An article in Hastings’ local paper highlighted the theft of ornamental lamps from the frontage of the former Hastings College art block in Archery Road – itself a listed Burton building, and part of my life when I attended there  in its guise as the Business Studies Department of Hastings College for Further Education in the middle 1960’s.

Time has made my memory a little hazy so I can’t remember exactly whether the lamps were put there before, during or after my time at the college but I do remember that they were originally part of the seafront lighting scheme that Sydney Little in the early 1930’s when some of the traction poles erected for the new trolleybus system in 1928 doubled as lighting standards. With the end of the trolleybuses in 1959 the traction poles were redundant, the lighting appeared dated and the lamp standards and lamps were replaced. Someone at the college was far-sighted enough to salvage a number of the pendant elements and, thanks to the students half a dozen fully-refurbished lamps resulted.

I looked through my seafront pictures to find a picture of the lamps in their original setting and found all sorts of others that had been features of our seafront. The biggest problem with seafront lighting is attack by the elements and several attractive schemes were found to be both unreliable and high maintenance.

Picture 1 – three of the recycled pendant lamps in position on the old art block of Hastings College.

Picture 2. A magnificent display of lamps on both sides of the road. The additional ornamental lighting hasn’t yet been added.

Picture 3. Immediately post-war, Damage to Marine Court is still evident and lampless traction poles merely support the landward end of the trolleybus span wires.

Picture 4. Between Warrior Square and the pier, this is what we have today, the top light illuminates the road, the lamp lower down does the same for the promenade and the boxes either side of the pole house the downlighters that form an attractive low-maintenance coloured display.

Picture 5. In Hastings & St Leonards the majority of lighting standards are on the seaward side of the road these however are on the landward side because at this point the promenade is ‘hollow’ (the underground car park is below) and there would be no support for the poles. Note the lack of ‘downlighters’.

Picture 6. These are the lamps that replaced the 1930’s set. Note the AEC Reliance on the right and the coach is probably a Leyland TD4 with Beadle Bodywork. The card is dated 1967

Picture 7. St Mary in the Castle. Note fairly simple lamp attached to the trolleybus traction pole. The other end of the span wire id attached to a ‘rose’ on the building opposite the pole. This was common practice in Hastings and some streets had ‘roses’ on both sides of the road so that no poles were required! This pattern of lamp was attached via a cable to a ‘winder’ in the pole so that the lamp could be lowered for servicing.

Picture 8. A very early picture (1880’s?) Some of the lamps here are quite small and probably lit by gas (the Hastings & St Leonards Gas Company was founded in 1832)

Picture 9, dating from 1867 shows a fine lamp standard of the pattern still to be seen in the back streets of Hastings & St Leonards today, without the gas lantern top of course and converted to electricity. The pole to the left is a flagpole

Picture 10. Mid 1930’s shows the trolleybus traction poles doubling as lamp standards, the trolley wires appear to have been airbrushed out. The landward side of the span wires supporting the trolley wires would have been attached to the buildings and many are still in place. The replacement lighting columns were erected fairly close to the traction poles so you can locate the ‘roses’ by looking at the other side of the road at first floor level

Picture 11. About 1904. The nearest buildings were demolisked to build Marine Court at the end of the 1930’s but note the magnificent lamps

Picture 12, similar to picture 11 but at White Rock

Picture 13. The Royal Victoria Hotel and Conqueror’s Stone, The traction poles for the tram overhead an the lighting columns were quite separate. Up until the 1921 trans along the seafront used the Dolter surface contact system and there were no overhead wires but the Dolter system was notoriously unreliable.

Picture 14, postmarked 1912. If you look closely between the tram tracks you can see the studs of the Dolter Surface Contact system, so no traction poles.

Picture 15, postmarked 1909 is a nice study of a long-gone lamp

Picture 16 probably about 1910 and an interesting illustration of the lamps illumination the promenade as afar as the western end of Robertson Street.