Historic Tenantry Column Gets New Life With Martin Lighting

ALNWICK, England—To provide the historic Tenantry Column with a modern and weather-resistant lighting rig, architect James Ritchie installed a range of Martin Exterior fixtures.
Erected in 1816, the Tenantry Column in the town center of Alnwick pays tribute to Hugh Percy, 2nd Duke of Northumberland, for his efforts to reduce rent increases during the post-Napoleonic depression. In 1977, the column received a Grade 1 status as a listed building, the highest level of protection and preservation for historical structures in the United Kingdom.  Northumberland Estates, were undertaking a multi-tier restoration project for the Tenantry Column, part of which included replacing the defunct lighting system. To accomplish this task, Ritchie worked with Northumberland Estates, Martin Professional and Illuminate Design as well as Pickard Electricals to install durable and versatile Martin Exterior Linear Graze Quad and Exterior Wash lights.
“Our job was to replace the defunct lighting installation that was no longer operational due to age and extensive vandalism,” said Ritchie. “The main priorities for the design were to illuminate the column, base plinth and lions in a manner sympathetic to its Grade 1 listed status, take advantage of improvements in technology to install a more energy efficient system, and to incorporate RGBW lighting to ensure the correct blend of light and accentuate the stone’s color and shape. We also wanted to install a DMX controller so the column can be lit with different colors for specific occasions.”
Designed to illuminate any structure and withstand any weather condition, the Martin Exterior Linear Graze Quad uses quad-color LEDs for superior color mixing directly at the lens and to avoid multi-colored shadows. Along with its highly flexible color mixing and 0–100% intensity control, the Exterior Linear also sports IP66-rated housing, allowing the lights to thrive for years to come in any weather condition. For the Tenantry Column, Ritchie specified Near, Wide, and Asymmetric variants of the Exterior Linear and Wash  within protective enclosures to deter vandalism.
Along with the Exterior Linear Graze QUAD, Martin Exterior Wash fixtures also provide the Tenantry Column with additional, wide-reaching coverage. The Wash lights offer uniform color mixing with six beam angle options and the same quad-color LEDs found in the Exterior Linear  within compact, IP66-rated enclosures. The wash lights deliver up to 4900 lumens at full white while the smaller ones reach up to 1300 lumens at full white, allowing for ample coverage and color blending even within limited spaces. The resulting lighting rig brings new life to the Tenantry Column that’s guaranteed to last for years to come.
“The Martin fittings were chosen for the quality of build, performance and durability,” added Ritchie. “The initial response by Martin to my enquiry was excellent and the subsequent service, despite the pandemic, was good. The installation has been very well received and had good social media coverage when it reopened. The local community seems to be delighted to have the column lit again and the client, Northumberland Estates, is very pleased with the quality of the scheme.”