Night time near Embankment metro station, behind The Savoy Hotel. Here, a streetlamp casts a warm yellow glow, showing the way back through London’s evening fog. The light is no ordinary light. And it shines from not just any old lamp. A relic from the Victorian era, the streetlamp in question has an actual flame and burns methane from London’s sewers. An idea of Joseph Webb that helped to illuminate London at little cost. Today this lamp is the last of its kind. And it operates fabulously. Even if the night time activities of this corner are not what they used to be: in the 19th century, this was the neighbourhood for “ladies of the night”. Near Embankment Metro Station
Read more
