St. Luke's Chelsea 1820...

With 2011 about to come to an end it is befitting to find a bollard dated 1820 sitting upon the King's Road Chelsea in such an obvious place.

The bollard clearly carries the marking 'St Luke's Chelsea' 1820. What is it about the year 1820 is it of significance well a quick search on google leads me to St Luke's Gardens on Sydney Street just around the corner from the King's Road and this wonderful bollard.

The foundation stone for St Luke's Church was laid in 1820.

Bollards of London would like to wish you all a Happy New Year and thank you all for your support and pictures of #guestbollards.

Bollards of London...

Theatre Royal Drury Lane WC2 to Waterfields Retail Park, Watford...

The Theatre Royal Drury Lane runs along Russell Street WC2 with many beautiful columns supporting this wonderful London landmark. Many buses/coaches park along the side of the Theatre and to protect the columns from damage we see these rather cute slightly rounded stone miniature bollards.

Now back with our popular #guestbollard theme for December and January we have a set of four sturdy looking bollards sent to us by the wonderful @JimBobOH on the twitter who is a blues loving/performing  hard working decent chap who happens to be a Spurs supporter. Must say not my team but it's nice to see loyal football fans of this proud London team enjoy the success that the former West Ham manager brings to White Hart Lane.

Now Jim's picture (below) shows a group/line of four bollards effectively protecting the paved pedestrianised. Take a close look at the car in the background of the picture and you'll notice where the bollards are not the car is effectively encroaching area designated for people eg the pavement.





























Bollards of London (and Watford)...

Lambeth Road SE1...

At the junction of Lambeth Road and Hercules Road SE1 we have a railway bridge with a large central supporting column. Directly in front of the brick built support we find a beautiful Victorian Lamp post flanked by two dirty rather dandy ornate bollards of a similar but differing design.

Both these bollards have that 'orange squeeze' top and beneath the pollution/dust we can see the black and white zebra striped paint on the whole of the body of the bollards.

All three pieces of street furniture demonstrate a level of workmanship and craft that we rarely see in a modern minimalist world obsessed with glass and at times blandness.

Bollards of London...

Wilmington Street WC1 to Sheffield...

Wilmington Street WC1 can be found in the London Borough of Islington and the bollard pictured above is very unusual and one I've noted before but driven past many times.

With an octagonal shaped base and slightly tapering body/column that leads to a ridge/rim with a bulbous shaped ornamental head. the sides of the head of this bollard is patterned with protruding peaked rectangles and finished off with a smooth raised top.

Today's #guestbollard is provided by the wonderful  horse loving/riding @bathcat on the twitter and in a complete contrast to the older bollard I've chosen in London (above) she has taken a beautiful photograph in perspective of a row of modern contemporary shiny stainless steel bollards that can be found in Sheffield (below).

Taking a close look at these modern marvels we notice the oval shaped small base that the main vertical body stands tall and true upon. The main body of the bollard appears to be near oval shaped or maybe more eye like with a more defined edge. The nearer we get to the top the greater the area of polished steel we can see giving this bollard a stunning edge and look and at the same time defining a border that most of us don't actually notice unlike a wall or fence.

Bollards of London (and Steel)...

Cannon Lane Hampstead NW3...

The bollards of Cannon Lane Hampstead were mentioned on the comments section of the recent timeout blog feature. Well has luck would have it in the world of London taxi-cab driving a passenger hailed my taxi-cab and asked for Hampstead, how could I not investigate.

The very top picture is an above elevation of a bollard in Cannon Lane with water and the odd piece of debris/rubbish contained within the top/muzzle. Do not place hand or fingers in the top of this bollard/cannon. If we take a close look at the body/column of the bollard/cannon we note it is certainly aged and the end/muzzle is slightly flared outwards. If these are naval cannons I may take a trip to the National Maritime Museum and investigate further has to the type of cannon these bollards once were.


The final smaller picture (above) is of a similar bollard but with a ball (cannon ball) tacked on end and thus ending the problem of stale water sitting in the muzzle for ages.

Bollards (Cannons) of London...

Merry Christmas from Bollards of London...

