The Cardinal Hat Light

The Cardinal Hat light is a Lutyens classic and has, over the years, been one of our most successful designs. Lutyens originally designed the light for the Chapel of Campion Hall, the Jesuit college at Oxford University. We came up with the name of the as it was a deliberate, (and well documented) visual pun on the part of Lutyens to mimic the look of the iconic headwear. His idea of linking the lights with swagged cable was quite revolutionary in its day and remains a visually effective and unusual way of lighting a room.

A truly unique lighting solution, each Cardinal's Hat pendant fitting is made-to-order, tailored to the client's exact specifications making it suitable for all rooms of all heights and sizes. The choice of configuration is entirely up to the client. They can be purchased as single fittings or in multiples and are an excellent means of providing a good, evenly spread, level of light. They are ideal for ceilings with decorative mouldings or ceilings where it is not possible to chase out additional electrical points as only one fitting needs a mains supply.

We developed the light for a sconce fitting, originally with a lozenge backplate where the shape of the lozenge was taken from a timber detail in the chapel of Campion Hall. More recently we have made it with a very simple round disc back plate and we have now developed it as a standing lamp.

The glass discs are offered in 350mm and 450mm diameters for the pendants and 250mm for the sconces. Generally we recommend that the centre drop(s) in a combination carry a larger disc. We offer the discs in either sand blasted or hand blown glass.

The cage is 200mm high x 100mm wide and can be finished in polished brass, antique silver or bronze. The pendant rods are finished to match the cage and are made to appropriate length for the ceiling height of the room in which they hang. The tassels and electrical cable are available in a variety of colours.