What are Ancient Lights and why did they ANNOY the BBC?
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- Опубліковано 5 лют 2025
- These strange signs can be found in dozens of locations around London.
What exactly are ancient lights and why did they annoy the BBC?
#bbc #london #ancientlights
• What are Ancient Light...
/ @offbeatlondon101
/ london_off
Thumbnail photo: Mike Newman
Short and to the point. I appreciate it's not one of those 20-minute videos explaining something that can be done in 3 minutes, like here. Well done, and thanks for sharing.
...
Do you know Jesus Christ can set you free from sins and save you from hell today
Jesus Christ is the only hope in this world no other gods will lead you to heaven
There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today
Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell
Come to Jesus Christ today
Jesus Christ is only way to heaven
Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void
Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today
Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today
Romans 6.23
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
John 3:16-21
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Mark 1.15
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Hebrews 11:6
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Jesus
Actually it took 30 seconds just to restate the title then another minute, up to timestamp 1:29, to where they actually explained them. So, okay, maybe short but coulda got to the point a lot faster. Half the vid was spent getting there. I *just about* clicked away at the 1:20 mark. But I held on. It was indeed interesting. But still, get on with it, man! 😂
And no 10 minutes selling face cream or something else nobody wants, then the obligatory “please share like and subscribe” rant Followed by “buy us a coffee” as I say anyone giving money to these muppets just to hear their particular views on a subject or visiting the sea side is in my opinion a brick short of a load, Pay Them Nothing is my Advice!
@@BruceReid8393 three minutes is ideal nothing pleases everyone somehow someone will moan about 30 seconds getting to the point however as I say three minutes or thereabouts!
@@Dee-u4r wellll, it was hardly a “moan”. And I was specifically responding to the guy who said “short and to the point”, because it was s in fact not that. Which I found humorous. It was short and it was really interesting and I’m glad I watched it. But if a vide is called “what are ancient lights and why …etc”. And then the opening lines of the audio are “if you are wondering what Ancient lights are well I’m going to tell you…etc”. It was a waste of time restating so much before getting to the point. So had I written the script I’d have started with “Ancient Lights is the term used to describe windows that have historically always had direct sunlight. Here is their interesting history….” (also please like and subscribe 😂)
My grandfather, Arthur Cooksey, was an architect and a specialist in Ancient Lights at the start of the last century in London. He was called into court to give his opinion on the subject when needed.
wow, I love that, personal histories that are also part of every Londoner's story. Also love architecture and architects.
@@rachelLadyD As a Building Engineer , I think Architects are often Prima Donnas .!
.....
Do you know Jesus Christ can set you free from sins and save you from hell today
Jesus Christ is the only hope in this world no other gods will lead you to heaven
There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today
Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell
Come to Jesus Christ today
Jesus Christ is only way to heaven
Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void
Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today
Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today
Romans 6.23
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
John 3:16-21
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Mark 1.15
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Hebrews 11:6
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Jesus
@@rachelLadyD Architects are the most annoying of any of the various professions in the building trade. They are grossly overpaid and to be honest I believe I could design better architecture than most of these pompous artsy fartsy types. I'm a bricklayer by trade and I know with todays computers and all the info needed to design a building is a keystroke away. Designing whatever structure is within the reach of most people. btw do you love brickies?
@@Antipodean33 "I'm a bricklayer by trade and I know with todays computers and all the info needed to design a building is a keystroke away. Designing whatever structure is within the reach of most people" Antipodean, educate yourself before spreading such nonsense.
You don't need a sign to assert Rights of Light after 20 years use, and haven't needed one since 1832, when the Prescription Act was passed. Which means that all of these signs are now more than 190 years old, which is interesting enough in itself.
Eh, if I lived in London and I had a window more than 20 years old, I would consider marking it as an Ancient Light. Rule of Cool.
@@malvoliosf
But that would be a blatant lie. 20 years, ancient? Bah humbug! Barely a bit dated.
I guess vintage light would work, but at what point would you have to replace the old sign with a new one that said ancient light?
@@Briselance After a photon is generated in the Sun's core on average it takes around a million years for it to reach the surface. Seems ancient to me.
@bris the light photons are billions of years old though so it averages out
You had me at “annoying the BBC” but then I listened to the reasons and I fully support this. We as humans NEED natural light.
