170F. Bath Street, Syston, Charnwood, Leicestershire Installed on this rather narrow cul-de-sac are two vintage wall brackets, with one fitted with a top-entry Thorn Beta 5 (or AEI Amber Minor) 35 Watt SOX (low pressure sodium) lantern. The second used to accommodate an identical lantern, but by May 2024, when these pictures were taken, severe corrosion to the bracket pipe had led to its removal; indeed, the installation was awaiting planned replacement with a column, by Leicestershire County Council. Of course, the brackets are far older than the Beta 5s are, which would have been replacements for the original tungsten filament (GLS) lanterns during the more energy-conscious 1970s-80s.

The bracket with the surviving Beta 5 is a mini swan neck type, with the bracket pipe curved in such a way that the double-doored fuse box is positioned away from the wall. The original supply cable to the fuse box has been replaced at some point, with the isolation equipment now housed in a small feeder pillar beneath the installation.

Owing to the lantern's proximity to an adjacent window, a portion of the bowl is painted black. A vintage stencil, bearing the former maintenance number 84, hangs beneath the top of the bracket. The positioning of the NEMA photocell socket at the very edge of the canopy suggests that it was fitted on site, rather than during assembly in the factory.

The fuse box contains the modern equivalent maintenance number of 2.

The lantern-less second bracket was a little further down the road.

The corroded end to the bracket pipe suggests that it snapped at the approximate half-way point of the curve. Indeed, Google Street View imagery made in April 2023 shows a noticeable distortion to the pipe at this point, with the Beta 5 being at an angle.

An unrecognisable manufacturer's name is cast into the fuse box cover. Again, the supply cable has been renewed, though this time, it still terminates into the fuse box, passing through a steel conduit between its underground connection, and the box itself.

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