When we moved in 3 years ago, in the lounge there was a surface-mounted
plastic pattress on the wall backing on to the kitchen. It was right in
the corner with the lounge external wall, and about a metre off the
floor. On it was a paper label stating "circuit is disconnected". Within
a couple of hours it got lost behind the TV, and I forgot all about it.

Until this weekend, when I had to get behind the TV, and saw it again. I
wondered what was behind what appeared to be just a label over a
blanking plate, so unscrewed the cover. I expected to find only bare
wires, or maybe covered with insulating tape, which would be par for
this place. What I found was the mains cable going into a standard brown
plastic block of the sort you'd find in any socket, switch, fused spur,
etc, But I could see nothing on the front. It seemed completely flat;
there was certainly no switch. And the label wasn't big enough to have
covered a 13A socket. I pressed the label a bit harder, and detected
some indentations. It then became clear what it was - an old round 3-pin
socket for lighting. At this stage I decided to put a test screwdriver
on the screw holding the red wire. Of course, it was live! So much for
it being disconnected...

Then I noticed that there were two cables attached to the block. One
appeared to go to the outside wall, and then the penny dropped. In the
lounge there are three picture lights, all on different walls. One light
was on the outside wall, about a couple of metres from this 3-pin
lighting socket. On the outside of the house behind the light there was
some trunking, which went from the light to what I thought was the
kitchen. I could just see a cable re-entering there. I couldn't see it
on the inside, and had assumed it was just below the work surface and
hidden behind something. Now I know it goes to the 3-pin socket.

It's probably a good time to get rid of all this junk as we never use
the picture lights (all of them are different styles - again par for
this place). Two of the lights are up against the picture rail; the
other one is about 25 cm below it. The latter and the one on the outside
wall (and the 3-pin socket), are controlled by the wall switch. The
light nearest the wall switch isn't controlled by it. It's on its own
circuit and is controlled by a switch on the light fitting! I think I'll
fit a central light to complement the standard lamps we already have.
There will be some plastering and painting required, but hopefully not
too much.

By the way, does anyone know when these 3-pin lighting sockets stopped
being fitted? This place was built in 1965 and has one, as did out
previous place built in 1978, but not the one before that built in 1982.

--

Jeff