Illuminating Ealing’s Heritage

History is being restored in the Borough of Ealing, as the area’s special interest group ‘Save Ealing’s Antique Lamp posts (SEAL)’ work with Ealing Council and WRTL Exterior Lighting, to provide Heritage style lanterns for newly refurbished cast iron lamp columns in Ealing’s newly created ‘Heritage Quarter.’

South Ealing is known by many of its residents as the Heritage Quarter of Ealing, as it is brimming with the Borough’s history and culture. Back in 2005, Ealing Council joined forces with Ealing Lighting Ltd, part of Southern Electric Contracting (SEC) Ltd, to replace all of its existing ageing lighting stock with new modern lamp columns over a five year period. SEAL however, have been very keen to preserve all of the original 1930s and 1940s antique cast iron lamp columns within the Heritage Quarter. They successfully managed to secure funding for the restoration of the antique lamps. Ealing’s affluent Northfield Avenue shopping quarter, was one of the first roads to benefit from the project. All lamp posts on the main road have been replaced and now use WRTL’s Charleston heritage style lantern. WRTL have been able to provide Northfields Avenue with a like-for-like lantern upgrade, which meets European and British street lighting standards. The Charleston lantern has a very modern take on a traditional theme, incorporating an IP66 sealed optic system, tool less access for maintenance, corrosion free life and maximum recyclability. The next stage involved Ealing Council inviting WRTL and a competitor to participate in a pilot scheme, for the next phase of the restoration project. Both companies had the opportunity to pilot five of their heritage style lanterns, on two different streets within the Heritage Quarter. WRTL showcased their Wilsford heritage style lantern. The Wilsford is a sleek and elegant lantern, based on a traditional design. Similar to the Charleston lantern the features also include, an IP66 sealed optic system and tool less access. Following both companies installations, residents who lived within the Heritage Quarter boundary were asked for their comments and feedback on each style of lantern. The results were most positive for WRTL, with more than 90% of residents favouring the Wilsford style lantern. Today, more than 650 refurbished cast iron lamp posts, with WRTL’s Wilsford lanterns can now be found across Ealing’s distinctive Heritage Quarter. The historic area is the only part of Ealing that uses white lights to illuminate its streets, helping to preserve what makes South Ealing so special. Sebastian Navaranjan, Service Manager for the Street Lighting Private Finance Initiative (PFI) project for Ealing Council, commented: “Both WRTL’s Charleston and Wilsford lantern provided both a good solution and value for money. They have allowed us to utilise many of the original cast iron posts that are highly valued by the residents of Ealing, and still meet modern lighting standards using traditional style lanterns”.

Tags: