Monday 23 January 2012

They are Heraldic Dolphins not Sturgeons

When it comes to local history and historical indentification in Thanet there have been many inaccuracies and mistakes often reported and circulated. We all make mistakes and nobody is perfect and like everything else mistakes should be corrected and then just left at that. However, there are some who just keep getting it wrong and and even when presented with the facts still persist on producing the same inaccuracies.
Today I read part of a statement referring to the Margate coastal sea defence works released by TDC and its reads "The Sturgeon lights, which were positioned on top of the concrete pedestals along the sea wall have also been carefully removed".
The facts are that they are not Sturgeons lights but Heraldic Dolphins and this has been pointed out many times.
In fact anyone reading this can check the facts themselves. The photograph from google images to the left is taken of the same lamps along the Thames embankment and they are described as heraldic Dolphins, in fact every reference on google to the design refers to heraldic Dolphins.

So who is right and who is wrong ? - it doesn't take much working out.


5 comments:

Don Wood said...

I like 'em whatever they are.

A J Ovenden said...

I like them also Don, but if Margate is to move in the cultural path everything most be accurate down the finest detail and kept to a high standard.

Michael Child said...

Tony I think the London ones date from the 1870s and designed to be about the first electric street lights in the UK at that time it would have been a coal fuelled steam generator fairly near to the lights, I wonder if the Margate ones also were also part of some very early electric lighting scheme.

A J Ovenden said...

Michael, to be honest I am not sure, Mick Twyman did some research on them and produced an article for the Margate historical Society which I am trying to find. I do believe he made contact with a relative of the people who manufactured originaly made them.

Don Wood said...

be interesting to find out, Tony if you do find Micks stuff mail me cheers, Don