Lakes, Elterwater, Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria With thanks to Alan Hilton for informing me of this Survivor. What is likely to be this small village's most interesting and original street lighting installation comprises a 15 ft (5 m) Stewarts & Lloyds tubular steel column topped with a swan neck bracket and Metropolitan-Vickers (Metrovick) SS51 lantern. The installation will date back to the 1950s, as the SS51 was introduced to the market in 1950 itself, but the Metrovick brand ceased to be used by parent company AEI (Associated Electrical Industries) at the end of 1959.
The column is pictured on a bright morning in August 2025.
Whilst the swan neck is not quite as elaborate as equivalent products produced in the 1930s are, it retains the decorative finial and spigot casting seen on older swan necks.
The once-transparent Perspex bowl has become translucent through UV degradation caused by a combination of sunlight, and the output of the 80 Watt MBF (mercury vapour) lamp in the 70-odd years that this lantern has existed at this location.
As the area is rural, and there aren't any other lights in the vicinity, the SS51's output must appear quite bright after nightfall, particularly as it gained a fresh lamp in January 2025.
The column is planted rather deeply, with the lowest portion of the door being in contact with the ground. Owing to prolonged dampness, the steel is rotting quite heavily at this part of the door, while surface rust exists in several places throughout the column.
The lantern appears slightly misaligned, though the beam patterns produced by any internal glass refractor domes will be counteracted by the bowl's translucence these days anyway.
The detector for a Zodion SS55 two-part photocell is visible on the front of the lantern; this too was fitted in January 2025.
Alan took the following pictures while repairing the SS51 at the start of 2025 - he has (most kindly) allowed them to be included here.
The lantern is seen operating in daylight here as the photocell is in test mode.
With the door hinged open, the BILL service cut-out is visible, with the relay for the SS55 (not SS51!) above - the witness mark of a Venner time switch case is visible on the backboard behind the photocell - and a 1980s' Philips Powerwhite ballast is installed at the top.
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