214. Beckets Way, Framfield, East Sussex With thanks to Dwight for discovering these Survivors. Located on Beckets Way, along with all of the other cul-de-sacs that branch off from it in this small 1970s' housing estate, are a number of 5 m tubular steel columns, made by British Steel, which support narrow swan neck brackets and AC Ford AC730 lanterns. These may be late 1980s' - early 1990s' replacements for the original street lighting columns on this estate, as three of the columns here are Concrete Utilities Byway 'X' types with varying bracket styles, and are placed randomly enough around the estate to suggest that they could have been earlier one-off casual replacements.
Owing to the weather being less than favourable on the day when I paid a visit to these installations, along with there being no particular difference between most of them, only two of the AC730-topped columns are pictured in detail.
The swan neck brackets are functional in appearance, with no embellishments at all. They too could be AC Ford products.
The polycarbonate lantern bowls are all rather yellowed, making identifying the lamp type difficult.
All are fitted with miniature photocells that face across the road at each column position, and are secured to the lanterns with green 20 mm locknuts.
The door of this column was slightly ajar, allowing the base to be glimpsed. I was surprised that no lamp control gear was installed within it, which suggests that the lanterns use lamps that do not require any external control gear for operation, or have the control gear built into them, as the AC730 is not large enough to accommodate any control gear within it. Thus, the lanterns may have run tungsten filament (GLS) or blended mercury vapour (MBFT) lamps originally, but in more recent times, are likely to have run compact fluorescent or LED lamps instead.
This type of bowl was also fitted to certain versions of the Thorn Beta 4.
Two identical installations are seen along Willows Rise, with the third column being one of the Byway 'X's.
This column accommodates a GEC Z8896 using an 'Arc 4' side-entry bracket.
The bowl here has discoloured through age too.
The rain has given the column a temporary two-tone appearance, owing to the direction that it has landed onto the concrete.
Here, the minicell is positioned on top of the lantern.
The installation is in good condition, with no visible spalling existing between the column and bracket.
As the discolouration appears slightly worse with this lantern's bowl, a mercury vapour (MBF) lamp may have been employed here originally; the lantern may still run this lamp type if it has not, similarly, been converted to run something else.
The door uses a standard tri-head bolt, rather than CU's own "drop-latch" lock, in order for it to be secured to the column.
Back on Beckets Way, a cut-down Byway 'X' exists. Formerly, this supported a top-entry 'Arc 4' bracket, with a Beta 4 providing the light source.
Evidence of impact damage exists near ground level, with the internal steel rebar having become exposed in the process. The third Byway 'X' column on this estate is also fitted with a top-entry bracket, though another AC730 exists there.
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