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Other Vintage Household Electrical or Electromechanical Items For discussions about other vintage (over 25 years old) electrical and electromechanical household items. See the sticky thread for details. |
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12th Apr 2020, 12:09 pm | #61 |
Heptode
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: Blackburn, Lancashire, UK.
Posts: 729
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Re: Coughtrie light
Nice one, Refugee! How lucky you are.
I am so jealous. Wish I could get my hands on a couple of those lovely fittings. They're my all-time favourite outdoor lamp. I just find them so aesthetically pleasing - and evocatively reminiscent of my happy 1970s childhood. Every time I spot one on the corner of someone's house, it just makes me smile. Daft, or what.....!
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Best Regards, Peter. Last edited by Lancs Lad; 12th Apr 2020 at 12:20 pm. |
12th Apr 2020, 12:51 pm | #62 | |
Nonode
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Stockport, Cheshire, UK.
Posts: 2,002
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Re: Coughtrie light
Quote:
The are still easy to see fixed to houses, normally in older middle class areas.
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12th Apr 2020, 1:07 pm | #63 |
Heptode
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: Blackburn, Lancashire, UK.
Posts: 729
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Re: Coughtrie light
Yes, Richard, that's exactly right.
They must have been the favoured go-to choice of 1970s electricians, I think.
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Best Regards, Peter. |
12th Apr 2020, 1:25 pm | #64 |
Nonode
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Coningsby, Lincolnshire, UK.
Posts: 2,819
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Re: Coughtrie light
There’s loads of them round here!
First one I ever saw was on the corner of my great uncle’s house, it’s probably still there! I’ll have a look once this damn lockdown is over. Regards Lloyd |
12th Apr 2020, 7:22 pm | #65 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Worksop, Nottinghamshire, UK.
Posts: 5,553
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Re: Coughtrie light
I have got a corner for it to go on so I will be restoring it.
The layout of the garden is tempting me to fit a custom made LED array in it. Ideally I want a light pattern that is a strong flood in one direction and more of a beam in the other. I would make it fit the fixings for the normal bulb holder so that it can be changed back again. I have got a motorbike headlight with two 4W LEDs in it. The frosting on the inside of the glass should give enough light in the lass important directions. |
14th Apr 2020, 10:04 am | #66 |
Octode
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Near Stowmarket, Suffolk, UK.
Posts: 1,962
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Re: Coughtrie light
I had never really taken much notice of these until reading this thread. There are loads in my village!
The village is part of a country estate and cottages get refurbished every now and then- usually when a longstanding tenant moves out in preparation for a new one. I would guess that any refurbishments carried out in a certain time period feature these lights. The cottages with a light on each end were formerly both two cottages knocked in to one so the lights may date from when that was done. The swan neck type one hangs on the old forge so not lit in a number of years. The cottage next door to me has one out the back. That is the most recent cottage on the estate built in 1974 for one of the butlers when he retired, so I am guessing the light dates from then. It's in use most nights. As my cottage was last refurbished in the 1990s it just had a cheap plastic bulkhead light which I have since replaced with an LED floodlight. I'd love to fit one of these but then I saw the prices Maybe one of my neighbours will do a swap? |
4th May 2020, 9:15 pm | #67 |
Nonode
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Coningsby, Lincolnshire, UK.
Posts: 2,819
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Re: Coughtrie light
I’ve laid my hands on another SW10 fitting! It was in a bit of a state, the bulb holder was loose inside it, and so were the remains of a bulb, bits of broken glass kept dropping out of it! 2 of the fixing screws had already broken off, and 1 was left, and it was stuck solid. I tried everything I could to shift it, but it finally gave in and snapped off, so I’ve drilled out the screws and re-tapped the holes 2BA, and also the screws for the bulb holder were broken off so they got the same treatment. I cleaned the glass, but like my other fitting the glass has gone sort of cloudy with an iridescent sort of appearance, must have spent its life full of water after the original seal failed. I had another seal left so I’ve fitted that too. All that’s left to do now is clear off any remaining paint, give it a rub down and spray it the same colour as the other one. Then I’ll have the hard job of deciding where to put it...
Regards Lloyd |
4th May 2020, 9:18 pm | #68 |
Nonode
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Coningsby, Lincolnshire, UK.
Posts: 2,819
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Re: Coughtrie light
Another pic of it alongside the existing one on the shed.
Also, I rescued this bulkhead fitting from my Nan’s house just before we sold it, its never had any damp inside it, the seal is perfect! My Grandad fitted it many years ago, and he put some sort of putty over the screws that fixed it to the wall, which helped keep it watertight. Regards Lloyd |
11th Jun 2020, 8:00 am | #69 |
Tetrode
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Tiree, Argyll & Bute, Scotland, UK.
Posts: 86
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Re: Coughtrie light
Hello,
Its been a while since I last posted, but I noticed this topic. We have 4 swan necked Coughtrie lights on each corner of the building and a bulkhead light above each door. They are about the only lights that can cope with a Hebridean winter and the occasional high wave on a rough day. Also very useful for finding your house on a dark night. We’re having some renovation work done at the moment to the utility room and that’s having ex HMS Ark Royal bulkhead lights fitted inside. They are very solid and made from bronze I think. Hopefully, I won’t be replacing those in a hurry. Much better than the local (if we had one!) DIY rubbish. As somebody, has already said - don’t throw a Coughrie light or parts away, especially the screw on glass dome. All the best, Richard |
27th Jun 2020, 2:52 pm | #70 |
Heptode
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: Blackburn, Lancashire, UK.
Posts: 729
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Re: Coughtrie light
On holidays in Cornwall in the late 1970s until the mid 1980s I remember noticing that the Minack open-air theatre used Coughtrie FS10s as their 'house' lighting.
They were mounted upside down on every stone bollard on the cliff-side to illuminate the precarious steps when the members of the audience were leaving the theatre. Nowadays they have LED luminaires mounted at ground level to light up the steps. I wonder what they did with all those lovely FS10s when they did the rewire?
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Best Regards, Peter. |