This diminutive lantern was never designed for use as a street light, however, in post-war Bolton in Lancashire that's exactly what the Corporation used the 'Victor' tungsten fitting for! Victor Lighting was founded in 1929, supplying hazardous area equipment including lighting, cable couplers and connectors to the mining industry.

Designed as a flame-proof fitting for lighting mine shafts, this little illuminaire burns a 100watt lamp and is sealed inside a strong cast metal outer housing, its light shining through a small, but strong refracted glass bowl beneath.

Until the mid 1960s, Bolton Corporation used gas lighting in many of it side streets, but even then these elderly fittings were gradually being phased out and replaced with electric fittings, as ‘slum’ housing was cleared and the land redeveloped. However, both the gas and electric lanterns constantly suffered at the hands of vandals. In some areas it was so bad, that in desperation the Street Lighting department turned to this little well-glass fitting to keep the side streets of Bolton lit.

It would seem that someone within the Lighting Department had experience of these fittings, possibly from working down the pits in a previous employment? The fitting had a 3/4 BSP entry thread so could be fitted to standard brackets, it was also very small making it a harder target for the vandals to throw at, plus the cast metal body and thick glass bowl offered better resistance to damage when struck by flying objects.

This example was saved by collector Dorron Harper in the 1960s, when he was actively saving gas lanterns from the area. Dorron kindly passed the little well-glass fitting onto me in 2007.

One of the most unusual street lights you'll ever see. This is an almost life-size  view of

the 'Victor' well glass fitting.

 The standard top-entry threaded fitting, made it an ideal lantern for fitment to standard

brackets on areas where there was a problem with vandalsim.

The strong glass refractor bowl, small to target and hard to hit, but resistant to missiles.

Four 'capped' winged nuts hold the bowl flange in place, there was no danger of this coming

open in service like some modern day lanterns. Note the cast fins to disperse the heat from

the 100 watt lamp.

A close up of the glass bowl, and the specification it was made to.

With the wing nuts removed the lantern's interior can is accessed, but it's all very primiative,

just a brass lampholder and a clear glass 100 watt lamp is inside

I would assume that at one time, a seal would have existed between the teo faces of the

flanges to give a gas tight seal.

The few basic components that made up this simple, but well constructed fitting.

Link to Victor Lighting:  http://www.victor-lighting.com/default/on/category/Wellglass