Street Lights

[carni 10,094]

Does any one know when the street lights went from gas lamps to electric,I have this image in my head of me sitting on a bench by the row of shops at the bottom of West Dale Lane and main road Gedling,and a man with a long pole turning the lamp off or on,i have always had this image and now perhaps some one can tell me if its just a figment of imagination,I think it would have been in the 1950s sometime.I hope its true i have always wondered about it.

[mick2me 3,033]

Depends in which area.

The park estates had gas lamps till very recently, and may well still have.

[LizzieM 9,507]

Yes Mick, I think The Park still has gas lamps. Rather quaint eh?

[carni 10,094]

In #1 When i say the man put the gas light out i have the image of a flame being extinguished ,would that be right.

[LizzieM 9,507]

Suppose it's possible if you were hanging around the bottom of Westdale Lane at dawn! And if they hadn't upgraded to electricity yet, which somehow I doubt. I think they still have the gas lights in The Park to retain the quaintness.

[denshaw 2,871]

In the sixties they had gas lamps on Midland station, the pilot light was on permanent,you pulled a lever to light or extinguish the light.

[carni 10,094]

There are areas here in West Mids that have the gas lights and they are very nice,obviously reproduction for effect,it works ,they give the streets an exclusive look.

[carni 10,094]

Denshaw,

That is exactly the way i remember the lamps,that flame i remember would have been the pilot light,Thank you for mentioning that.

[DAVIDW 1,683]

I was trying to find an old photo of Westdale Lane and could only come up with this of the the top where it meets Woodborough Road but its interesting to compare old early 1900s to newish and you can see a gas lamp !

I thought at first that the shop was a new building in the later photo but looking at the upstairs windows and the detailing to the left of the shop facia it appears to be the original .

[DAVIDW 1,683]

We've looked at this picture before but heres an old street lamp (just to the right of the boy with the bike) , on Main Road facing the bottom of Westdale Lane

http://www.picturethepast.org.uk/frontend.php?action=printdetails&keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;DCHQ503337&prevUrl=

[Trevor S 2,003]

[mick2me 3,033]

As A kid I remember when old Radford was being demolished, there were lots of old gas lights.

I did have a Gas light assembly and I am sure it may have had a mechanical timer in it?

State of the art?

[piggy and babs 544]

remember that type of street lights when i lived in netherfield but carnt remember if the had been converted to elictric once by then or not but we would tie skipping rope to the top and swing round thensame style lamps.

[carni 10,094]

Thank you so much every one for the pics and info,i have had this image in my mind all my life,and i know now it was real,just another memory confirmed by you fab Nottstalgians.

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

The ones I remember in St Anns had a mechanical clock, the feller used to clean the glasses, change mantles when needed and wind the clock up once a week..They were changed out in the mid 50's after the area was changed from DC to AC...

[Cliff Ton 10,464]

This photo has appeared in Nottstalgia more than once before, but it fits this thread as well. A nice example of a gas light in Charlotte Street, conveniently helping the gents with their aim.

[carni 10,094]

Hi, going back to you'r comment LizzieM on #5,you got me thinking ,and you'r right about being out at dawn when the lights were turned off, theres not much chance of that, so my memory must have been a winter time one when the dark nights start at approx 4pm and they would be turned on about that time,i would have been with some one even at that time ,being a village and very few cars at that time we played out more safely than would be today.Even so we would not be out after dark.

[NewBasfordlad 3,599]

By the late 50's all street gas lamps were controlled by a mechanical Sangamo windup clock which required winding every 10 days or so.

Going back into the 1800's all lamp lighters carried a single shot black powder pistol for protection, these were issued by the lighting company.

Colin

[carni 10,094]

Sounds like a dangerous job,I hope they got extra in the pay packet to compensate for the unknown dangers the faced.

[carni 10,094]

Hi Piggy and Babs,Read you'r post #13 and you reminded me about swinging on the lamp posts,there was always one or the other of us scrambling up the post,i could get up OK, but i would be stuck for ages ,i couldn't get back down,LOL I think we used some of mams old washing line to swing on,i Bet Elf and Safety would soon spoil our fun today.

[carni 10,094]

Sorry to stray of the lights but i just remembered, does anyone remember the big black beetles that always used to be round the bottom of the Lamp Posts,were they called Black Clocks or something similar,some of them were massive,horrible things,i recall them mainly on the Phoenix Estate,They were electric lights there,could that have been some kind off attraction to them.

[katyjay 5,091]

I remember the black clocks carni, horrible things they were and to a little kid, they looked huge. Looking at the photo of the fella with the long pole to light and put out the lamps, in the old days he had a 2nd job, to knock up folks by banging on the window. Hence the term to be knocked up, something we don't say over here!

[banjo48 928]

Carni

As a 5 + year old I lived just off Mapperley tops and remember on Gretton Road (Opposite Westdale lane top) that there was 3 gas lamps down to Coronation road.

I used to be afraid of the dark (well I was only 5 ! ) and used to run like hell between the gas lamps to get home on a winters evening.

A man used to go round with a pole as per one of the previous photo's, and turn them on and off.

That shop on the corner of Westdale was original but I can remember it being modernised to what it is now, my old work mate's wife runs the beauty parlour in it now, well she did 2 years ago.

[carni 10,094]

Katyjay,

thanks for the info on the lamp lighter,my granddaughter is researching the origins of the old sayings and she will be thrilled with that new one about knocking the windows,by the way *,i am still keeping my eyes peeled* for Muchgiggling, *There's another saying for her to research.LoL.*

[benjamin1945 16,157]

I remember Gas lights' only vaguely,on the old Bestwood estate,probably 1950 ish,seem to recall them 'flickering' on Winter nights as i looked out of Mam and Dads bedroom window,also same memory from my Grandparents house on Saxondale drive,Highbury Vale.

There was a Polish chap called Joe who lived on Andover rd and remember him with his bike and Ladder going round the Estate cleaning them.

Amazing how Nottstalgia brings back things and people long forgotten.