99. Litchfield Group, Derwent Works, Matlock Road, Ambergate A number of rare and unusual lanterns exist inside this factory compound - including a GEC ZD10517 multi-lamp fitting. Other lanterns in the vicinity are all top-entry fittings mounted to unsleeved 5 m Stanton columns. These fittings appear to be equipped for running 250 Watt mercury lamps so they are clearly mounted at the wrong height! All of the concrete columns have had their doors removed and placed alongside - it looks as if they may have been disconnected anyway. One column cannot have its door refitted as the ballast is deeper than the column's base compartment!

A big thank-you goes to the very kind security staff at the factory for allowing me to take these photographs.

The 250 Watt lanterns look very industrial in their design - most are missing their bowls. The clips look very similar to the ones employed on the 1980s' versions of the Thorn Alpha 8 and Beta 79; however, the units may be Philips HRB 'Area' fittings from the 1960s - thanks to everyone who suggested this option.

The columns were all showing signs of spalling - though some looked more severe than others:

This lantern by the front gate appears to be the only one on the site to retain its bowl - and even that has been taped on! The base compartment was full of snails - nice!

This example (on the other side of the entrance) is also spalling quite badly. Again, snails are very prevalent in the base compartment!

The base compartment of this column is void of gear components - possibly, an MBFT lamp is employed here.

One lantern is different from the rest - it is possibly a GEC model as the bowl is similar to one used on their Clearmain lantern. This is also the column with the large ballast installed in the base. The door can be seen on the adjacent wall.

The ZD10517 is mounted quite low - the column is about 8 m high (although it may be to an imperial gauge - 25 ft). A twin-door arrangement is employed in order for there to be enough space for the individual lamp circuits.

One of the buildings appears to have an ELECO HW-720 lantern mounted to it:

By 2023, some of the installations pictured above had been removed, owing to part of the site having been re-purposed as the Great British Car Journey Museum. The ZD10517 was still extant, however.

This lantern measures 1220 mm (48 inches) in diameter and 425 mm (16 ³/₄ inches) in height, and could accommodate three 250 - 400 Watt Truelite (mercury vapour) lamps, or the same quantity of 310 - 400 Watt Solarcolour (high pressure sodium) lamps.

A Benjamin 'Duoflux' shovel-shaped floodlight was installed adjacent a covered area that housed a small number of the Museum's vehicles.

The floodlight retained a high wattage incandescent (GLS) lamp, but was unlikely to be in operation any longer.

Another shovel floodlight existed further along the the car port, but appeared to be of a slightly different design to the Duoflux.

The lamp was missing from this example.

More Survivors were to be found around the back of the site, adjacent the former Wire Works building that have lain derelict for many years. This Duoflux was in a decidedly sorry state.

The green moss line on the inside of the reflector suggests that the fitting has been in this state for a long time.

Surprisingly, the reflector appears relatively free from corrosion, despite the fallen bracket.

Another example was to be found further down the building; thankfully, this one was still attached successfully to the wall.

The internal, twisted frame of (what looks to be) a mercury lamp was still visible within the reflector.

This fitting was also of a slightly different design to the Duoflux.

The most obvious difference is the design of the floodlight's top section.

Another HW-720 was to be found on the corner of this building. Sadly, both the bowl and lamp were smashed.

Interestingly, something was positioned above where the lamp would be located. This could be a magnetic arc deflector, designed for allowing the older medium-pressure mercury lamps (type MA) to be operated horizontally - ordinarily, these lamps could only be operated vertically, as horizontal burning would cause the arc to bow upwards within the arc tube, softening the glass and leading to premature lamp failure. The arc deflector enabled the arc to remain central within the arc tube, and thus, not cause damage.

The mystery object is seen from a different angle.

Another HW-720 was seen on the corner of this derelict building.

Again, all traces of the bowl were long gone, and only a small fragment of the lamp remained. A three-way terminal block appears to be connected to the extra object in this lantern, raising the possibility of it being an arc deflector. If that is what they are, these must be early HW-720s, as the later high pressure mercury lamps (MB) employed quartz arc tubes, and could be operated in any burning position without the arc causing issue.

Another shovel floodlight was spotted on the side of this building.

The floodlight's bracket carries 'REAL' branding - the same company that produced my D3748 60 Watt SLI/H (linear low pressure sodium) fitting.

The final shovel floodlight was located beneath the apex of this building - now in the ownership of the White Peak Distillery.

The inside of this fitting was rather blackened - possibly, from the fumes and soot emitted by the extractor fan immediately below the fitting, from the days when this was also part of the factory.

The darkness of the fitting, and general overcast sky played merry havoc with the camera, but eventually, I was successful in managing to photograph the fitting in focus. A large (originally) polished aluminium dish is positioned behind where the lamp would sit, as a way of improving the reflection capabilities further.

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