Especially when the full story is land owners use to built partial walls on edge of land blocking the house on next property from having a view. This was done so when they built a house or sold it they could block the view of neighboring house bc they never had a view. So rude and nasty. There were even some of the partial walls still standing in 21st century small towns..had to wait for the land owner to die to remove the old walls. Crazy
Yeah.British troops stationed at Cherrapunji would get depressed due to the excess rain reducing light.And if even brits can suffer that the rest of the world is even more vulnerable.
We need that in the States! They keep over building as if they can’t stop.
@@rcschmidt668 Couldn't agree enough. I'm tired of nice things being taken over because someone wants to build 50 condos.
You guys should join a home owner association... And I'll find a place where you busy bodies can sue and squabble all day, far far away from me
Thanks for doing a good job explaining it without dragging it out for 15~30 minutes.
Thank you, and I'm glad you enjoyed it. It is strange that some viewers have complained it was too long. I've learned you can't please everybody.
@@OffBeatLondon101 Geez, the tik tok generation 🙄
Yes the lack of overindulgent fadboy content on here these days is annoying so this is a welcome respite.
Wow, I learn something new every day. Never even heard of ancient lights before.
Same here, At first i was thinking it was about antique street lighting & someone wanting them removed lol .. DUH ME 🤭🤣
Me too , interesting as well .
I was expecting some sort of (not so) secret society!
@pipsplay that sounds much more exciting than blocking natural light. Sorry to disappoint. 🤣
@@OffBeatLondon101definitely did not disappoint! Fascinating nugget of information presented with the depth required. If I ever see these when travelling in the UK I’ll now know what they mean. Cheer from Canada 🇨🇦
Up until around 1980 there was a cafe on Mill Lane NW6 called the Ancient Lights, because the building had Ancient Lights! Camden Council built a tower block next to this cafe on open land that had been an adventure playground for a while. Anyway the council had to change the plans and build it further away from the cafe because of the Ancient Lights. The cafe is now West Hampstead Arts Centre.
“Arts”
@@alex_hamilton_is_my_homeboy what?
I haven't heard the term " adventure playground" since they were invented , which was when I last visited London - about 1982
😂😂😂@@tubewatcher97
I worked in a surveyors office in the City from 1965. One of my collegues was the 'rights to light surveyor' then a still active requirement.
Right to light is common law in Australia and in some regions is modernised to include a neighbour can not block solar panels.
@@boxhead6177on a serious note, that’s quite nice, but on a not so serious note, that’s quite funny/ironic, given Australia’s reputation of sun exposure.
I live in Tokyo, Japan and we also have light-access laws. You often see buildings with strangely sloped roofs or odd designs which were required to allow the building next to it to have direct light.
Hello to my Japanese viewers. Do you also have signs underneath the relevant windows referring to the right to light?
No, no signs. But you can't get a permit to build without obeying "sunshine laws".
Wow....I had no idea this exists. Thanks for sharing!
@ Unless you pay the 'right' people... I am currently based in Tokyo and have seen buildings go up right in front of older established ones, sometimes in places that boggle the mind.
I travelled to London from NZ in 87 for a working holiday, and got a job as a motorcycle courier, you would think this would entail some sort of training, but on day one i was given a 2 way radio, an A to Z map book, and a list of about 200 clients, then sent on my way. 😆 After about 6 months i knew inner London as well as my hometown in NZ, but what i loved was finding all the small alleys, Mews, passage ways & hidden areas that are throughout London, the place is riddled with them. Went back a few years ago, but London is now a very different place.
Has it changed for the better ?
@@noelsalisbury7448no
@@noelsalisbury7448😂 for some it has
@@noelsalisbury7448 It's the acid attack capitol of Europe. What do you think?
@@Jay-o7m9y That's often for " The Honour " of a particular family. Some family. Some honour.
I love these little nuggets of history.
Me too!
I love those little nuggets you get from McDonald’s as well
you're smoking the wrong kind of nuggets for the real ancient lights effect holmes
I like the idea of a physical on sight warning to future development. One hears stories of people being sold a land locked property that they can never build on because the only access rights they have is to walk along two specific property lines to visit, but not to drive onto, bring building materials, run gas, electric, water lines... In Los Angeles one of the corrupt land developers removed several 130 year old houses right under everyone's noses because no one knew he had no right to do it. Maybe if hey had a signs on them saying Ancient Treasure, then as soon as a crane showed up, or they started jacking up the houses -- there would've been a crowd.
