205B. Hundon Close, Stradishall, Newmarket, Suffolk With thanks to Dwight for informing me of these Survivors. Situated on this short cul-de-sac, which once formed part of the RAF Stradishall site (1937 - 1970) are several 15 ft (5 m) 'Avenue 2D' columns with curved top-entry brackets, all made by Concrete Utilities. GEC Z9539 lanterns are employed here, although they may not be in operation any longer, as the road is in private ownership. The columns are likely to date from the days of RAF occupancy on the site, though the current lanterns may be from after this time, when the land was reused for the two Highpoint prisons (HMP Highpoint North opening in 1977, and Highpoint South opening in 1975).
The first column to be seen on the road has a much shorter post supporting an LED lantern installed alongside.
Owing to the curvature of the brackets compared to the length of the lanterns, the Z9539s have lengths of 3/4" BSP conduit installed to act as spacing couplers between the two.
As can be seen, the bowl is missing, and judging by the state of the gear tray / reflector, probably has been for a while. As a cylindrical capacitor is visible (rather than the earlier oval-shaped design), I would date these lanterns to the mid-late 1970s, which would tally with the prison opening. The 55 Watt SOX (low pressure sodium) lamp here is a 'proper' OSRAM one (i.e. made at that company's own factory at Shaw, rather than the later type that was produced by Philips under licence), which dates it to no later than the year 2000, when the Shaw factory closed.
A better example is seen on one of the side cul-de-sacs that leads off from the main thoroughfare. Notice that the road ends rather abruptly in the background - originally, it was a through road to Stirling House (also part of the RAF base), but the physical connection is now severed.
Not only does the bowl remain in place here (albeit, with a cable tie to hold it closed); it is also still free from significant discolouration.
A shorter 35 Watt lamp is employed here, leaving an empty gap in the bowl in front of it.
Back on the main section of Hundon Close, the third installation was to be seen.
This bowl was in a more typical state for the lantern's age.
The top section of the column had broken away from this installation, leaving a section of exposed inner conduit between it and the bracket.
This lantern seemed to serve as the local communal bird toilet...to quote Dr Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park, "that is one big pile of sh..."...all we move on to the next column?
The final column on Hundon Close was located just before another now-closed roadway into Stirling House.
Another very worn 55 Watt lamp could be glimpsed within this lantern. The top section of the bracket is beginning to fail, with a vertical crack being visible on this side.
One further column exists just within the grounds of Stirling House itself.
Judging by the state of the lantern, this too lies abandoned.
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