Interesting fact.

Not to light the lamp, to change mantles & stuff Lighting was by a pole with a hook which went into a small chain hanging down from the gas valve. There was a constant pilot light

Idea for a new programme hosted by Jim Moir

Right outside my home of 20 years and I never knew that,every day’s a school day 👌

My great great grandfather was a lamplighter around Dublin Castle and Temple Bar.

Not quite right. These horizontal supports were certainly for ladders but for longer work such as maintenance & repair. The Lamp Lighters had long lighting poles with which to charge the mantles from ground level.

No cigar I'm afraid Jim. They were for pigeons, which were much heavier in the old days.

It is an interesting fact. I’m now imagining a TV series with you and John Shuttleworth travelling round the U.K. pointing these out. You could paint them and he could write a song about them. It’d be better than Antiques Roadshow.

You’re gaslighting us

Next time you're in Paddington station, look up at the star shaped holes in the roof trusses. They were designed to take scaffolding poles so they could clean the windows without having to build a platform from the floor.

That is the best thing I’ve learned on Twitter in a long time. 👏