Quirky video, love it 👍
One of the rare instances when a law solely favoured an individual, regardless of wealth or influence.
Well until they don't.
Until the BBC flexed it's muscles and got the houses torn down.
@@mysticmeadowshomestead6209 Was it the BBC though, they had already built it to comply with the law?
I know, right? Feels almost uncanny.
The law favours one window over another. Irrespective of the owner of the window.
Its the off-beat quirky videos like this that make UA-cam interesting, many thanks for posting ....
Thanks so much for your kind words. I had forgotten I uploaded the video so to have all this attention is a pleasant surprise.
It’s why I love UA-cam..
@@OffBeatLondon101
Agree.
@@alank2296 hopefully it changes the algorithm a bit. I've started going through all the videos YT recommends and tagging "not interested" to all the obviously gimmicky and mainstream ones (along with the time wasters like most animal videos and blooper reels); hoping to retrain the algorithm for myself
A day in which you learn a thing is never a wasted day! Thank you from America.
As an American, this is fascinating
As a grammar pedant, I'll say: this video is not American. ;-)
I’ve seen many neighborhood where this law would be of benefit.
I wish we had that law in America. Too many tall buildings going up in my little town.
@@JohnMoseley “grammar pedant”. I usually call myself a grammar Nazi. I like pedant better.
@@HelenCamile63 Thanks. Me too. A less harsh way of putting oneself down.
In HKRUK II V Heaney, Marcus Heaney was granted an injunction by the courts against a tower development in Leeds which had reduced his light by 1%. The developers went ahead knowing they were diminishing neighbouring properties' light, and could not give adequate reasoning as to why they should be spared an injunction.
They were ordered to demolish two floors of the tower at a cost of over a million pounds. This was, however, settled outside court and the floors were not demolished.
If you don't make a point of protecting your right to something as simple as daylight, property developers will try their luck.
Shit like this is why UK has a housing crisis
If the developers won it proves money trumps legal rights. They will have been advised to do this and knew they would win by bribery.
@@misterbonzoid5623 They lost in this case.
@@samuelmelton8353
Not really -- they settled out of court and the infringing floors were never demolished; they ultimately won.
Hmm... just my opinion but this sounds to me more like a case of a "nuisance lawsuit" (aka extortion-by-lawyer) than a legitimate case, which we sadly see a lot of here in the USA.
The BBC just uploaded a video on a war over ancient lights on their UA-cam Archive channel!
Thank you, I occasionally watch that channel, I’ll have a look for it 😁
Larry where you been bud not uploaded in a month of Sundays sure i'm not the only one worried about you.
a video on them saying "waah waaah we want our building bigger but someone wants sunlight waaaah 👶😭"*
'HELLO THERE!"
Larry, if you're trying to reformat that's cool, i just hope you're okay buddy!
I often see buildings being built literally feet away from someones window thereby blocking their view and light, I think if it were me I'd be looking into this more, I never knew about it, thanks for the information and have a great day x
I don't think there's any planning law generally which says you can' t block a view. There may be some specific ones e.g. there's one relating to St Paul's in London. Light and air are your best bets.
Sir Edward Elgar, tge composer, moved from his house, Craeg Lea, in the Malvern Hills because a developer starting building across the road blocking his panoramic view. I assume there was nothing he could do to stop it.
Another American here. I'm not sure why UA-cam recommended this video to me; but, I'm very happy they did. This is fascinating. I also appreciate how the presenter got to the point instead of dragging the proceedings out like one so often sees on UA-cam.
@mattdavis9601 thanks for watching and glad you enjoyed it. You are not alone as an american watching this, approx 35% of all my views (that's nearly 500k views) are from usa.
I remember getting caught in the rain in London in January 2022 and winding up in the Newman Arms after coming through that alley. Charming little place. I have a picture on my phone of the ancient lights sign from that alley. I had no idea what it meant until now.
Glad I could clear it up for you!
Newman Passage was where Dennis Waterman and george Cole filmed the opening sequence for "Minder" - the leaning lampost. My office was behind the lampost and I watched the filming.
Thata bloke!
How cool.
Get back to work Bunn
I thought it was, and I was just about to check!
