Knolly's Close, West Norwood, London Borough of Lambeth With thanks to Alex Monk for informing me of these Survivors. Situated on the short, private cul-de-sac of Knolly's Close are two 15 ft (5 m) Concrete Utilities' 'Avenue 2D' concrete columns, both of which support 'Banstead' top-entry brackets, along with their (assumed) original P152 lanterns, made by Phosware - the lighting division of Concrete Utilities. These lanterns were designed to run a single 60 Watt SO/H / SOI/H (low pressure sodium) lamp; the type of which evolved to become the 35 Watt SOX lamp eventually. Both columns are in extremely poor condition, to the extent that the installations would (likely) be condemned immediately if installed on a public road, and the lanterns may not work any longer anyway.
The first of the two columns is seen a short distance up the cul-de-sac, near the junction of Knolly's Road.
The aged concrete has a distinctly rough appearance to it, in comparison to even some contemporary products.
The P152's bowl has lost its original hinges, with a twist of wire being used to hold the front portion of the bowl vaguely in place - as can be seen, this repair is ineffective, and a large gap exists between the bowl and canopy, resulting in dirt gathering within the bowl. The Perspex employed with these bowls is paper-thin, and breaks easily, as proven by the visible damage to the front of the bowl.
A sizeable vertical crack passes some considerable distance down the column shaft.
A portion of concrete has also fallen from the inside of the bracket curve, exposing the inner steel conduit.
The second installation is at the end of the road, and also looks very precarious.
Around half of the concrete that made up the bracket's bulk has disappeared. Thankfully, as the lamp control gear appears to be mounted remotely in these P152s, the weakened brackets are not having to support especially heavy lanterns.
A smaller (for now) crack is also visible in this column shaft.
A cast plaque attached to the column door identifies this as being column 1901; this being an old maintenance number, in all likelihood.
Nearby, a small portion of the bracket's concrete had landed on the floor.
The P152 itself is in better condition than its counterpart is, however.
BACK TO SURVIVORS IN GREATER LONDON
CLICK HERE TO MAKE A MONETARY DONATION
© 2002 - English Street Lights Online