Summary

Two C19 gas street lamps, one by Hardy and Padmore of Worcester.

Description

Two C19 gas street lamps, one by Hardy and Padmore of Worcester.

Lamp at NGR SO7833947902
The lamp is constructed of cast iron with a Windsor lantern supported on four scrolled brackets, set on a capital with foliate relief, on a short reeded column, with an ornamental ring with quatrefoils, above a tall fluted base with ribbon binding, set on a square base with rounded top. The ladder rest is reeded with moulded finials. By Hardy and Padmore of Worcester; the rear of the plinth is cast with the founder's mark.

Lamp at NGR SO7835947869
The lamp is constructed of cast iron with a Windsor lantern set on four scrolled brackets on a reeded column with two stages of ornamental rings, including stiff-leaf relief, above a fluted section set on a moulded circular base. The ladder arms are reeded with mouldings and finials.

History

In 1851, permission was given for the building of a gas works at Sherrards Green in Malvern, the first to be built in the town. It opened in 1856, with the capacity to serve around 500 houses in the vicinity, as well as 200 street lamps. Further gas plants were opened around the town, and eventually all of Malvern, even remote locations, was provided with gas street lighting. In 1872, a lamplighter was paid 14s a week to light the lamps each evening. In total there were around 250 lamps, of which about 100 are still lit by gas, with a hand-wound clockwork mechanism to light them automatically. A further 125 have been converted to electric lighting; there are some replica lamp posts, and a few have been tapped off or lost entirely. The lamps were cast by a number of foundries, many of which were local, others much further afield, including Sheffield and Manchester. The lanterns were supplied by William Sugg and Company which was founded in 1837 to provide elements for gas lighting, and Foster and Pullen Ltd of Bradford.

The two lamps in the churchyard at St Matthias' Church were installed in the C19.

Reasons for Listing

The two mid-C19 gas street lamps in the churchyard of the Church of St Matthias are designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Design interest: the lamp standards are well cast, and each has a neatly-detailed tapering lantern;
* Intactness: the lamp standards are intact, and they remain lit by gas;
* Group value: the lamps form a functionally-related and co-visual group within the churchyard;
* Historic interest: these lamps are part of an extensive network of similar gas-lit street lamps which survive across Malvern.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26668998

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Georgian Style and Design for Contemporary Living
• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Leeds, Bradford and the North (Pevsner Architectural Guides / Buildings of England)
• 
  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Wiltshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)