This video is 2 yrs old but it was put into my queue. Great video. Utube did something right.❤
It's very interesting that such an old video is suddenly gaining so much traction.
Very enlightening.
And illuminating.
I saw what you did there
it was a real pane in the glass!
Giggle!
You dare to make light of this serious topic?
I now finally understand an offhand remark about "Ancient Lights" in a Flanders & Swan skit. Thank you.
Just listened to it. He's got ancient lights on his cave. I wonder how many other people understood the reference? Thanks for watching
That was avery concise and interesting video and as a former Londoner that used to love exploring, I was surprised to learn about something completely new to me. Thank you!
@OldWorldInvestigations thanks for watching. You will probably start to notice these signs everywhere now!
Absolutely fascinating, as always. Thanks for another great video.
Thanks GeneMrsHunt glad you enjoyed it
Never noticed or heard of the signs,I knew of the " window tax" ,Georgian tax on windows per household but never heard of this .nice one .
I lived in a house in Camberwell, Southeast London in the 1970's. At the top of our road (Grove Hill Road, SE5) was an old house with an Ancient Lights sign. A neighbour at the time told me what it meant
Very cool. I also appreciate that this was right to the point with none of the useless filler to expand the video to 10 minutes.
Thank you. Although other viewers have complained it was still too long. 🤣🤣 can't please everybody. What is the goldilocks length for a video like this?
Never seen or heard of that before. How interesting!
Especially as we no longer have any sort of freedom to light
This is great! Wish we had something like this in New York City.
Yes, NYC has something like that, you can't just build to the edge of the property or streets would be dark during the day, it's called the air rights or something.
@@paulbedichek5177 Yes, it's why buildings are built back in stages, not unlike the BBC.
As always extremely interesting 👍
Thanks Ashley, glad you enjoyed it.
As an American, I really enjoyed finding out about this.
it’s also inspiration for multiple laws in the US regarding rights to views
As an American, I really wish we had this law here.
@@Pteromandias they exist and are heavily enforced but don’t exist in the suburbs and rural places where they aren’t needed
Don't stress it, it's not your fault you're American blame your parents.
How was your enjoyment of this video enhanced by virtue of you being an American?
Absolutely brilliant! Who knew any of this? I miss London so much since I moved to Devon 9 years ago.
Thanks for watching, and I'm glad you enjoyed it. You might see some ancient lights signs round Devon, they are not unique to London. And you will know what they mean now.
Very interesting, I remember this law when I was doing a course in ESTATE AGENCY..
Your video illustrations give very vivid explanations.
I think this issue is global with neighbours fighting bitterly.
Thanks for sharing...👍🌟
Absolutely fascinating!
I was told as a kid about the ancient lights as being the right to light, but wasn't told the rest, Thank you
I am in the USA, and love learning about little history moments like this. Thank you.
Intriguing concept. Thank you for the knowledge. ❤
0:32 You can't hit me with a vine boom and try to hide it like that
Yes, you and many other viewers have pointed this out. As I am a middle aged man i had to ask my teenage son what a vine boom was. After a lengthy eye roll he explained. Now I know, and I kinda like it. More vine booms to come
@@OffBeatLondon101 This is so sweet! 🥹 You got yourself a new subscriber! Loved the video.
@@OffBeatLondon101I’m 28 and didn’t even notice this until I saw the comment
Thank you. I feel young again. 🤣🤣🤣
Thank you and welcome
I'd never heard of this before watching your short video. Oral histories of these sorts of cityscape features is priceless. Thanks.
I am really liking UA-cams new algorithms that are bringing me smaller channels - great video! Hi there from Canada!
Same here. I'm originally from England but Canadian since 1967. Never knew about this fact. 👍😊🇨🇦🇬🇧
You learn something every day. I recall seeing that years ago and had forgotten all about it. Thanks.
I don't know why or how the Algo thought this would be interesting to me, a US citizen. But I am fascinated and you did a really good job explaining the term/law and keeping it brief without all the fluff. Earned a sub from me!
Short, to the point, informative, and well made. You get my like.
Thank you for watching and your kind words. Glad you enjoyed the video. Working on another one right now.
Actually randomly I watched a 1972 nationwide video on YT where a man had bought a house, but the windows were blocked by wooden boards. Which were built on neighbours land. That was something to do with law of ancient lights.
