REFURBISHMENT OF BUCKINGHAM PALACE

Work is due to start in April this year on a 10 year refurbishment programme at Buckingham Palace. The Palace has served as the London family home of British sovereigns since 1837 and is also the working headquarters of the monarchy.

PERIOD LIGHTING FOR VICTORIAN AND EDWARDIAN HOMES

This is the second in our series of blogs focusing on our individual lighting collections. Here we are showcasing our Period Lighting Collection which features reproduction lighting based on designs from the late Victorian and Edwardian eras. Electric lighting was still in its infancy when Queen Victoria died in 1901and throughout the Victorian era electricity remained very expensive. Gas lighting was common in our towns and cities and was supplemented by candles and oil lamps, whilst in smaller towns and villages lighting was almost exclusively by candles and oil lamps. It was not until the Edwardian period that we began to see wider availability of electricity and a gradual replacement of the gasoliers (gas light fittings) with new electric lights.