Mazda Boule Lantern Installations

These lanterns were far-more popular over in France, but they did occasionally make an appearance here in the UK. They had an unbelievable number of combinations utilizing different bases, globes, lamp-types and internal structure, making identification difficult. Due to this, their page will cover all variations for the foreseeable future. These lanterns could run 70W-150W HPS lamps, mercury lamps, tungsten lamps or CFL lamps.

Tamworth

These abandoned installations are located around the Ankerside car-park building in Tamworth. They are only mounted at 4m, and many are smashed to bits.

Looking closely, we can see that the lantern and column are separate, with the lantern attaching right at it's base. It is not known what they run, if anything anymore. I do wish to save one or two of these.

The column is bolted to a brick foundation.

The next lantern is rooted in a large concrete block which is sitting on the grass.

You may have spotted that the lantern is slightly misshapen, and you'd be correct! I moved around to the "back" of the globe to see a large dent. This provides some insight into what the globe may be made out of: some kind of flexible plastic.

This is unusual, as a double armed column nearby supports two similar globes, but one is shattered. It's left globe is probably made of much more brittle polycarbonate or acrylic, while the right globe is made of the same material as the previous two examples. Whether these are the same type of globe and came with the options of two materials, or they are made by different companies is not known for sure, but given the vast number of material options, they are both likely to be Boules like the other two examples.

The left globe is also notably lighter in tone than the right one, implying a shorter service life and/or a different material. Look very closely and you may spot a bottle inside. If dropped from one of the levels above, it may have caused the shattering of the globe.