectors’10. These are flat bottomed and a photograph from 1952 shows a luminaire on Chiswick Mall with a very similar flat silhouette; perhaps it is even the original 1937 fitting. The original light source would have been 200 watt tungsten filament bulbs11 giving a warm white light of 2,700–3,300°K.

Current street lightingIt would appear most of the current lamp columns and the lights date from c.1989/90. It seems the wiring had become unreliable and so the lighting was replaced12. The OCPS were involved in the choice of the replacements, deciding to emulate the earlier streetlights rather than advocating a modern design. ‘Oxford’ columns painted black were selected, which were very similar in mass and detail to the 1937 REVO Hulls that they replaced. These columns (a copy of a 1930s design13) were made by DW Windsor, who still make them. At this date OCPS argued against an increase in the number of lights in the area as the Council had argued. Except for installation of the streetlight on the traffic island at the

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foot of Chiswick Lane, it is not clear if others were added. There are now eleven streetlights along the Mall, and five up Church Street.

It is not yet clear exactly what was the light source of these replacement lights. Sadly, over the past few years it has been noticeable that this light source has been changed from one giving a soft white light (probably high-pressure mercury – MBF/U lamps) to one giving a much more pink/orange light (probably high pressure sodium – HPS lamps)14. These latter have a colour temperature of 1900-2800°K (some way below tungsten) and have poor colour rendering properties.

Chiswick MallThe replacement streetlights here were given swan-neck fittings but with enclosed glass pendant luminaires, emulating what was there before. In fact in recent years one ‘Oxford’ column (opposite Cygnet House) and the swan-neck pendants here, outside Walpole House and outside Lingard House, have had to be replaced because of damage15. The extra-tall streetlight on the traffic island at the foot of Chiswick Lane was given a four-pane lantern.

The unusual boxes at the tops of the columns in Chiswick Mall are fuse boxes16, since electrification is housed there instead of in the base of the column as normal, because of the flooding at high tides.

However, not all the streetlights on the Mall are recent replacements. There are in fact four older lamp columns on the west end of the Mall17. These are REVO Hulls: they were manufactured until the 1960s18 but are these in fact original 1937 columns?19 If so, they are now rare in situ20 and could be considered for listing.

Church StreetThe 1989/90 replacement columns were given reproduction four-pane lanterns harking back to the original gas lights. They are of a type called ‘Windsor’, DW Windsor being one of a number of manufacturers who still make them21.

Chiswick Lane South and Netheravon Road SouthEarly photographs of Chiswick Lane South show lampposts with four-pane lanterns. Sadly, some time over the last few decades, all trace of 'heritage' lighting was lost from these streets. This meant that, by decree, Hounslow Highways on behalf of LBH recently changed all the lighting here to tall, thin, steel columns with plain slim bases and Stela LED lights.

Janey Cronyn MSc ACR FRSA FIIC6 Eyot Green

London W4 2PT cronyn@me.com

Member Executive Committee, OCPS

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Example of a Mall streetlight Example of a Church Street light

Detail of a REVO Hull base Detail of an Oxford type base Modern light outside Fullers

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1 The earliest photograph/image of street lighting in Old Chiswick yet found is dated to the 1880s. In: Hammond, Caroline & Peter (1994) Chiswick Old Photographs Series, Bath: Alan Sutton, p. 22.2 Simon Cornwell, the street-lighting enthusiast http://www.simoncornwell.com/lighting/home.htmvery kindly supplied this information and - much of the rest of the dating evidence for this paper in email exchanges with Janey Cronyn (cronyn@me.com) between March-May 2015.3 Photographs with gas streetlights can be seen at Chiswick Local Studies Library but also reproduced in various publications, e.g. Nissen, Alice (2013) Past Images of Chiswick Mall and its neighbourhood (68 pages) (available from Alice Nissen for £25 + £2.70 postage: an@cloudworld.co.uk.Hammond, Caroline & Peter (1994) Chiswick Pocket Images of England, Stroud: Nonsuch. Hammond, Caroline & Peter (2003) Chiswick Stroud: Tempus.Hammond, Caroline & Peter (2010) Chiswick Through Time Chalford: Amberley Publishing. 4 Country Life Vol.LXXIX No.2038. Saturday February 8th. 1936. p.144, Plate 5. Strawberry House.5 braun-lighting.com6 Sadly only a photocopy of this in is the Chiswick Local Studies Library. A poor quality printed copy can also be seen in Loobey (1997) op.cit.7 Cornwell pers .comm.8 Photograph dateable to before 1947 at Chiswick Local Studies Library9 Photograph dated to 1961 at Chiswick Local Studies Library10 More research is being undertaken to identify the light source in these early swan-neck luminaries.11 Cornwell pers. comm.12 This date is suggested both by the OCPS Minutes (which imply replacement lights are about to be installed) and by Cornwell pers.comm.13 Cornwell pers. comm.14 Cornwell pers. comm.15 See OCPS Minutes. http://www.dwwindsor.com/products/brackets/swan+neck+standard+-+top+entryhttp://www.dwwindsor.com/products/traditional+lighting/strand+a+and+a+plus‘These later luminaires are different from the earlier ones in that they use a reflector for light control (dated from late 1990s onwards) as against a dome refractor for light control (dated from the 1980s-1990s)’ – Cornwell pers.comm. The more recent fuse boxes are smaller and the swan necks have little finial crests, which the earlier ones do not.16 The fuse boxes on the columns outside Longmeadow and Walpole House are ‘AC Ford high-level termination fuse boxes’ - Cornwell pers.comm.17 The three on the river-side at the west end of the Mall, and the one outside Woodroffe House.18 http://www.simoncornwell.com/lighting/manufact/index.htm19 Cornwell pers.comm: ‘The fuse-box (on the light opposite The Old Vicarage) is REVO C5329s, and the bracket is also REVO, judging by its finial. But the luminaire is fairly modern’.20 Cornwell pers. comm.21 http://www.dwwindsor.com/products/traditional+lighting/windsor