Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1909-09-22
"''..f .:.s'.s.s. ....s..s..!.... .s..s.....s..,.
y. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF J.
y. STREET LIGHTING }.
q. IN LONDON TOWN. >.
s-.f..f.ef. y. .a..a..a.


bright
That so your candle clear may shine,
Continuing from six till nine;
That honest men that walk along
May see to pass safe without wrong"
Less. than two hundred years ago
the watchman of London Town, car
rying horn lanthorns and halbreds,
|. dressed in long coats and knee
)breeches, walked up and down the
, cobbled streets Of the worlds larg-
est city chanting this verse.
1t is beyond our comprehension
and Imagination, in these days of
flaming arc lamps and brilliantly
lighted streets, to picture the streets
of London in that lawless age when
only a candle with a cotton wick
was hung out here and there on dark
nights. 1t was an age OF lanthorns,
of tlambeauX and linkboys, when
every one made his will and prepar-
ed for death when he ventured out
at night. 1t is SO written that it was
n CO nmon practice in that city for a
coIni,any of a hundred or more to
make nightly invasions upon houses
OF the wealthy to kill and rob and it
is recorded that when night was
come no man burst venture to walk
i'll the Streets
The first attempt to light the
streets Of London was made in 1415
when the mayor, Sir Henry Burton,
ordered householders to hang out
lanthorns in the winter holiday sea-
son. During the next three hundred
years the city ordinances and gene
raj laws are filled with items re-
minding the citizens con pains and
penalties, to hang out their lam
thorns at the appointed time" In
u. Cos all the inhabitants of London
were ordered for the safety and
peace of the city to hang out candles
duly to the accustomed hour In
1890, ''when night darkened the
streets then wandered forth the sons
of Belial. flown with insolence and
wine," every housekeeper had to
hang out candle or light on
moonless nights.
About this time an ingenious citi-
zch, named Edward Heming, obtain
ed the exclusive right to light the
streets of London. For a moderate
consideration he was TO place light
. before every tenth door from Mi
chaemas to Lady Day, from six to
twelve o'clock. Heming's lanthorns
gave but a feeble glow, but never-
theless he did much for the illumi-
nation and safety of the city. But
he was severely criticized, and in the
year 1716 his license was withdrawn.
The city had again many districts
where no light was to be seen. In
1716 every hOuSekeeper whose house
fronted any street or lane and was
rented at $40, and every person hav-
ing the charge of a public building,
was required and obliged, on penalty
of fine Of one shilling, during every
dark night, from September 20 until
March %, to hang out one or more
lanthorns with sufficient wick-can-
dies lighted therein, and to continue
the same burning in every such dark
might, from the hour Of six until the
hour OF eleven o'clock Of the same
night.
This method Of lighting the streets
at night was soon found to be very
inadequate and insufficient, because
most OF the Inhabitants were not
rated up to G10 and the limited
period Of time during which the
streets were lighted was found to
expose the citizens to the deprada-
tions Of street robbers and house
breakers. After II o'clock the city
was practically in total darkness.
The shops, which were kept open
till or 8 o'clock in the evening,
alone made the streets agreeable for
these few hours, so that Defoe in
1923 published a pamphlet wherein
he demonstrated his plan, according
80 which "our streets were to be so
strongly guarded and so gloriously
illuminated that any part Of London
would be as safe and pleasant at
midnight as at MONDAY, and bur-
glary totally unpracticable."
Up to 1886 the lighting was done
by contract, and the contractors, by
a singular arrangement, agreed to
pay the city 5000 year for this
monopoly. In return for this they
were empowered to levy a rate of 6
shillings a year upon all housekeep-
ers who paid poor rates, and
larger rate from all who had houses
Mof over &1O per annum unless they
Shung out lanthorn or candle be-
fore their doors.
AS this private undertaking be-
came good job for the contractors,
and the robberies increased In 1886,
1t was thought needful to apply to
Parliament for powers to light the
streets in more effectual manner,
and to take the lighting Of the city
out OF private hands. An act was
accordingly passed, by which the city
was empowered to put up lamps
where they might think fit, to burn
from sunset to sunrise. Instead,
therefore, Of a thousand lamps, the
number was now increased to 4,679;
but as these were not sufficient seve-
ra OF the wards made a consdera-
b.oSincrease, so that the whole could
amount to no less than 5000.
This, however, vas only the
amount in the "Citv and I.ihnrtine ~