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A British Gas lamp attendant lighting up Westminster |
Lamp Lighters mark 200 years of gas
illuminating our streets
BRITISH Gas lamp attendants turned back the clock in Pall Mall to mark 200 years of gas street lights.
Westminster mayor Carolyn Keen unveiled a green plaque to celebrate the anniversary of the first gaslights being built.
About 1,600 gaslights remain in London illuminating landmarks including Buckingham Palace, St James’ Palace, the Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey, The Mall, London Bridge and Covent Garden.
Martin Caulfield, the longest-serving British Gas lamp attendant, used a traditional pole for the ceremony.
Mr Caulfield, 65, who joined the lamp-lighting team in 1980, said: “It’s the tourists and Londoners who love the lamps and respect you as a piece of history, but also the people who have lamps outside their homes. It’s certainly an unusual job.”
The plaque commemorates Frederick Winsor, who built the first lamps in Pall Mall in 1807. |
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