149. Off Terrace Lane, Pleasley Situated on what was once presumably an access road to the adjacent Pleasley Colliery, but nowadays marks the start of a wooded footpath leading to the preserved colliery buildings, is a 25 ft GEC ZP1000 concrete column supporting a long-abandoned and heavily vandalised Z8422 / Z8426 lantern (the '22' featured a flat glass cover; the '26' used an acrylic bowl, but as this has long since been obliterated, the actual identity is unknown). This range of lanterns is unusual in that access to the lamp was gained from above - the entire canopy hinged forwards on the central shoe, rather than just the bowl hinging open for maintenance. This unusual method for undertaking maintenance appears to have been the Achilles' heel of this range of lanterns, as the Z852# range that quickly superseded it saw a return to the conventional fixed canopy and hinged bowl design, and was considerably more successful.
The installation looks completely out of place in amongst the extensive plant growth that has occurred since 1983, when the colliery closed.
The polished aluminium canopy is riddled with pockmarks; the result of being shot repeatedly by air rifles.
The short outreach bracket has lost a section of concrete directly behind the lantern; this has exposed the internal steel pipe.
Significantly increasing the brightness of this photograph allows the lantern's innards to be seen - even the lampholder is missing! The thin strip visible towards the front of the canopy is part of the hinge mechanism.
The column's inspection door is also missing; the base is devoid of all control gear components. Only a short length of the supply cable survives.
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