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Arrest over city's historic street lamp thefts

Historic England Archive A lantern lit up outside an ornate church window in CambridgeHistoric England Archive
The lanterns at the top of the posts were suspected to have been stolen last year from the city centre

A man has been arrested in connection with the suspected theft of three unique street lamps.

The lanterns, known as Richardson candle lamps, were installed in a number of streets in Cambridge in the 1950s.

The listed lamps were removed at various times between about 13 September and 1 October from St John's Street and Trumpington Street.

A 19-year-old man from Barkway, near Royston, Hertfordshire, has been arrested on suspicion of stealing street lamps from the city as well as others in Hertfordshire.

The suspect was bailed until 1 April, Cambridgeshire Police said.

At the time of the suspected thefts, Heritage England referred to the incidents as a "heritage crime".

Alex Harris/BBC View of St John's Street in Cambridge showing a street light without a lantern at the top. There is a bus stop sign attached to the post and an ornate church in the backgroundAlex Harris/BBC
One of the lanterns was removed from the top of this post in St John's Street in the city
Alex Harris/BBC The front of the Fitzwilliam Museum has ornate columns outside. On the path outside is a post which is missing the lamp on top. There are people walking on the pavement and cars driving down the roadAlex Harris/BBC
The post outside the Fitzwilliam Museum is without its lantern

The county council earlier said the missing lanterns would be replaced, but was unable to say how long that might take.

The lamps in Cambridge were designed by architect Sir Albert Edward Richardson, who was commissioned to design bespoke new street lighting for the city in 1957, according to Historic England.

The vertical tubular lanterns became known as Richardson candles.

Nearly half of those installed in the 50s survive and all have Grade II listed building status.

They were based on a design that had been on show at the Festival of Britain in 1951.

Steve Hubbard/BBC A lamp lit up against the evening sky. It is tall and thin and there are ornate university buildings on either sideSteve Hubbard/BBC
This is how the Richardson candle lamps should look, in situ at the top of the post

Speaking after the theft of the city's lamps last year, a Historic England spokesperson described them as a "distinctive feature of Cambridge city centre" and confirmed the organisation would "offer support and advice to Cambridgeshire Police in their investigation of this apparent heritage crime".

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