PVC/PVC single & single & Earth cable by the sounds of it. Still exists to this day.

Single core and earth cable, and the related product single core insulated and sheathed without earth, still used today but applications are limited.

The material with a single insulated core and a bare earth wire was for the live or phase conductor and had a red or brown insulated conductor and a bare earth wire. For the neutral single core insulated and sheathed cable without an earth wire was used with a black or blue insulated conductor.

Often used for lighting circuits when a larger than normal number of wires needed. Example a chandelier with three separately switched groups of lamps, use a three core and earth cable for the three switched lives and the CPC. For the common neutral use a single core insulated and sheathed cable with a blue or black core.

Also used within control panels when it was desired to continue the SAME conductors, without jointing outside of the control panel, thereby rendering single insulated panel wire inappropriate.

Sometimes used for bell or signaling circuits if they used mains voltage rather than the more usual ELV. Or for bell circuits at ELV  if something more robust and "better" than bell wire was wanted.

I have used the single core and earth cable for house wiring at 12 or 24 volts with the bare wire as the neutral, not really correct, but use of the intended earth wire as a neutral would not worry me if it was for the earthed side of an ELV system.

Yep you could buy single and earth. Just like twin and earth but no N. you could but single (and sheathed) N, you could also but N & E sheathed too but harder to source them. The cost of S & E cables was about £2 a roll more than T & E so most folk just bought T & E and cut the N as as not required. Singles or single & E was favoured for traditional loop in L at switches rather like the old singles in conduit previously.

Two way switching often employed S or S & E when feeding different switches on two way switching as feed and return. However the common use of three core & E between two way switches negated need S & E. Some could not figure out how 3C&E should be connected though.

I even knew of one chap that insisted £ C & E as strappers and common always needed a strip connector at one end of the 3C. I guess he could not perceive 5 wires in 3  terminals.

Back in the days of small lead covered cables for house wiring, single core was common. When such installations started failing, some people replaced with plastic insulated and sheathed cables to EXACTLY the same layout. This suited persons without the knowledge to alter the layout, simply replace each failed cable on an exact like for like basis.

Hi Broadgage, yes I`ve seen a few lead cable installs, in fact a few that sparked on sheaths when moved. I remember a couple where to joints were in a discarded tobacco tin. The sheath of each cable had a few turns of bare wire then on to the adjacent one. After some years those "connections" of earthing were not as sound as the others

The use of tobacco tins as joint boxes was common during the war and just after when materials were in short supply. The smaller or one ounce tins were used as joint boxes for house wiring. The very large tobacco tins that held eight ounces were used to house bell transformers.

Wooden orange and apple boxes were used for jointing street mains, filled with bitumen. The wooden box soon rotted away but the bitumen lasted almost forever, such joints still turn up today.

What was the wiring system called?

Sometimes referred to as 'spider wiring' as often the L and N would take separate routes (L shortest convenient route between switches, N shortest convenient route between lights, SL in between (rather like the radials of a spider's web). The downside was that with no balancing  conductor in close proximity, the whole thing became a rather good aerial for transmitting 50Hz noise. Not so much of an issue in the old days with little in the way of electronic apparatus about, but it became more of a problem as technology advances, and a real pain in buildings with induction hearing loops.

Of course, it is possible to lay out sheathed singles next to each other so that things are far better balanced (as you would with singles in conduit), but in practice that didn't usually happen...

   - Andy.

6241Y.

regards burn

Thanks Burn.

6241Y

Z.