5f - Darley Park Drive, Darley Abbey

5f. Darley Park Drive, Darley Abbey Standing opposite the entrance to Darley Park is a disused Revo 'Moseley' cast iron column and swan neck bracket. In October 2012, this column was still fitted with a side-entry Thorn Beta 5 35 Watt SOX lantern, which may have still been in operation, despite the road having been relit as part of Derby's Street Lighting PFI in April 2009, when the only other column installed on this road (another Revo product - this time, to the company's 'Hull' pattern) was removed. By December 2015, the lantern had been removed from the surviving column; however, the metalwork had been repainted gloss black, with the column's ornate base embellishments highlighted in gold. The reason for this column's retention is unknown, although given the freshly-applied paint, clearly, it has not simply been forgotten during the relighting process. Somewhat ironically, the installation now looks far smarter than it has for many years, even though it no longer serves a purpose, owing to the refurbishment work that has been undertaken.

One cannot help but wonder at the amount of generations of children that have tip-toed along the top of the adjacent retaining wall and then used the column as a means of jumping down to the lower level of the footpath and roadway.

With the lantern removed from the bracket, the threaded section at the end of the pipe (used for attaching the finial that would have supported a top-entry lantern long ago) is visible...well, it isn't visible here, but it was to me when I pictured it!

This earlier view demonstrates how the bracket appeared with a lantern fitted (and long before the new paint had been applied). Unfortunately, the bowl from a later version of the Beta 5 had been fitted to the lantern in place of the original bowl - the depth of the lamp in this lantern, combined with the shallowness of the newer bowl, has meant that a length of insulation tape has had to be applied around the front section of the lantern, in order for the for the bowl to be held in place - notice the gap at the front of the lantern, and the resultant debris gathered within the bowl.

Only the patterning around column's base section has been highlighted in gold; the rest of the installation remains gloss black - this includes the Tamtorque band that has been fitted as a means of securing the column's access door - the original bolt having been lost / used elsewhere over the years.