A very Merry Christmas to you all from me John Kennedy author of Bollards of London and a huge thank you to all of you who have clicked, looked, viewed, laughed maybe even cried at the thought of a blog about the wonderful street objects called bollards.


With so many of you to thank it is easier to allow a few pictures of a bollard (possibly a cannon) at London's Borough Market to grab the honours this Christmas. Guest bollards resumes on Boxing Day and continues throughout the festive season and January 2012.

So may I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a very prosperous New Year for 2012.

Bollards of London...

Automatic Bollard and a Masterpiece from the King of Colour...

We are back at the Royal Albert Hall where I found what I missed last time I took a photograph of a bollard here and that is this beautiful sign attached to a rather average looking bollard.

If ever anybody was in doubt that bollards existed well here is the living proof that not only do they exist but so do 'Automatic Bollards'. Note if the red light appears at the top of this bollard please Stop/Wait however if the green light is glowing 'One Vehicle' may proceed.

May I thank the Royal Albert Hall for this wonderfully signed 'Automatic Bollard'.

Now via twitter I have managed to get to know a few people who do some fascinating work and I would like to introduce you to a chap named @patrickbaty on the twitter who in my opinion is the 'King of Colour'. You may be asking why I'm calling him that name well please do take a look at www.patrickbaty.co.uk all I will say further about his work is 'Benjamin Franklin'.

Now considering Patrick is the 'King of Colour' I am over the moon he sent me a black and white picture (below) for his #guestbollard ! What could I say when he tweeted this picture a few days ago and then sent me the picture via email except thank you. This picture is simply wonderful and proves beyond any reasonable doubt that other people were cataloguing these objects many years ago, the picture dates back to 1937 from a copy of Architectural Review.

Bollards of London (even in black and white)...

Foley Street and the Stratford Upon Avon Two...

Here we are back in central London taking a look at a bog standard bollard that does little for the imagination except when a council decides to conjoin two of these bollards with some tubular steel/iron and create a bike rack by combining two.

The bollard front left of the picture is cylindrical in shape other than the small square shape base. A simple column design ribbed near the top flared out dome shape head.















Our #guestbollards (above) today are from the wonderful @ChrisHJGilson on the twitter a mighty if not contrasting pair he has photographed in Stratford Upon Avon. The dumpy round plastic looking bollard is certainly different but the obelisk shaped bollard is simply fantastic. It looks a little aged but the shape is just wonderful and very unusual for a bollard.

Bollards of London (and Stratford Upon Avon)...

PS I owe you and the @julietfulham on twitter an apology for incorrectly labelling the above bollard has a pair that she had taken a photographs of. Juliet's bollards will appear on a post shortly however please do accept my sincere apologies...

Lanesborough Hotel London and Florence, Italy...

On exiting the Lanesborough Hotel London by taxi-cab I came across these two bollards. With a large square base that rises vertically topped with a circular tapering base that leads to an octagonal column.

The column is tall even slender and at its upper most part is ridged which then leads us to a flared head that yet again is topped off with curved/ball shaped top.

The picture above carries on our #guestbollard theme for December/January and the beautiful picture is provided/supplied by the wonderful @clareangela on the twitter of a bollard lined street 'Via de'Guicciardini' in Florence, Italy I must say these bollards in Italy look rather contemporary but some how they fit in with the surrounding stunning architecture.

Bollards of London (and Florence)...

The Chelsea Collection, Cornerpin and a Timeout...

Just by Imperial Wharf which happens to be very close to Chelsea Harbour a new singing/dancing rather swish taxi-cab rank has been installed with a set of new bollards on the right of the picture looking all shiny after a fresh coat of gloss paint. I didn't notice at first but was surprised to see and all the traffic bollards in the distance then the stainless steel bollards/posts which are also new on the left hand side of the picture.

It appears in these times of austerity we are still managing to fund local projects that generally improve the local environment, I'm just not sure we need to clutter the streets/roads with so many objects in such a small vicinity/space.

Now pictured below is our 4th 'guest bollard' provided by the @thecornerpin on the twitter. He's found a mighty good looking aged bollard in the St John's Wood area of London and one which I haven't featured yet on the the blog.

