Description

667/0/10188 MILLINGTON ROAD
07-SEP-10 Gas lamp post outside number 4

II

Street lamp erected by the Cambridge University and Town Gas Light Company, c. 1889.

DESCRIPTION
Made of cast iron to a design loosely based on the classical column, the lamp consists of a fluted shaft on circular base which is set on an octagonal plinth. The shaft tapers slightly before splaying out to form a plain banded capital. A simple four-sided lantern of metal and glass, crowned with a simple spike finial, rests upon four curved metal supports, and a ladder-rest projects from its base.

HISTORY
Gas was introduced to Cambridge in about 1822 by John Grafton. He made gas from oil for street lighting in 1823, producing gas from coal a little later and finally moving his production site to the riverside for ease of coal delivery. An Act of 1834 converted his company to the Cambridge Gas-Light Company, which in 1867 became the Cambridge University and Town Gas Light Company. Gas production ceased on the riverside site in 1969 following the introduction of North Sea gas into Cambridge.

Millington Road was built on land owned by King's College in 1889 and supplied with gas by the Cambridge University and Town Gas Light Company soon after. The gas lamps are still supplied with gas and have remained in use to the present day.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION
The gas lamp post outside no.4 Millington Road, Cambridge is designated for the following principal reasons:

* ARCHITECTURAL AND HISTORIC INTEREST: This is an unusual example of a finely-detailed C19 gas lamp post.
* It is still lit by gas.
* GROUP VALUE: It forms part of an ensemble of 10 other listable gas lamp posts of the same date and design in Millington Road.

Reasons for Listing

The gas lamp post outside no.4 Millington Road, Cambridge is designated for the following principal reasons:

* ARCHITECTURAL AND HISTORIC INTEREST: This is an unusual example of a finely-detailed C19 gas lamp post.
* It is still lit by gas.
* GROUP VALUE: It forms part of an ensemble of 10 other listable gas lamp posts of the same date and design in Millington Road.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26673583

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

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  Harrow on the Hill: A photographic portrayal of listed buildings and structures (Historic Buildings Picture Guides)
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  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
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  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
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  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of Historic Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
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  The Listed Buildings and Other Principal Structures at the Royal Gunpowder Mills Waltham Abbey
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  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)