Lamp post outside 37-38 St James's Place

A gas lamp post comprising a 'Brompton' style column manufactured by S Pontifex and Company, probably dating from the late C19 or early C20, with a Grosvenor lantern, probably installed around 1930.

MATERIALS: cast iron lamp post with a glazed lantern of iron and copper.

DESCRIPTION: the lamp post comprises an ornate, cast iron column, of a style which came to be known as 'Brompton' in the 1990s, with a Grosvenor lantern. The column has a tapered shaft of octagonal section, with acanthus leaf decoration over a base of rectangular section and to the collar. The base of the column has been erected higher than usual so that the four slots to the base, usually submerged to provide a route for the gas supply, stand above the pavement in this example. An applied registration plaque to the base gives number 8047 and there is an inscription giving the manufacturer's name: S. PONTIFEX & CO. The column is surmounted by a Grosvenor lantern supported on a four-legged frog. The lantern has tapered and curved glazing panels in copper casing with a decorative fret and an ogee finial to the tent. There is an access hatch in the top of the tent which is usually a good indicator of a pre-Second World War date. Inside the lantern is a four-mantle burner, an enamel reflector and a Horstmann 14-day control clock.