No matter if your main interest lies in being stylish or in protecting your home and family, the garden lamppost does both.  Lampposts are an incredibly elegant way to shed light on your outside space, adding a definite ‘up-market’ feel to any landscape.

Whatever your style and taste, there will be a lamppost out there that fits.  You like old colonial?  There are lampposts in that style.  You favour Victoriana?  No problem.  You like up to the minute minimalism?  Well, you’re catered for too.  As for construction materials: bronze, copper, iron or aluminium lampposts are all easily available on the market.

If the main reason for installing a garden lamppost is safety or security, then the best places to site it would be at the beginning of a driveway or the end of a walkway – anywhere that increases visibility for people using your garden.  Not only will you prevent trips and slips but you will deter loiterers too.  For highlighting garden or architectural features, you’ll find that the wide light-arc given by a lamppost can create some stunning lighting effects.

If you’re definitely a non-electrician, choosing a solar powered lamppost will absolve you from the installation of any electrical cables.  Current solar powered lamps are far brighter than their earlier counterparts too, so don’t be put off.

When it comes to installing your new lamp, you need to prepare yourself for some manual work; in order to ensure that your lamp is secure and  below the frost line as recommended, you need to dig down to between two and three feet.  You have been warned!

Only once you have dug deep enough can you consider laying the armoured cables.  We won’t pull our punches here – we strongly recommend that you employ a fully experienced and qualified electrician.  If you do intend to lay the wires yourself it is vital you consult the local building regulations, which will be very specific about exactly how deep the cables should be laid.  And whether you or your electrician is doing the installation, don’t forget to buy enough cable.  We recommend that you allow additional length to allow for stripping back at both ends to permit the relevant connections to be made.

Next you need to decide what type of bulb to use in your lamppost. We have to confess that our bias here is towards the GLS style of low-energy lamp, which are rather more aesthetically pleasing than the spiral or stick type varieties.  The manufacturers have tried to mimic the style of traditional light bulbs and the result is rather pleasing.

Last but not least, why not add a sensor to your lamppost?  Whether a PIR (movement detector) or a daylight sensor, you will be increasing the security profile of your home.  When you forget to switch the lamppost on (and you will) the sensor will ensure that your security is as tight as ever.

The term Victorian when applied to anything, not just garden lampposts, is a little misleading; remember Queen Victoria ruled Britain and it's Empire for around 60 years so a Victorian lamppost can come in many guises.

If you think of today's fashions and then compare them to the style of the 1940's, you'll see that there's little… Continue reading this article..

For the majority of folk, the thought of adding a garden lamppost to their outside space never really crosses their mind – lampposts are for streets, not for gardens. Wrong! Advancing technology and the discovery of new materials have brought garden lampposts in from the cold.

But, you may be asking yourself, what's the big… Continue reading this article..

Just imagine the excitement you could regain from your partnership by simply putting a lamppost in your garden! Well, okay, maybe not, but it's a good thought nonetheless.

The point is, lampposts have moved on from being a boring piece of street furniture to become something rather more aspirational, certainly in terms of garden furnishings and lighting… Continue reading this article..

To the Victorians, cast iron lampposts were ordinary, everyday things, in the age of the industrial revolution, cast iron was used for the construction of everything from street lamps to the Crystal Palace. Nowadays, because of its weight and expense, cast iron lampposts are far from ordinary; in fact they are extraordinarily desirable, especially for use in garden lighting schemes.

The happy… Continue reading this article..

Victorian lamp posts come from an age typified by contrasts; squalid city slums vied with the riches of the industrial revolution, extravagance of style was countered by simplicity – it was all a wonderful confusion. The happy outcome of these intricacies is that whatever style you find aesthetically pleasing can likely be found amongst our wide range of Victorian lamp posts.

Lamp posts were originally designed as street lighting but, gardeners being the canny beasts they are, have realised the positive contribution a garden lamppost can make to any outdoor lighting scheme. Garden lights are now the rule rather than the exception, probably because they not expand your living space, creating magical views as they do so… Continue reading this article..