194B. Leeside Avenue, Kirkby, Liverpool Situated within the grounds of Kirkby Baptist Church are two 25 ft (8 m) Concrete Utilities 'Avenue 3DNN' columns with side-entry Arc 3 brackets, supporting two Thorn Alpha 7 lanterns, neither of which is in use any longer. The online history of the church is limited, but mention of an "artist's impression of proposed new church" on a leaflet dating from 1955 suggests that the building and grounds date from around then. Depending on when construction commenced, the columns may have been installed as part of this, or as slightly later additions, as the Alpha 7, even when made by Atlas Lighting, did not exist until the 1960s, and the earlier AEI 'Brampton' was of a slightly different design.
The two columns are positioned opposite each other, with a large lawn separating them. The church is located on the corner of Bewley Drive, and whilst all access gates were locked when I visited, this corner positioning allows the columns to be seen easily.
The two lanterns are the smaller type, whereby the lamp control gear is mounted remotely. Indeed, when this version was produced, I don't think that an integral gear option was available.
Prismatic glass bowls provide the optical distribution. This design of bowl was also employed in the Phosware P151, and I am surprised that the lanterns are not these, with the columns being Phosware products too.
Looking at the closer of the two columns again, from the other direction, with a modern 10 m column supporting a WRTL / Indal Airtrace on Leeside Avenue providing a comparison between old and new.
The bracket outreaches are especially long (they may be the longest outreach option that was produced, which was 8 ft / 2.5 m), owing to the need to throw the light as far forward on the verge as was possible.
The refractors are arranged to be finer, and closer together at the sides of the lantern, but coarser and more spread out towards the front and rear.
Looking up at the lantern from below it, the bowl can be seen mounted inside a hinged aluminium support ring.
The columns are stripped of all components - even the backboards look to be missing.
Both column bases are installed at slight angles, owing to their offset base sections. Anti-climb spikes surround the column that is installed alongside the church building, in order to deter people from climbing onto the roof.
Rather than there being a clip to release the bowl on the gearless version, two captive screws located on the securing ring do this job instead; one of which is just visible below the canopy here.
What seems to be a quantity of cement has been placed inside the empty column base - possibly, as a way of blocking up the cable entry hole.
A convenient gap in the houses on Pitsmead Road allowed the bracket and lantern to be seen sideways-on. Notice the different degrees of weathering between the column and bracket.
The interior of this lantern appeared to be the grubbier of the two, but at least, the lantern was complete and undamaged.
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