Four gas-powered lamp posts in Covent Garden, installed in 1910 to mark the beginning of George V’s reign, have been listed by Historic England.
The street lights are situated along Russell Street and have been listed at Grade II by the public body as a result of a pilot project.
The project is hoped to help inform discussions about the management of gas lamps both in Westminster and further a field.
Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England said of the four newly listed lamp posts: “The 1910 columns and their 1930s ‘Upright Rochester’ style lanterns – designed to reduce shadow and improve distribution of light – help illustrate how streetlighting technology has evolved over time, in an area of particular importance to the development of gas-powered streetlighting.”
The London Gasketeers, a group campaigning for the protection of Westminster’s historic working gas lamps, welcomed news of the new protection.
The group said in a statement: “These are the first Westminster gas lamps to be listed in 40 years, a milestone in our grassroots campaign, and it provides a model for protecting the remaining handful of survivors.”
In Westminster there are around 270 gas lamps, roughly half of which are now listed. Across the capital, there are around 1,300 working gas lamps.
Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay, Arts and Heritage Minister said the newly listed lamps “will now rightly be protected so that their inimitable glow can continue to brighten the lives of Londoners and millions of tourists for generations to come.”
