Ornate lamppost on Chelsea Embankment, London

Ornate Lamppost

1874

Granite plinth, green-painted bronze shaft with a design of oak leaves and acorns, two cornucopias and two climbing boys, surmounted by a lamp.

Chelsea Embankment, London

The lamppost is just east of the Albert Bridge, and the east face of the plinth records the opening of the Chelsea Embankment in May 1874. It gives the names of the Chairman of the Metropolitan Board of Works (Sir James Hogg) and its chief engineer (Sir Joseph Bazalgette). For more details see "Climbing Boys, Sculptural Lamp-Post, Chelsea Embankment."

[Another view]

Photograph and text by Jacqueline Banerjee

[[You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned the image and (2) link your document to this URL.]

The new electric street lighting, installed between Westminster and Charing Cross in 1878, was an early tourist attraction, its first trial recorded by Charles Dickens, Jr, in his Dictionary of London (1879).

References

Dickens, Charles Jr. Dictionary of London. Viewed 24 August 2007.

"Dolphin Lampstandards, Victoria Embankment." Viewed 25 August 2007.

Halliday, Stephen. Making the Metropolis: Creators of Victorian London. Derby: Breedon Books, 2003.

Last modified 29 August 2007