Islington N.1...

Thornhill Road, Islington N.1 is a rather pleasant even village like part of north London. The local council is known to be keen on traffic calming measures and they plant bollards, bumps, humps, lumps quicker than most councils within the capital.

Thornhill Road is very narrow and heavy vehicles are discouraged from travelling on roads other than the main ones. The island here is a good example of a rather ugly/odd width restriction in the centre of the road.

At either end of the island we see the standard keep left traffic bollard in the middle we see two of the "bell" type bollards however either side we have these rather odd looking narrow slightly curved almost bottle like bollards that can be found to the left of the traffic bollard. This particular type of bollard can be found else where in London.

When all these bollards are placed on the traffic island/width restriction I must say doesn't it look rather ugly.

Bollards of London...

West Smithfield EC.1 in the City of London...

We are right next to the central meat market in the City of London at West Smithfield which just happens to be right next to St Bartholomew's Hospital.

Well what do you make of these rather large tapered/pointed wooden bollards that border a rather pleasant paved seated area.

The bollards are weathered however I must say that the idea of planting wooden bollards when a small hardy tree would do the same job really does worry me and demonstrates an odd even illogical thought process by town planners of many borough's and not just the City of London.

Bollards of London...

Back to the City (again)...

Yes the City of London never fails to produce the greatest types of bollards and than any other local authority.

Here in Copthall Avenue EC.2 we have come across a very modern simple looking bollard that appears to have been nominated for a new paint job but never got finished.

With more scratches than your average bollard you have to wonder did they just forget about the bollards of Copthall Avenue.

Bollards of London.

PS I would like to say a big hello and mention a rather decent chap who who goes by the name of @snobbyG on twitter. He is one of our unsung heroes a paramedic who just gets on with the job and rarely complains...

St Luke's Close EC1...

At the top of St Luke's Close EC1 I came across these two rather wonderful looking bollards that certainly differ from anything we have looked at so far.

For starters the bollards are square based with a long tall rectangular shaped body. Near the top we come across a vertical striped area for decoration purposes and a slightly flared underside of the top/head that neatly rises to form a shallow looking pyramid shape.

Both are black gloss in colour and look in pretty good health for a pair of bollards.

Welcome to Bollards of London...

Duchess of Bedford's Walk W.8

We are at Duchess of Bedford's Walk in Kensington at a border of Holland Park where we have found three bollards that are painted white, of a similar height but very different.

The bollard furthest from us in the picture is pretty common upon many streets/pavements in the capital. The middle bollard is a temporary one that is held in place by a padlock and has we can see looks like the hole it's placed in has seen better days or this bollard has been bumped a few times by the odd car/van.

The bollard of real interest to us today is the one in the foreground of the picture and to our left. It is a cylindrical in shape and tapers every so slightly and has a smoothed curved domed top. On the upper part of the body we can see what looks like a crown or maybe feathers ?

If we take a close look at the other side of the bollard in the picture below we can make out what appears to be two crosses above a crown or a collection of feathers.

Bollards of London...

South London Bollards...

We have crossed the river Thames to an area just south of Westminster Bridge called Carlisle Lane which is in the London Borough of Lambeth and close to Waterloo station.

The bollards above are made from concrete and merely mark a boundary of a piece of land. They are small cylindrical stumpy looking bollards with domed tops and three deep cut away sections that rope could easily be wrapped or tied around.

These bollards match this rather sad piece of disused land and in an odd sort of way make the case for redevelopment of this part of capital.

Bollards of London...

The Whitechapel Bollards...

Welcome to Whitechapel London E1 an area of the capital that borders the City/Square mile with its dark history of the notorious 19th Century murderer "Jack the Ripper". You can click on a the link http://www.met.police.uk/history/ripper.htm if you wish to find out a little more about the past dark history.

We though are looking at Blossom Street where we can see a bollard on the left that we've seen before in Kensington, opposite we notice these two massive bland looking ugly bollards with their white coloured tops. Considering this is a rather old cobbled stoned part of the capital it does the beg the question why aren't the pavements protected locally like some of the very fine Victorian properties that can be found in and around this area.

We will be coming back to Whitechapel shortly to look at a few more bollards the area hides/holds upon its pavements.

Bollards of London...

A Gem of a City Bollard...

