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.
Denne historien er fra February 21, 2024-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra February 21, 2024-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Tales as old as time
By appointing writers-in-residence to landscape locations, the National Trust is hoping to spark in us a new engagement with our ancient surroundings, finds Richard Smyth
Do the active farmer test
Farming is a profession, not a lifestyle choice’ and, therefore, the Budget is unfair
Night Thoughts by Howard Hodgkin
Charlotte Mullins comments on Moght Thoughts
SOS: save our wild salmon
Jane Wheatley examines the dire situation facing the king of fish
Into the deep
Beneath the crystal-clear, alien world of water lie the great piscean survivors of the Ice Age. The Lake District is a fish-spotter's paradise, reports John Lewis-Stempel
It's alive!
Living, burping and bubbling fermented masses of flour, yeast and water that spawn countless loaves—Emma Hughes charts the rise and rise) of sourdough starters
There's orange gold in them thar fields
A kitchen staple that is easily taken for granted, the carrot is actually an incredibly tricky customer to cultivate that could reduce a grown man to tears, says Sarah Todd
True blues
I HAVE been planting English bluebells. They grow in their millions in the beechwoods that surround us—but not in our own garden. They are, however, a protected species. The law is clear and uncompromising: ‘It is illegal to dig up bluebells or their bulbs from the wild, or to trade or sell wild bluebell bulbs and seeds.’ I have, therefore, had to buy them from a respectable bulb-merchant.
Oh so hip
Stay the hand that itches to deadhead spent roses and you can enjoy their glittering fruits instead, writes John Hoyland
A best kept secret
Oft-forgotten Rutland, England's smallest county, is a 'Notswold' haven deserving of more attention, finds Nicola Venning
