12KAD. Off River Road, Barking Riverside, London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Attached to two of the corners of a building that formed part of the former Barking Power Station complex in the area known as 'Creekmouth' are GEC 'Watford' Z8001 lanterns for 400 Watt MA/V (medium-pressure mercury vapour lamps), probably dating from when the Barking 'B' site opened in 1939; the original Barking 'A' site opening in 1925 (by King George V), before being expanded in 1933. The final site, Barking 'C', opened in 1954. By the late 1970s, the power station began to be decommissioned before closing completely in 1981, although a large electricity substation remains in operation on part of the site, as does the derelict structure supporting the Watfords.

The cleared site is now used for storing shipping containers. One of the lanterns is visible above them. This web page includes a 1979 image that features this Watford, along with another that may still exist, but was too far back for me to see, on the rear corner.

The art deco appearance of the lantern betrays its 1930s' heritage - the first examples of these lanterns were tried on Watford Road, Wembley (close to GEC's factory on East Lane) in 1933.

The lantern features heavy gauge copper attached to a gunmetal frame - the verdigris patterning to the top section indicating the copper content, although this would have had an aluminium colouring applied when new. With the acrid fumes produced by the power station throughout the course of its operation, I am surprised at how good the condition of the metalwork is.

The other visible example is located on the rear building, on the left-hand side when viewed from the road.

Sadly, this example has suffered damage through vandalism, with the curved glass front being completely missing, and the side and lower panels being damaged.

The side panels feature moulded prismatic refractors for diffusing the light output.

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