Lighting the way
LAST week’s announcement by Arts and Heritage Minister Lord Parkinson that four historic gas lamps on Russell Street, WC2, have been granted listed status is seen as a good omen by lobby group The London Gasketeers.
Over the past few years, there has been much drama over these gas lamps, with their atmospheric yellow glow that is so distinctively old London—think Dickens, My Fair Lady and Mary Poppins. It all began back in 2021 when antiquarian map and bookseller Tim Bryars noticed some workmen digging around a lamppost outside his shop in Cecil Court, WC2. When he discovered that Westminster City Council had started quietly to replace some of its 300 historic gas lamps with LED versions, he joined with antiques writer and former Bonhams specialist Luke Honey to launch The London Gasketeers (www.thelondongasketeers.com) in 2022. After that, the campaign, supported by the likes of actor Simon Callow, presenter Dan Cruickshank and comedian Griff Rhys Jones, began in earnest (Town & Country, January 26, 2022). ‘Within two weeks, we garnered 3,000 Instagram followers,’ says Mr Honey; amid extra pressure from the Victorian Society, the council was forced to put its plans on hold.
Finally, success came in November 2022, when, after consultation, Westminster City Council announced that 174 gas lamps, not all of which are listed, would be retained. The unlisted 94 will be converted to LED replicas, unless they are listed first. Accepting the challenge, Mr Honey and Mr Bryars spent months roaming the streets of Westminster with
