There will often be a basement underneath them now
People love down there, this is their bedroom window.
They’re called pavement lights and they’re used for two purposes. The main purpose is to release smoke and heat from a basement fire (UK standards say the natural ventilation option should have at least 2.5% of your floor area as smoke outlets).
Basically the fire service can then come along with a sledgehammer to knock out the glass bits to release the smoke.
The second purpose is to let natural light into your basement. That’s a side benefit though. You can get versions of those which are just plain concrete with no glass lights in them.
Didn’t some of these used to be the public underground loos?
Luxury flats for the rats
I’ve worked underneath one of those in Mayfair. Of course, I’m IT, we get stuck into some of the worst spaces
🔥
The provide natural lights to storage rooms below
I have always wanted to know this! Thanks for asking!
It lets daylight through and is meant to deter the Morlocks from rising to the surface.
It’s so my basement isn’t too dark and I get vitamin D without risking seeing people.
They’re also not in any way unique to London
So fire man can smash them with there sticks
Often thought as a side effect to the original purpose this was so it wasn’t illegal to market basement ‘flats’ to people as it’s illegal to have no natural light.
Lived somewhere like this (landlord was on a big BBC documentary for his dodgy practices.) we had a skylight for four rooms 😁
They’re in every large-ish city I’ve ever visited, worldwide.
So people underground can look up skirts. That’s what I was told.
That’s where the mole ppl live
Tiny windows for the borrower people
Glass cubes for light .I’ve seen someone have a shower room made with these. I can’t remember where I’ve see it
Stops tenants hot boxing their basements.
So you can slip and fall when it’s raining, to get the full London experience.
These are small peep shows called saints, and is the origin of the phrase saints knees when people had to kneel down to see into them.
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[Pavement Smoke Outlets](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLrVcikVwsc) (timestamped video explaining the different types and how they’re used).
There will often be a basement underneath them now
People love down there, this is their bedroom window.
They’re called pavement lights and they’re used for two purposes. The main purpose is to release smoke and heat from a basement fire (UK standards say the natural ventilation option should have at least 2.5% of your floor area as smoke outlets).
Basically the fire service can then come along with a sledgehammer to knock out the glass bits to release the smoke.
The second purpose is to let natural light into your basement. That’s a side benefit though. You can get versions of those which are just plain concrete with no glass lights in them.
Didn’t some of these used to be the public underground loos?
Luxury flats for the rats
I’ve worked underneath one of those in Mayfair. Of course, I’m IT, we get stuck into some of the worst spaces
🔥
The provide natural lights to storage rooms below
I have always wanted to know this! Thanks for asking!
It lets daylight through and is meant to deter the Morlocks from rising to the surface.
It’s so my basement isn’t too dark and I get vitamin D without risking seeing people.
They’re also not in any way unique to London
So fire man can smash them with there sticks
Often thought as a side effect to the original purpose this was so it wasn’t illegal to market basement ‘flats’ to people as it’s illegal to have no natural light.
Lived somewhere like this (landlord was on a big BBC documentary for his dodgy practices.) we had a skylight for four rooms 😁
They’re in every large-ish city I’ve ever visited, worldwide.
So people underground can look up skirts. That’s what I was told.
That’s where the mole ppl live
Tiny windows for the borrower people
Glass cubes for light .I’ve seen someone have a shower room made with these. I can’t remember where I’ve see it
Stops tenants hot boxing their basements.
So you can slip and fall when it’s raining, to get the full London experience.
These are small peep shows called saints, and is the origin of the phrase saints knees when people had to kneel down to see into them.
They are also in Bristol and other cities