A Royal Albert Hall Bollard...

How many times have I driven past or stopped and even ranked at the Royal Albert Hall and not noticed this rather dandy if not extravagant looking bollard.

You will notice that this bollard has attached to it a similar colour coded (black/gold) gate leading to a secure parking area to the side of the Kensington Gore entrance to the hall.

The bollard celebrates victorian splendor and is jet black in colour (in the main) with some rather fancy pattern work that happens to be painted gold. Its shape is cylindrical and the bollard tapers towards the top with a rather urn like finish. If we look closely we can see that the gate is attached to the bollard by a metal strap(s). I do like the near square nut piece on the side of the bollard two thirds up the column.

Sometimes bollards are actually staring at you and you don't even notice the most colourful or even orante of them.

Bollards of London...

Wet Paint Bollard...

Whilst walking around Marylebone the other day I came across a real solid Mary-le-bone bollard, you can just make the lettering out on the main body of the bollard.

Very much cannon like, certainly has the traditional cannon ball top. Good solid body with three ribbed rings around the main column. The base is square and flares outwards from the cylindrical bottom of the column. What is rather sad though is the paint job, it appears that the local council just keep slapping paint over another coat of paint and although this may look fine at a distance when close up it looks rather slap dash and lazy.

Please do look at the back ground of the picture and I hope you've all noticed the pink chalk writing on the block brick paving telling us the bollard is covered in "WET PAINT" you may notice the little cute stone bollard protecting the corner of the building to the right of the picture with a big chunk of stone missing from above.

Bollards of London...

Strictly No Digging...

If you happen to be in London's West End on Charing Cross Road by the Garrick Theatre have a look across the road and you'll notice a piece of pavement/tarmac that isn't used. In fact it is surround by bollards.

Underneath this piece of space/pavement is an underground toilet/disused no doubt closed by the council. Now if you walk into this area and take a peak at the lower part of the Westminster bog standard bollard (sorry couldn't resist that toilet pun) you'll see the words "STRICTLY NO DIGGING" with the telephone number underneath.

The signs only appear on the side of the bollard facing inwards to this space/pavement area and if you did happen to dig here you'll end up in an old public loo/bathroom area.

Bollards of London...

HP Bollards...

Order, Order, Order a gem of a bollard delivered to you by chance. I bumped into Sally Bercow the other week and sad hello and following a brief but rather interesting conversation offered the lady a lift to Parliament.

Sally Bercow is tall, attractive, intelligent and wife of the Speaker of the House of Commons. Who would have thought that a short journey in a London taxi-cab would allow me to capture one of the hidden gems of a bollard on the parliamentary estate.

Here above is an octagonal shaped bollard painted in the main gloss black. The bollard is in fact a foot smaller than your average but in exceptional condition. The upper part of the bollard reduces in size inwards and then an almost head like part appears which then creates a peak/point.

The neck of the bollard is painted a beautiful red which really sets the bollard off. The head/upper part of the bollard has two eyelets on either short side that would allow a rope or a chain to be attached. However it is the badge/crest or emblem of parliament that makes this bollard very special indeed. The Crowned Portcullis the emblem of the mother of all Parliaments painted in gold upon the wider side of the bollard that creates the colour contrast between the black/red colour of the body.

Bollards of London...

Vauxhall, Boro'Market and the Shard...

Working around the Vauxhall  area this week and I came across these rather rare odd looking bollards placed upon the corner of the pavement. Both are dug well into the ground and zebra stripped also. What I didn't expect to find was the date and marking upon one of them which indicates these are very old bollards 1813 and that they originally came from the "Boro' Market".

I have to say these bollards are taller than the average bollard by at least a foot but what really caught my eye was the near "Shard" like look to them. The Shard is a new building going up at London Bridge which is not a stones throw from the Boro' Market. Back to the bollard after it tapers upwards we notice an almost doughnut like finish with a very small ball placed upon the top.

Vauxhall, Boro' Market 1813 and a very odd link to the Shard.

Bollards of London...

Grey Rusty Royal Bollard of Regent's Park...

We are still in the wonderful setting/place of Regent's Park and home to some of the finest architecture you'll find in the capital and probably London's finest park.

If you do happen to visit the park you will notice and see the various different pieces of street furniture and bollards many if not the majority with Royal approval (well crest/logo upon).

Here in the picture above we have a right grey rusty royal bollard where we can just make out the Crown above the letters GR "George Reigns". The bollard is battleship grey in colour and rusting due to neglect rather odd considering the royal parks are normally on top of there game when it comes to maintenance of any part of the park. The bollard itself is square based (4 sides) which taper slightly towards the top which then forms the shape of an octagon (8 sides) with a peaked/pyramid top.

No doubt we have CR and WR bollards to look forward to in the near and not to distant future.

Bollards of London...

Ballon Command Bollard...?

Recently a comment was left on this blog site by a lady named Jennifer on the 13th post "Zebra bollard with a bell attached". Now the comment was rather or should I say very interesting because she stated that whilst on a walking tour in London the guide referred to these bell shaped bollards and informed her that they were used to tie "barrage balloons" too.

With the power of the web and I have to say google I put the words barrage balloon in and hey presto found that here in the UK the RAF did have a squadron(s) which came under the name "Balloon Command". Please click on the link http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/46/a1072946.shtml and read a little about the work of the people who helped defend our cities from the bombers in the skies. Some of these barrage balloons were winched in and out of position but surely some of them were more permanent and therefore the hole in the top of these bell shaped bollards makes perfect sense.

The bollard or "bell" in the picture is "zebra stripped" or black and white and now we have an idea that they may have originally been used to attach "barrage balloons" to it makes sense they were painted "black and white" due to the blackout late at night.

We shall research further and confirm this rather interesting of tales/stories but at the moment "Jennifer" and her comment makes perfect sense.

Bollards of London...

PS Thank you to all the brave men and women of our armed services whether they be on the land, in the air or at sea...god bless you all.

Stumped...

Every now and then the capital, London chucks a ball at you that challenges your view or maybe opinion on any given subject or matter..

Well yesterday I was walking up Greencoat Place in Victoria SW1 and I came across what we can only describe as a true organic bollard. In fact for a moment I was "stumped" even dazed at what I'd found.

The picture clearly shows a tree that has been chopped not at the base but about 3.5 to 4 foot upwards from ground/pavement level with a nice flat top and smooth angled edge. This beats the "Wandsworth Wooden" for the tree hasn't been logged and gone through a rather long industrial process, the bollard was created on site in position where it actually grew.

Bollards of London...