Well the bollard has a square chunky base that tapers and creates that now common octagonal shape. Placed upon the flat top of the bollard is what I can only described has an egg/acorn with tapering body/pattern. This style/type of bollard can be found elsewhere in Westminster (London borough) and the crest/badge looks like theirs.

Finally can I say a big thank you to a few people who have encouraged this blog/site. Firstly my friend the late 'BiG George Webley', then @AboutLondon @peter_watts @davehill @londonist @nikkibedi and finally Rachel Segal Hamilton of www.now-here-this.timeout.com for featuring an article about these wonderful street/pavement objects.

Thank you all from Bollards of London...

London, Kings/Queens and a close to Derby Bollard...

The bollards in the picture have always interested me for they sit neatly at corners to a beautiful monument to the Crimean War at Waterloo Place SW1.

Now the Crimean War took place under the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901) but the bollards placed at the corners of this memorial refer to King William the 4th (1830-1837). This doesn't really 'fit' but the 'Sailor King' obviously has close links to the area after all he was a reigning monarch and Buckingham Palace, Clarence House happen to be a short walk away. A special thank you to @LondonHistorian @Bebejax and @clareangela #thankyou...

You may have noticed that these bollards are identical to the bollard in the previous post except for the Crown and lettering which happen to be placed upon three of the sides of the body. These bollards are also in rather top condition and have certainly been maintained to a higher standard.

Now continuing our guest bollard theme for the months of December and January can I welcome this beautiful contribution from the @missprofanity on the @twitter. Yes 'miss p' has been a loyal follower of the bollards on twitter and is certainly never one to back off from giving you an honest open forthright opinion on many a subject matter.

The bollard chosen by 'miss p' is certainly a near one off and I've only ever come across one of a similar colour (burgundy) in London. The bollard has a square base which quickly tapers inwards and then forms a circular column that rises vertically until we reach the top/head where we find a circular ridge/rim and a slightly domed near flower rounded top. Like the bollards above this one below is emblazoned with a dandy pattern and what appears to be a rose in the middle, a rose of England ?

Bollards of London...

West Square SE11 to New Cross...

Close to London's Elephant & Castle we find West Square SE11 which is one of those secret squares that pop up around the capital from time to time.

Well this summer I happened to be in West Square and found this rather sturdy unmarked bollard that I've seen before around Camden but normally marked with a St Pancras Crest. This bollard though is devoid of any crest or badge.

The bollard has a sturdy square base that rises vertically and tapers inwards which changes the square base to an octagonal (8 sided) shaped body/top. Take a look at the second picture where we look downwards at the top of the bollard. We can clearly see the eight segments of the bollard top and the centre point which forms the peak. Also note the erosion or wear of the metal in the urban outdoor environment.

I love the look, the rib/ridge effect on the body of the bollard but also the colours of this aged piece of street furniture that merge and match the local environment.

Continuing our guest bollard theme through December and January I must say we have received an absolute cracker of a piece of Victorian street furniture that can be found on south east London's Old Kent Road near New Cross.

The bollard looks or should I say reminds me of a rather large oversized candle stick holder. With a square base the body changes shape at almost every glance or inch. I will be taking a much closer look at this piece of street furniture and will attempt to date stamp and see if this bollard is local and original early next year.

This beautiful bollard was found and presented to us by @LondonDreamtime on the twitter and please do log onto www.londondreamtime.com a fascinating website in its own right.


Bollards of London...

A Tale of Two Cities...

Welcome to the first of many guest bollards that will appear throughout the months of December and January.

A Tale of Two Cities (London/Birmingham), the picture above is of a pair of rather aerodynamic looking bollards installed at the BP fuel station on the Talgarth Road, Hammersmith London W4. I mentioned the pair of bollards looked aerodynamic and it maybe ironic that the advert on the petrol/diesel pumps is of an Olympic runner. Must say the fire extinguishers look clean ?

Below we find a rather ornate looking bollard sent to be me by @WildGooseLeys (twitter) and she is first with our look at bollards outside the capital.

This particular bollard can be found on Birmingham's Broad Street. The bollard is certainly ornate and is in stark contrast to the modern contemporary design we have seen above. With a near circular base that then tapers inwards and rises vertically with a general ribbed effect  upon the main column. The head of the bollard is circular with a domed top and square/diamond patterned sides.




