Yes that was interesting video. That old lady’s father had it installed but couldn’t explain why it was there. Apparently today there is a house at that same location where the boards were located.
@@wandat7275 do you know the location? I did wonder after all these years if the boards remained.
Edit: never mind me. I’m just the thickest piece of thick that ever thicked.
Watching the video back, it literally tells you in the first few seconds. Doh!
@@mcsonicteamI thought it was Wales, the owner of the land the boards are on years later built a house on there.
That may have had something to do with daylight robbery, Which today would be called a window tax.
@@mcsonicteam It is actually a place called Bacton on the Norfolk coast . You can see on Google earth the two houses either side of what was an empty plot but now with a house built on it
Absolutely fascinating. Thanks for researching and producing this. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻❤️
Thanks Mervyn, glad you enjoyed it
Greatly enjoyed this glimpse into a little known aspect of our cities. Thank you.
This was fascinating - I love this kind of thing as much as I love London (Balham born). Thanks for posting and keep up the good work🎉
That is a fantastic law!
As someone who really appreciates natural sunlight coming into the house, I wish we had such a blanket policy on this side of the Pond.
Very interesting presentation giving little insight into Londons history. Nice to have a video which gets to the point without too much preamble.
My dad's place had an Ancient Lights sign but couldn't stop the council for giving permission for a developer to build a block of flats putting his house in shadow
😡
Backhanders…………
Developer pigs do what they like.
Yeah.. but flats are important? Housing is important, far MORE important than ‘oh its quite nice if we get some light in this window.’
If you think your right to ‘light in your window’ supersedes the housing crisis in this country and means that you can tell someone else what to do with THEIR (not your, their land) then you’re the asshole NIMBY in the situation.
Liebour council?
Fascinating - thank you for clearing up this mystery. I have seen an ‘Ancient Lights’ sign on the side of the John D. Wood Estate Agent building, in the High Street, Lymington, in the New Forest, Hampshire. Really appreciate the time and effort you spend on your Channel. 😎🥳🍻
Great video. I'm a Londoner and never saw this or knew about the rights. A bit more about these and other ancient rights would be really interesting.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching
Fascinating! This is really something that I've heard for the first time,
Glad you enjoyed the video, and learned something new.
There's a handful of ancient lights signs in the older parts of central Manchester, IIRC.
In York very close to Bootham bar there is a building with an Ancient lights sign.
Hi Tony, thanks for watching, what is the building? Is it a house or commercial premises?
@@OffBeatLondon101 If i remember correctly it was a house that was converted into some kind offices. I have not been round that way in quite a few years. I am going to York this Thursday if i get time i will check.
I live in Bookham and I've never seen it. I will looking
Well. You learn something new everyday. Thanks for this.
I'm from Yorkshire and i have never heard of these ancient lights signs before.
Here's something else. Everyday and every day do not mean the same thing. Everyday is mundane, run of the mill, whereas every day means every day.
@@MrSimonmcc wrong
@@olivercharles2930 please enlighten me as to what is wrong. Everyday is an adjective. Every day is an adverb phrase.
@@MrSimonmcc never mind, you are right.
I hate it though. One space shouldn't change that much.
Very interesting fact. Thankyou for sharing 👍
Yes one building , Hunslet Leeds which facinated me as a child in the 1940's. The building overlooked a cricket ground and a series of allotments, there may be others in that area but this is the only one of which I am aware. Thank you for your information.
Well that was cool! I first thought they were some sort of advertising slogan. Then I was thinking, "Only in London", but then I was wrong again! ☀
Hi mcarp555, yes I can see how the sign could be for a brand of cigarettes. "Give me a pack of 20 ancient lights"....thanks for watching and glad you enjoyed the video.
@@OffBeatLondon101 "A pack of ancient lights? You want the Tudors or Jacobeans?"
"Do you have any Regency?"
"Naw mate; ain't 'ancient' enough!"
@@mcarp555 🤣🤣🤣 I like it.....
I’ve never spotted them before!
Hi vicky, thanks for watching
People bang on about being ecological and energy efficient but these natural light windows are truly environmentally friendly and it’s a shame when big corporations and developers ignore them with big monstrosities.
