174GA. Off Erskine Street, Vauxhall, Saltley, Birmingham With thanks to Leo Conway for discovering these Survivors. Located in a small recreational area behind the properties on Hindlow Close are three 15 ft (5 m) Revo tubular steel columns, each topped with a 'Hadfield' post-top lanterns, also made by Revo - a once common lantern on residential streets in Birmingham. All three of the installations are disused and vandalised, with one of the three installations virtually completely obscured by foliage having grown up the column.
The heavily-camouflaged installation is pictured first - I was going to state that it was "seen" first, but it really wasn't!
Only the lantern's wide-brimmed canopy is visible atop the growth.
The second example is far more visible, by comparison.
The bowl support ring is hanging open, while the bowl itself is long gone.
The lamp is also absent, when the lantern is viewed from below.
The use of a three-pin bayonet lampholder confirms that the lantern once ran an 80 - 125 Watt MBF (mercury vapour) lamp.
Curiously, the lanterns are positioned facing away from the definitive footpath that passes through the recreation area, while the columns themselves are situated some distance away from it. In the past, the adjacent wall didn't exist here, and the recreation area provided further sidings for the railway maintenance depot that exists on the other side of the wall. These must have been found to be surplus to requirements, and the land redeveloped. The three columns were not removed, despite this change of ownership, allowing the three installations to fall into dereliction in the subsequent years.
The third lantern is also only an empty shell these days.
The internal reflector that would surround the lamp appears more corroded on this example.
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