Theft of historic street lamps is 'heritage crime'

The lanterns at the top of the posts were stolen in the past two months

Three unique street lamps have been stolen from Cambridge city centre in what experts have called a "heritage crime".

Known as Richardson candle lamps, they were installed in various streets in the 1950s, based on a design that had been on show at the Festival of Britain in 1951.

The listed lamps appear to have been taken at various times between about 13 September and 1 October from Jesus Lane, St John's Street and Trumpington Street, Cambridgeshire Police said.

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

A light was taken from the post outside the Fitzwilliam Museum

One of the lanterns was stolen from the top of this post in St John's Street in the city

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.

Richardson did not have much time for modern lighting, and described a new concrete street lamp outside his Bedfordshire home as "a monstrosity".

The remaining lamps are still shining brightly

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.

A Historic England spokesperson said: "The Richardson candle streetlights are a distinctive feature of Cambridge city centre and are Grade II listed.

"We are aware of the unexplained disappearance of three of the lamps and have offered our support and advice to Cambridgeshire Police in their investigation of this apparent heritage crime."

The Museum of Cambridge, which features the lamps in its project Capturing Cambridge, described them as "a design unique to Cambridge".

The lamps were installed in areas including Trumpington Street, St John's Street, Trinity Street, Silver Street and King's Parade, the museum said.

Cambridgeshire Police said the first report of theft was received on 3 October, when it was told a lantern was stolen from Trumpington Street at some point since 1 October.

A second theft was reported on 8 October regarding a light being stolen from Jesus Lane between 13 and 14 September.

The third was reported on 24 October, with a lantern being taken from St John's Street between 23 September and 23 October.

A Cambridgeshire County Council spokesperson said: "We're aware that three lanterns have been removed in Cambridge.

"A report has been made to the police and we're working with our contractors to replace these lamps."