168AB. Queen's Park, off Granby Street, Loughborough, Charnwood, Leicestershire With thanks to Leo Conway for discovering these Survivors. Located alongside the Charnwood Museum building (opening in 1898 as the Queen's Memorial Baths) is an ornate 25 ft (8 m) cast iron column featuring a double top-entry bracket that supports two GEC Z8135B lanterns from the late 1940s, and being designed to run a 250 - 400 Watt MA/V (medium pressure mercury vapour) lamp. All is not quite as it seems with these lanterns, however - inside both of them is a 1950s' Revo 'Bell Top' C14408/T, which was intended to run an 80 - 125 Watt MBF (high pressure mercury vapour) lamp - and these may well still run such lamps to this day. The reason for this peculiar conversion is unknown, although the Revo lanterns fit surprisingly well inside the canopies of the GEC lanterns.
I am uncertain over whether the column has always existed at this location, or whether it was moved from elsewhere, but does create a worthwhile focal point at this point in the park.
Sadly, the paint is peeling in a number of places, while the top decoration of the (already rather elaborate) bracket is damaged.
The lanterns would have incorporated glass refractor bowls originally.
An alternative version of this lantern included a 'levelling top' device, which allowed the lantern to be positioned fully vertically, even in situations where the column itself was not vertical. These examples do not feature the device, however.
Both lanterns appear to be fitted with 125 Watt MBF lamps.
No glassware survives with the Bell Top lanterns either, although as they were available without an outer bowl, this may be how they were installed. There may have been prismatic glass refractor domes surrounding the lamps originally, however.
Both Bell Tops are aligned completely differently within the GEC lanterns, with neither being orientated to face a whimsical road or pavement.
Contained within the column's ornate base are the column manufacturer details - Hardy & Padmore, of Worcestershire. According to the registered design number, the column was 100 years old when photographed in May 2025.
The column includes ladder bars just below the bracket, along with two much later hanging basket brackets that are strapped to its shaft.
Above the door to the Museum is a second Survivor - a lantern from GEC's Z5555 range is attached to a rather substantial wall bracket.
The bracket also supports the Museum's sign.
The 'Small Oxford' refractor bowl fitted is the smaller version of what would have been fitted to the Z8135Bs originally.
The main beam pattern arrows moulded into the underside of the bowl reveal that it is not positioned correctly for the intended beam distribution.
Looking the other way reveals the relatively low mounting height for the installation.
This lantern could also accommodate 80 - 125 Watt MBF lamps, as well as 60 - 200 Watt GLS (incandescent tungsten filament) and 45 Watt SO/V (low pressure sodium).
Whilst the Z555# series featured a die-cast aluminium canopy, the sister Z554# series featured a spun copper canopy instead. The Z6607 bowl would be supplemented with an internal Z6502 refractor dome.
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