Lamp Post Fan

Ripponden concrete lamp posts

Ripponden was mentioned in the Yahoo Street Lighting UK group by Mikey Ashworth, in particular he photographed three “Stanton” concrete posts on the A58. Lampy took a detour from the M62 to see these. And found more than he bargained for. Many thanks go to Mikey. The shots below are in chronological order.

The above is a Concrete Stanton discovered before on the A672 (from the west) on the way to see the A58 Stantons. Below are more concrete lamp posts from the A672. Lampy has look forward to photographing one of these all year (2009). The closest he got was a ruin, a picture of which is elsewhere on this blog. But that ruin was a more exotic top-of-the-lantern-mount These Stantons were commonplace from the 1950′s to the 1990s but now they are nearing extinction at the hands of the column snatchers. This sodium lantern is pretty old. Above: on the perilous journey up Dyson lane towards the A58 A wooden telegraph pole-mounted lamp-post. Similar installations to this were everywhere before the 1990s. Finished off by an old sodium lantern. The above is a zoom shot showing various ageing telegraph lamp posts and the Stantons in the background. It’s poetically evocative of primitive early mammals in the foreground with dinosaurs in the back ground. These are the Stantons Mikey discovered. Magnificent! The above Stantons gave Lampy much pleasure and he took several more shots. However even these didn’t prepare him for an astonishing discovery just around the corner down the road…. The money shot! The above scene left Lampy speechless. It is difficult to beat an ancient concrete street light. You can actually see two in this picture. These two fossil lamp posts are glorious. They are in the amongst the very first generation of concrete lamp-posts, the ancestor of the Stantons we met earlier. They are priceless gems, standing proud science the 1950s. The sodium lanterns are more recent (1970′s?), but even they are getting on a bit. Lampy wonders what the original lanterns looked like. [caption id="attachment_170" align="alignnone" width="444" caption="Priceless old concrete lamp post in Ripponden"][/caption] Above you can see the oldest concrete lamp-posts had a hefty foot on them. Above: Looking back. Above: Lampy has not seen anything quite like this! It is the oldest concrete post-top he has seen, that he can remember. This is a remarkable feature of a picturesque lane, Priest Lane, which runs parallel to Elland Road. A beautiful shot besmirshed by the mindless placement of an ugly yellow box. Perhaps some digital editing might be called for, but not in this blog (unless blurring a car number plate, or adjusting lighting levels.) The above is an all time favourite picture of mine. They most certainly do *not* make them like this any more! The above is the twin of the first Elland road Concrete fossil pictuerd above. They are two souls still standing in 2009 after their siblings around the country have vanished. The above gas light lamp post is preserved in a garden. I took this snap and a couple asked me what I was photographing. Lamp posts! I showed them some images on the back of the EOS LCD screen. They told me the oddest lamp post story that Lampy has ever heard. Someone tried to commit suicide from that lamp post. Notice the missing ladder arm? That’s how it broke – failed hanging attempt. “You’re winding me up!” says Lampy. But the couple insisted that their tale is true, and they certainly seemed sincere. Stranger things have happened. But beware this lamp post, in case you too feel strangely compelled to kiss good bye to sweet life. Above, we return to the first of the concrete fossils. Not sure if the above is symbolic. Imagine the loss if churches were torn down like old lamp posts! (Note – in counties where Islam takes over, that type of terrible destruction does happen. Lampy is not religious, but he does like architecture and beauty – and freedom). But lampy digresses. Above – one last shot! Good bye for now, old friend!


Above: guess which is the new lamp post on Elland Road. And which is the ugly one! It is fortunate that the council have at least preserved the concrete wonders shown in the pictures on this page. The scene of Elland bridge and the church would be absolutely ruined by artless modern lamp posts. Lampy hopes that you enjoyed this journey through the lamp posts of Ripponden, West Yorkshire. His search was fairly casual (and yours truly hasn’t time to publish all photos at the mo), so there may be many more gems lying undiscovered. As always, send in your shots if you will! Thanks.

Comments