Antique Pewter Candle Holder Sea Captain George Beadon, Cottagers Bathpool, England 1884 Inventer of the "Ichthyon" Steamer

Antique Pewter Candle Holder Sea Captain George Beadon Cottagers Bathpool, England 1884
This cool object was advertised as a candle holder, but I am not sure that was its purpose. The opening for the "candle" is 1.5 inches in diameter.
Captain George Beadon was a very interesting individual. In 1860 'Captain Beadon's invented an experimental steamer— the "Ichthyon." I will add the following information from the internet. If anyone knows what this object actually is, please let me know.
From the internet: A Naval Biographical Dictionary edited by William R. O'Byrne
Beadon, George
George Beadon, born 25 Feb. 1810, is the third son of Wm. Beadon, Esq., of Gotten House, co. Somerset, in the commission of the peace for that shire, by Martha Anna, only daughter and heir of the late John Hammett, Esq., Lieut. R.N., niece of the late Sir Benj. Hammett, Kt., (the great benefactor of Taunton, of whose interests he was for many years the constant advocate in Parliament, as was likewise his eldest son,) and representative, through her mother, of the Monkton branch of the ancient family of Musgrave, of Charlton Musgrave, in the same county.

This officer entered the Navy, 20 Aug. 1825, as Fst.-cl. Vol., on board the Prince Regent 120, Capts. Wm. Henry Webley Parry and Constantine Rich. Moorsom, bearing the flag at the Nore of Sir Robt. Moorsom. He next joined the Victory 104, guard-ship at Portsmouth, Capt. Chas. Inglis; served, as Midshipman, from 20 Aug. 1826, until the date of his passing, 8 Sept. 1831, in the Heron 18, commanded by various Captains, and Curlew 10, Capts. Geo. Woollcombe and Henry Dundas Trotter, on the South American and Cape of Good Hope stations; and then joined the Jaseur 18, Capts. Fras. Harding and Archibald Sinclair, in which he returned home, and was paid off in Oct. 1832. On 23 Oct. 1833, Mr. Beadon was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant; and, on 9 Sept. 1836, after an employment of two months in the Coast Guard, was appointed to the Conway 28, Capt. Chas. Ramsay Drinkwater Bethune, with whom he proceeded to New South Wales and thence to India and China. In the course of 1840-41, he took an active part in the various operations of the Chinese war, and in Sept. of the former year had the honour, while detached in command of the Conway’s cutter, of being the first to discover the entrance of the Tang-tse-Kiang river, before leaving the shores of which we find him avenging in a very condign manner an insult offered by the natives to some of his party. Not long afterwards, being sent on shore in charge of a strong foraging expedition, he again came into hostile collision with the enemy, and, in the affray, had 1 man mortally wounded, and Mr. Harvey, a midshipman of great promise, so severely, that he ultimately died from the effects of the injuries he received. The assailants had 5 killed and several wounded. On another occasion, in April, 1841, when returning in a junk to Whampoa, after delivering letters at Macao for Sir Le Fleming Senhouse, Mr. Beadon, with all his crew, was swamped during a violent storm off the island of Lin-tin, but, after struggling with destruction for many hours, and when in the last moment of despair, was most providentially saved. At the capture, in May following, of the fortress of Taihong-tow, this officer was the first to enter it. He also commanded, with the highest credit to himself, the Conway’s boats during the whole of the detached operations against Canton and its vicinity,[2] and was Senior of the Conway at a most harassing period of the war, when, indeed, the greater part of the ship’s company was on the sick list. He returned to England with a large portion of the Chinese ransom, and was paid off in Jan. 1842, previously to which period, 8 June, 1841, he had been advanced to his present rank. He has since been on half-pay.
Commander Beadon, who has obtained a certificate of proficiency in the art of steam navigation, was presented, in 1835, by the Duke of Sussex, with the thanks of the Society of Arts for his invention of a Double Hook, and, in 1843, with a Gold Medal, by Prince Albert, for an improved Life Buoy, which has been directed by Her Majesty to be attached to the Royal Yacht. He married, 17 Oct. 1833, Sarah, daughter of Wm. Oliver, Esq., of Hope Comer, near Taunton, co. Somerset, and by that lady has issue three children. Agents – Messrs. Stilwell.
West Monkton Somerset (Wikipedia):
Milling at Bathpool in the River Tone had a chequered history. There had been a mill at this location for several centuries, which had been rebuilt or adapted as required. In March 1812, the structure was burnt down by a fire, caused, according to the Taunton Courier, by "the excessive friction excited in the stones used in the process of shelling clover seeds". Stocks of flour, grain and flax valued at £2,500 were destroyed. The mill was rebuilt and later owned by Captain George Beadon. The mill was purchased by Thomas Redler in 1889 on the death of Beadon, but another fire damaged much of it two years later. Redler rebuilt it with safety in mind, and installed a steam-driven turbine as water levels were often inadequate to power the wheels. Two more turbines followed, and the water wheels were removed. Steam from the turbines was also used to heat bread ovens, which were amongst the first in the country to be heated in this way. In September 1915, another fire gutted the building, which was not rebuilt, and the ruins were demolished in the 1920s.