At the top King Street in the City of London we come to Guildhall Court Yard and right at its entrance we find a row of rising bollards with some of the usual bollards we normally see in the City (Square mile) everyday.

In the picture above we have managed to capture a rising bollard on the right hand side (still in the City/Corporation of London colours of black, white and red) with a more traditional looking bollard in the middle but on the left hand side we have found an absolute gem, a real one off that I have never seen before in the Square Mile.

The bollard on the left of the picture is most usual and unique at the same time for it has a rather large square base with a vertical body up until the red band where the body then tapers and forms an octagonal shaped top that rises slightly to be finished off with a nipple. The body of the bollard is painted predominately black with two red stripes. A badge on the front of the bollard is shield like and forms a George Cross, the upper part of the bollard is white in colour with only a red band on the nipple at the very top.

Bollards of London...

St Michael's Church - Chester Square SW1...




























If you happen to be in the area of Belgravia or Elizabeth Street do take a wander around Chester Square SW1 and admire the beautiful St Michael's Church of England.

At the rear of the church you'll find this beautiful but lonely bollard painted a sunburst red with a simple domed top. A third of the way up the main circular column you come across a ridged/ring that is painted gold. The ring is repeated a further two thirds up the column and just before the ball/domed top.

This is a rather beautiful looking bollard which contrasts well with the pinkish paving slabs and the yellow/greying church stone walls.

Bollards of London...

125th Bollard(s) of London...

We are at Onslow Crescent SW.7 in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to take a look at a pair of bollards that look nothing like the usual this "Royal" borough has to offer.

The bollards are circular at the base with a cylindrical column rising vertically only to be interrupted by a ridge/ring near halfway up the column. The top of the bollard is tiered and is topped with a near perfect ball. Coloured green these really do not match the dandy/ornate larger bollards found in the rest of this borough.

According to a report by Jill Sherman in the Times today the future for bollards and other parts of the "street furniture" family may well be under threat by the Localism Bill which is presently making its passage through parliament.

Welcome to the 125th Bollard(s) of London...

Richmond Royals...

These three Bollards can be found by the Thames in Richmond and how beautiful they are. We can see they have a square base that is planted in the cobble stones that immediately forms a curve that flares outwards to form a circular lip that now forms a tapering cylindrical column which again flares outward and then tiers inwards to form a rather dandy strawberry shaped top.

The bollards have ornate patterns on the side of each of a floral design, the bollards in Richmond are ornate/dandy and pretty marvellous and the search for others will continue throughout Greater London.

Bollards of London the 124th...

What's the Buzz about Bollards...?

Pop down to Waterford Road off the New King's Road and you might come across these bee striped steel bollards protecting a border/piece of commercial property.

I must say don't these bollards look ugly and certainly make a semi industrial area look even worse. If people/businesses who own property private/public intend to plant objects to protect a border should they not think about better looking street furniture ?

Bollards are everywhere no matter where you travel in the metropolis or any other large city here in the UK, so if we are going to use these street objects to define protect and create borders should we not at least ensure they look reasonable and not look like the above.

Bollards of London...

Royal Bollard of Richmond...

If you take a stroll around Richmond you may end up near the green where you'll come across a beautiful area surrounded by the odd Royal Bollard of Richmond.

The bollard is almost shard like in shape and ribbed. Sitting upon a square base and planted firmly into the paved area the four sides rise upwards literally double into eight and taper towards a peaked octagonal shaped top. The badge upon the side of the bollard is clearly a crown with the roman numerals two underneath and the initials ER standing for Elizabeth Regina. Painted a matt white these bollards surrounding the green at Richmond stand out even in the darkness and certainly catch the headlamps of any passing motor vehicle.

Welcome to a summer special of Bollards of London...

Keep Left...

Just when I thought this style of plastic "keep left" bollard was going of fashion here in the capital along comes the Boris bike or should I say male bike hire scheme painting blue lanes along Millbank and placing central reservations where they are not required along with the latest design of "keep left" traffic bollard.

It appears the "bendy bollard" may well be going out of fashion and this new design which is different to the similar style of bollard that used to be square at each end with a rectangular body/upright shape.

If we look closely at this type/design we can see that the base is hinged allowing access to the area containing the bulb/lens. The body of the bollard tapers slightly but is coloured like all similar designs. Predominately white with yellow panels and the blue circle with white "keep left" arrow.

Welcome to a super summer special of Bollards of London...