Carting Lane Sewer Lamp
A genuine Victorian street lamp off the Strand, historically fuelled by methane drawn from the sewers below, earning a rude nickname.
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The lowdown
Down a steep little lane beside the Savoy Hotel stands a curiosity unique in London, a Webb Patent Sewer Gas Destructor Lamp. Designed in the Victorian age to deal with the smelly and explosive gases building up in the sewers, the lamp drew up methane and burned it off, helpfully lighting the street at the same time.
Inevitably, Londoners nicknamed the spot Farting Lane. The original was damaged and faithfully restored, and it still glows there today. It is free to find, gloriously silly and genuinely ingenious, a perfect example of Victorian problem-solving turned into a beloved oddity.
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