Treasures of London – Russell Street gas lamps…

One of the lamp-posts in Russell Street, Covent Garden, in 2012. PICTURE: Google Maps

Recently listed as Grade II, these four gas lamps on Russell Street in Westminster were among a series of lamps installed around Covent Garden to mark the beginning of King George V’s reign.

While the columns of the lamps date from 1910, three of the lanterns – described as an ‘Upright Rochester lantern’ and manufactured by William Sugg and Company Limited – are replacements believed to have been installed around 1930. The fourth was installed following a campaign to save Covent Garden from redevelopment in the 1970s.

The newly listed lamp-posts – the first Westminster lamps to be listed in 40 years – are located outside numbers 4-6, 24, 29, and 34-43.

There are currently about 1,300 working gas lamps in London, around 270 of which are in Westminster (and about half of which are listed).

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