Cast Iron Electrical Transformer Pillar

This list entry was subject to a Minor Enhancement on 8 February 2023 to correct the name, amend description and to reformat the text to current standards

902/0/10018

DORKING ROAD (Off) Cast Iron Electrical Transformer Pillar

(Formerly listed as Cast Iron Electricity Sub-station)

14-FEB-06

II

Electrical transformer pillar, early-C20 (believed to date from 1909). The pillar stands in the grounds of Castle House, to the north of a building called Castle Lodge.

DESCRIPTION: the pillar is a circular cast-iron structure around 2m tall with three tiers of panels. As the panels decrease in height from base to top, they become increasingly ornate. The top panel is decorated, and the middle panel has moulded bands at top and bottom. It is finished with a slightly sloping roof with a projecting cornice decorated with egg and dart ornament, and is surmounted by a foliated finial. The lower and middle panels contain two pairs of double doors on opposite sides with decorative hinges, which give access to the internal workings. The pillar is painted green.

This is a standard design of the early-C20, made by the British Electric Transformer Company, based in Hayes in Middlesex. Four others are known to survive in-situ and these are all listed. This is a well-preserved example of this class of structure, and has merit as an illustration of industrial design for the early electricity industry.

HISTORY: the owners of Castle House in the early-C19, the Allom family, were proprietors of an electrical components business and installed the pillar in order to bring electricity to their house and to those of their neighbours. It is likely to have been erected in 1909, but certainly before 1938 when it was adopted by the local electricity supply company.

SUMMARY OF IMPORTANCE: this electrical transformer pillar was installed around 1909 by the owners of Castle House, proprietors of an electrical components business. This is a good in-situ example of early electricity distribution equipment of a widely-used and elegant design, illustrative of the quality of industrial design for the early electricity industry.