Lamp post outside 8 Barton Street

This is a gas street light, likely dating from the early 20th century. The lamp post is an “Eddystone” column, topped with a “Rochester” lantern which was probably installed around 1930. The lamp post is made of cast iron and tapers slightly, with fluting along its length. The base features the crest of the Westminster City Council and the royal cypher G V R, with the date 1910. The Eddystone column style is found in a William Sugg and Company catalogue from 1904, and similar examples in the area are dated 1910. The lantern consists of a circular copper drum and rain shield above an inverted six-mantle burner. This burner is contained within a teardrop-shaped glass enclosure, with a drainage hole at its base, and is reflected by an enamelled steel reflector. The lantern is suspended within an iron cradle that has two curved uprights, which retain much of their original decorative ironwork scrolls, a characteristic feature of Rochester lanterns from the inter-war period.