Bollards of London (and Birmingham)...

Warren Street...

Near the far end of Warren Street (Cleveland Street end) you'll find this one off bollard planted by  a kerb/corner stone.

A square base that immediately morphs into an octagonal shape smoothly and rises vertically. The top then reaches a lipped area that forms a point.

I can see the letter 'A' on the upper part of the body and this bollard may need closer inspection in daylight.

Bollards of London...

PS nice the way people bag up rubbish in supermarket bags and leave them by the bollard ?

Keep Left...

At the back of the Euston Road I came across this rather odd looking 'Keep Left' traffic bollard that looks like it's off its stand.

The bollard is made of plastic and has a circular base that is tiered with a short cylindrical column  rising upwards towards a large white odd shaped head which contains a blue circle with a white arrow pointing left which forms a 'Keep Left' sign.

Bollards of London...

Bollard with Portcullis...

Here in Tufton Street SW1 part of the Westminster Village I came across a rather lonely looking bollard of a standard variety found across parts of central London.

On closer inspection I noticed the 'Portcullis' which you can see reasonably clearly on the upper part of the cylindrical body of the bollard just beneath the upper two rings.

So a rather standard looking bollard becomes one with a little more interest because it doesn't match the existing bollards within the parliamentary estate.

Bollards of London...

The Leaning Bollard of Camden...

They may have the leaning tower of Pisa in Italy but here in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the land of austerity we can certainly go one better but on a much smaller scale.

In Goodge Place (just off Goodge Street) you'll find this wooden bollard leaning on a piece of private land in the  London Borough of Camden creating a 'Leaning Bollard of Camden'. Who knows one day this may well become a tourist attraction in its own right.

I must ad that the top picture gives the impression that the bollard looks rather unstable hence the need for the second picture which clearly shows the bollard is leaning but perfectly safe.

If you happen to be in the Goodge Street area of London please do hunt down and admire 'the Leaning Bollard of Camden'.

Bollards of London...

The Grosvenor House Hotel Bollards...

With all the fog and subsequent dull grey gloomy skies I couldn't resist photographing these two stone bollards-with-chain right outside the famous Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane.

The bollards are made of stone and octagonal in shape. The body is sturdy/chunky and forms part of a beautiful flower bedded border. The bollard then sweeps inwards and is finished off with a nice semi-circular gold coloured top ball.

Beating the Autumn blues.

Bollards of London...

Regents College, Regent's Park...

Every now and then you manage to enter a drive way of a building and come across a piece of architecture or in this case a group of bollards belonging to Regents College which can be found at the junction of the Inner Circle and York Bridge within London's very own Regent's Park.

The bollard is made of wood with a square base and no more than 2 ft tall. In the picture above we can see the bollard contains a light and marks the border of the kerb/grassed area. The upper part of the body of the bollard contains a ridge and the top has a very small peaked area.

Now the final picture below is a 'Bollard of London' map created by mappinglondon.co.uk and featured in an event which took place on the 17th of November created by the Londonist and hosted by TAG fine arts of Dover Street, Mayfair W1. I must say it is pleasantly pleasing to see so many other people noticing the many of the bollards dotted around our capital city.

Bollards of London...

Bollards of Brockley Cross...

Here we are at Brockley Cross at a width  restriction which certainly has the full range of bollards/street furniture.

We can see the back of a 'cheap' bendy bollard placed in front of the dangerous backless lamp post. We then see the two main posts/bollards made of iron and just about recognisable considering the paint is removed due to slightly larger vehicles squeezing through restriction.We then come across the two bell ends, one sunken into the tarmac and the other sitting upon the pavement. Finally we find the fire gate bollard (lock/latch end) which is a simple circular design with top third of main body tapering towards a ball top finish.

May I say what a complete and utter mess of an area/piece of road, however within the chaos/cluster of bollards/street furniture there is a very odd aged even scratched beauty.

Bollards of London...

A Bollard in a Pear Tree...

Yesterday I found this beautiful bollard in Pear Tree Close, Clerkenwell EC1.