While it may be emotionally pleasing for you to say that, think of the alternative. London is a growing city and if it isn't possible to build up, more green fields will be converted into suburbia. slag off the "big corporations" all you like, but I'd prefer to keep the green fields.
I'm not sure a law that lets you sue a bloody tree out of existence because it nicked your view a bit is too sensible
@@Dave_Sisson you also don't have to fit all of britain into one city.
@@andrewhooper7603 exactly lol I don’t know much about Europe but I know in Asia they also have the same issue with everyone wanting to move and work in Big Cities which is causing over crowding in places like Seoul and Tokyo while also creating dying towns in the outskirts because theyre losing their workforce and their infrastructure is crumbling. I know Japan has been trying to encourage people to move out and stay in these perfectly good towns when they should be encouraging businesses, etc. to move there and build it up in order attract people to live there
@@Dave_Sisson To slag off "big corporations" is a sign of a fully working brain identifying sociopathic structures, motivated only by greed, short-sightedness and social parasitism.
I can't express how much I did appreciate this little clip. It's a refreshing contrast to all the crap that's on socials nowadays.
All the best to you and your loved ones!
@Ano-Nymous glad you enjoyed the video and thank you for your kind words.
How interesting. I live in Australia and have just bought a villa. I'm absolutely going to name it Ancient Lights. I'll sit on my sofa of reasonable comfort and appreciate the view. Merry Christmas to all.
This was both fascinating & lovely. We need more laws such like this.
Fascinating stuff! I love old London.
That was fascinating, I had no idea. Thanks from New Zealand.
I lived in London for years, and never noticed the signs. Fascinating.
You will probably see them everywhere now. Thanks for watching
Thank you for sharing that interesting tidbit of information.
I lived in England for a year and half in the 1970's. Never noticed any such signs. So much history In England that I was completely unaware of at the time. I love this kind of historical stuff. Great, to the point video. Well done.
It's overcast 50-75% of the year in London, I guess these blokes want to get as much sunlight as they can
Fascinating. Thank you. Subscribed immediately ❤
I love Fitzrovia and have had many a drink in the Newman Arms, but wasn’t aware of these signs. Thank you
Love hearing about these little known things, great work ❤
Glad you enjoyed!
Have you seen that video of a news report from the 70s about a guy whose neighbour blocked the light from a ground floor and a first floor window so that he couldn't claim ancient lights if she decided to build there?
Her father in the early 1900s had built boards mounted on telephone poles right at the edge of the property when the neighbouring house was built. This was because he had a very large field/garden and wanted to keep the option of building a house to sell on that ground, and didn't want the new neighbour to be able to stop him.
Yes seen the video and they actually mention the ancient lights law in it, and this was a way to circumvent it.
We have a similar law in San Diego where views of the beach and sunsets are crucial for homeowners. So you can't build above a certain level, height, etc. To block the views of a neighbor. ❤❤
That sort of thing can be problematic, especially in the case of the ancient lights talked about in this video as it restricts the ability of a city to increase housing stock if too many people move to the area.
@@SmallSpoonBrigade agreed, I thought when you buy a house you own it, and not based on what your neighbors think lol
@@BubbaHead1 When you buy a house, you have to follow local regulations. If you want your house to look like a medieval cottage, the Fire Department still has the right to to ban thatched roofs.
Did you mean "crucial for retaining high house prices"?
Nimby assholes denying young people housing
I love fascinating and informative videos like this. Thank you 🙏🏽
Wow! This is awesome! Thank you for sharing this!
Thanks for watching and glad you enjoyed the video.
You're Welcome @OffBeatLondon101
Great! I've wondered for years what these signs meant.
I regularly see two in Broadstairs by the Broadway garage.
Just had a look at those signs on google street view. Yes there's 3 signs there. I wonder if those signs stopped that car park area from being developed? Thanks for watching
In any city or village in France, any "permis de construire" (mandatory "building autorisation" delivered to a standard-documented project by the city administration) has to be presented to neighbours during a fixed time. If a neighbour considers e.g. the lights of his building will be occured more or less by the new project, this can block the whole project until a solution is found (compensation authorized). Anywhere in France, since maybe the 1950s...
Thanks for watching and good to know other countries have similar laws.
This law needs to be passed across Europe in general.
Getting prime examples of secession walled off by business centres and shopping malls at a very short distance makes anyone walking through think there's no charm to the city which arguably has more than most in the area.
