Painter Brothers
Contents
Overview
Painter Brothers’ exact involvement is unclear, and although they are still in business it has so far proved impossible to contact them as they refuse to respond. They are listed as one the two steelwork fabricators for scheme SWE PL16 (along with Horseley Bridge & Thomas Piggott Ltd). The L2 tower was fabricated and tested at Painter Brothers’ works.
Painter Brothers were responsible for the “PB” 132 kV single circuit portal-type supports. These were part of the Painter’s Universal Pole (PU Pole), designed to accommodate lines up to 132 kV.
A similar single pole type was used for street-level distribution in East Sussex. Various other single-pole types are now known to have existed, as listed under see also, below. Some of the types listed are illustrated by lines that appear to no longer exist; this may be due to corrosion of the steelwork.
GB patent 589375 covers a revised version of their distribution masts.
Documents
- Unknown brochure, cover and page 9, scanned by Stephen J D Williams
See also
Material:
- Blaw Knox/Painter Brothers advertisement depicting L2 undergoing testing, 1954 (Flickr)
Types:
-
Still in existence as of October 2026:
- 11 kV lines, near Shifnal, Shropshire (Geograph)
-
Demolished:
- 33 kV road crossing mast, near “Coleford” (Wikimedia Commons)
- 33 kV line, near Seagrave, Leicestershire (Geograph Britain and Ireland)
- Twin lines north-west of Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex (Geograph Britain and Ireland)
- 11 kV line, Pencaitland (Geograph Britain and Ireland), demolished sometime between 2011 and 2021
The Pencaitland type has crossarms of the same configuration as a similar-looking mast type used for 33 kV in South Scotland.