The bollard is reasonably tall slender circular base that tapers slightly with a main ribbed body that is only broken up with three to four rings on the body.

The top of the bollard is on close inspection pear shaped with the top half almost gold coloured.

With Christmas lights going up and on all over the capital in November I couldn't resist 'A Bollard in a Pear Tree'...close !

Bollards of London...

Latest from the City...

The City of London recently upgraded the roads/streets around the new shopping facility called 'New Change' on Cheapside.

Above we have a newly planted/painted bollard that marks the border to an indented taxi-cab stand/rank placed next to the shopping centre and opposite businesses.

The bollard has a small square base that immediately forms into a octagonal body that tapers slightly until it reaches a rather ornate top that resembles a juicer. The colours/paint used are the usual City of London colours of black/red and white. Attached to this particular bollard is a standard sign used across the City of London (the Square Mile) which denotes how many taxis can sit upon said stand and which direction the cabs are to face.

Bollards of London...

Contemporary look for Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...

 We are at the the junction of Thurloe Place and the nearly finished redevelopment of Exhibition Road where the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea have decided to create a brick based shared space.

What I came across at the junction is a new addition to the bollard family and that is a one with a more contemporary look with a twist.

If we look closely at the bollards in the picture you'll notice they have a square base with a narrow vertical body that merges/morphs into a cylinder shape with a slightly curved top.

Bollards of London...

Fleet Street EC4...

Fleet Street EC4 was formerly the home to the nations newspaper industry. Now it's dominated by Goldman Sachs and Freshfields.

The bollard in the picture above is a typical City of London type bollard with a near fresh coat of gloss paint. Only one part unfinished so I'll leave that for each of you to take a closer look and think about.

The bollards are more than likely getting this new coat of paint because of the Lord Mayor's Show which takes place next week from 11.00am on Saturday the 12th of November 2011.

Bollards of London...

Royal Albert Hall Bollards...

I think the sign attached to this Royal Albert Hall Bollard says it all.

Bollards of London...

Painting of the Bollards...

The City of London has been in the press recently for many different reasons but here at 'Bollards of London' the 'Corporation' is better know for having the greatest number of derivatives of bollards.

Presently all bollards within the City of London are getting a new coat of paint and here in Middle Street EC1 I came across another design of 'city' bollard that I've not noticed before.

With a square base that tapers immediately and then rises upwards for a third of its height before a cylindrical body/ring takes over and a more traditional column continues to rise upwards where the top is rounded off. We notice also that the colours of the 'Corporation' play a significant role/theme through all the different types (derivatives) of bollards.

Black/Red/White the colours for nearly all bollards within the 'City of London' the exception being Leadenhall Market and the odd stainless steel type/design. Whilst talking of paint/colours I came across a very interesting blog www.tarragonablog.com that just so happens to have some beautiful pictures of some rather dandy bollards that artists appeared to have painted themselves.

Bollards of London...

PS what a beautiful idea to paint street furniture.

Scarface...more like bollard-face...

Every now and then you turn a corner and depending on whether is is night or day you notice something rather interesting about London.

Well this morning did it for me, I dropped a fare off in Valance Road so I turned into Cheshire Street and upon a right turn into London's Brick Lane (I was heading for a salt beef bagel) I noticed this shutter and the angle which has a rather mean looking 'Tony Montana' played by Al Pacino in the 1983 (original 1932) movie/film 'Scarface' getting ready to wipe out the bollard on the pavement let alone the lines on the lane.

Next time I see a line of bollards I'll think of this picture of 'Tony Montana' giving it the large one with an automatic weapon and threatening the very existence of the bollard on Brick Lane, London E1.

Bollards of London...

Wapping's (World's) Smallest Bollards..?

We are back at Wapping and who would have thought we may well have found that Wapping's bollards might just be the smallest in the World ?

These bollards are so small you could be excused for mistaking them for pepper pots/grinders. You're probably wondering why they exist and the clue is yet again no stepped kerb but tarmac level with the pavement/kerbside.

Has anybody seen or found a bollard (an actual bollard) smaller than these ? If not Wapping has London, the UK's and maybe the World's smallest bollards.