12Q. Off Denmark Road, Camberwell, London Borough of Southwark Located at the start of a private road leading to some industrial units is a disused and abandoned Atlas / British Lighting Industries Beta 3 lantern attached to a 25 ft (8 m) 'Highway X' concrete column, made by Concrete Utilities. The choice of lantern and mounting height is surprising, as the Beta 3 was intended for shorter, residential columns, and could accommodate a lamp no larger than a 45 - 60 Watt SO/H / SOI/H or 40 Watt / 35 Watt SOX lamp. Sadly, the bowl on this ultra-rare lantern is missing, as is the lamp, and the control gear may have been removed too.

The concrete column is in relatively good condition, considering that it must have been around 60 years old when pictured in July 2023, and that it will have been abandoned for many years prior to that.

A slight stress crack exists on the side-entry bracket, and a gap has appeared around the bracket's joint with the column.

The main lantern body is aluminium, with a wide plastic shade surrounding it. The lampholder, support and ballast would be fixed to a central steel tray.

Such was the (apparent) popularity of the Highway X column that Concrete Utilities continued to produce it into the 1990s, though all dimensions were given in metric units by then. At the time, the bracket outreach was available in lengths from 750 mm (2 ft 6 inches) to 2500 mm (8 ft).

The clip that would have supported the capacitor can be seen attached to the inside of the aluminium part of the lantern.

The bowl, when it existed, would have been constructed of translucent acrylic.

A large hole had been broken in the column's cast aluminium door, revealing a rather empty base within. A cut-out was still affixed to the backboard, but is out of sight in this view.

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