Interesting. No such law in Norway, I think. Some aunts of mine were pissed off when a sports arena appeared opposite the living room of the house where they had lived their whole lives.
interesting and to the point, the way a subject should be presented.
Glad you enjoyed the video thanks for watching
Very interesting info. I love learning of the origins of various situations!
Fascinating! G'day from Australia.
@@LandyVlad_Rides and hello from the UK. Thanks for watching.
Apparently something very rare outside of England. Certainly not a thing in Scotland it seems.
Well, unless you count how long "temporary" traffic lights seem to stick around in the big towns....
Different law System than England in Scotland. There's dozen of English laws, not applicable in Scotland. And vice versa. Hame sucking is one that springs to mind!!
@@loxism72 "Hamesucken was a capital crime until 1887. The requirement of a nomen juris in an indictment was also abolished in 1887. The term has lingered on, however, often in references by judges to the formerly capital nature of offences committed by accused before them." "The word was well known in Scots law in the past, and is an interesting example of the survival in Scots law of an Anglo-Saxon term and legal concept. It is interesting to note that the modern Danish “hjemsøge” and German “heimsuchen”, as well as their literal meaning, have the connotations of “hounding”, plaguing”, “persecuting” and “pestering” (I owe this insight to Professor Knud Haakonssen). The etymology can be further explored by reading Colman “Hamsocn: Its meaning and significance in early English law” (1981) 25 American Journal of Legal History, 95."
Very interesting thanks for this
Well this was something new that I've learned today. Never hear of 'ancient lights' before!
I saw these signs under windows in Guildford in Surrey when I lived there in the 1970s, I can’t say exactly where, it’s a long time ago, but fairly central to the town, by a car parking area. I always wondered about them, so thank you for solving a fifty year old mystery for me!
Glad to have been of help. Thanks for watching
I’d heard something about these before but wasn’t aware that the same law was in place in other areas of the country and hope someone can shed some light as to where! 😀
Hi Darren, yes I'm hoping that a viewer will know about a few more as well.
You can find them in many of the English cities and some villages. They were around a lot in the 70’s don’t know if they are still there today. My parents took us camping nearly all year around right throughout the UK. Some of the old alleyways came into being because of the signs. Some use to,pop up overnight when building construction was braking ground, it caused a huge problem. The only drawback was not everyone knew of their rights in regards to their homes, but those who did know would slap up a sign right away and it would cause construction delays. Some used it to exhort money in compensation for losing the natural light to the rooms.
I wonder if it’s still in affect to this day or do planing commissions ignore it and give the go ahead to construction work.
It would be interesting to see if people will add a sign to their homes today to see what will happen.
Everywhere in England. You can Google 'ancient lights law uk".
Excellent video, thank you for the enlightenment.
That sounds like a really good law. Wish we had it where I live. Local council is planning 15 storey development across the road from our house. 😢
Wow I am amazed I had never heard of this. Thanks so much 👍
Great to learn something new every day! Greetings from South Africa.
Welcome to my channel. Hello from London
Absolutely fascinating. I had thought the asymmetry of Broadcasting House was down to the whims of an art deco architect being avant garde.
How delightfully prosaic that it was due to ancient planning law!
We have a similar phenomenon in Adelaide Australia with “Polites” signs
These also have a drastic impact on property development wherever that sign can be seen
Ive never heard of that. Got time to give a quick summary?
@@Matilda-y rich guy built stuff, put his name (Polites) everywhere he built something. They're everywhere there.
@@marqsee7948 hey there, thanks very much for telling me. I didn’t know that. Cheers from NSW.
@@Matilda-y greetings returned from Canada!
@@Matilda-y The signs are prominent enough on commercial buildings that a tourist would likely think that's the name of the business occupying the building until they realise that no, something else is going on.
A good example can be seen at 86 Hindley Street, Adelaide, looking toward King William Street. There's several POLITES signs clearly visible on buildings just in half a city block or so using Google street view. They're pretty much everywhere in the CBD.
I thought at first that it was advertising for an old brand of cigarettes. I didn't know the law regarding right to light went back that far.
It’s an amazing story, I can’t wait hearing others!
Thank you, glad you enjoyed the video.
I Learned something INTERESTING TODAY! THANK YOU!!