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.

A Message on a Bollard...

Every since I started this blog/site I've been amazed and yet pleased that we've not seen an explosion of adverts upon the humble and sometimes dandy bollards of London.

The product or should I say object does a rather good job at advertising itself in a rather inconspicuous way yet many bollards carry messages with various signs like the three I found the other week in Mayfair's little hidden (red-light) secret of Shepherd Market.

The bollards themselves are very bog standard (even the one padlocked to the pavement) but all three carry messages from the Highway Code. 'Urban Clearway' due to the building/construction site on Trebeck Street and a 'No Cycling' sign on a paved area of Shepherd Market.

Bollards of London...

The Right Balance...

I was sitting on the taxi-cab rank/stand at Tate Britain, Millbank SW1 yesterday and noticed a group of rather happy looking young people standing on the very bog standard security bollards that are placed at the base of the steps of this marvellous gallery.

More Londoners should visit our galleries and this group certainly took the visit to a new level with some rather neat moves that involved them balancing on the bollards after setting the camera on a timer.

Bollards of London...

PS please note I do not advise anybody to partake in balancing on a bollard, falling off could lead to injury.

Check Mate..?

Back to Highgate and Cholmeley Park and I found a bollard that looks rather like a chess piece.

Square based, with small vertical sides with a lipped area that leads to a main body that tapers which is then topped with   a smaller tapering head that leads to a flat square top.

This bollard is made of stone or concrete painted white and really does look like a pawn on a chess board.

Bollards of London...

Top of the Bollards bbc 6 music...

The Top five bollards of London follow for http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/ Saturday morning show with Andrew Collins and Josie Long where we were pronounced 'geek of the week'. Click on the link and go to 51 minutes in where you can here me talking 'bollards'.

In at number 5 with ello-ello-ello Police man bollard. the former Gerald Road Police Station.

At number 4 with Hans town 1819. the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

Number 3 with A Derivative the City of London.

In at number 2 with Strictly No Digging a Westminster bog standard.

Number 1 with the Houses of Parliament thank you Sally Bercow and the Parliamentary Estate.

That's the top 5 but here for an exclusive for Andrew Collins and Josie Long on on bbc 6 music take a look at these bollards below...

A big thank you from bollards of London to @simon_bannister on twitter for these wonderful pictures of Brighton bollards with jackets.

Bollards of London...

Camden Gardens Bollards...

What a rather peculiar looking bollard we've found on Camden Gardens NW1, north London.

The bollard is cylindrical in shape and extremely simple in design until we reach the top where it looks more like a croissant from a well known coffee shop with a rather large sausage stuffed between the folds.  The top of the bollard actually contains a short piece of tube that is held in place by two folds of metal of the main body from the bollard.

This bollard is a rather simple design until to reach the top where a hell of a lot happens for no apparent reason.

Bollards of London...

A Bollard, Cannon and Four Wonderful People...

We are back in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea at the National Army Museum on the very beautiful Royal Hospital Road SW3.

Here (top picture) we have a rather average stone bollard that has a square base that tapers inwards and forms an octagonal top. We can see on the left an eyelet so a chain may be placed connecting to adjacent bollards. On the front of the bollard we can see a plate with the letter 'H' which informs members of the London Fire Brigade of a 'H'ydrant/water supply if needed in an emergency.

Now take a close look at the '68pdr Smooth Bore Iron Gun of Cwt, 1858' (above) which is on display outside the entrance to the National Army Museum (click for link to museum). Have you noticed how the body of the cannon (gun) looks very similar to the many bollards we find dotted/planted all over the capital/country. We shall take a closer look at the history of the London bollard over many of the future posts on this blog/site.

Finally I would like to say a big hello to all those pictured below who happened to be a fare in my taxi-cab on Saturday evening. We got chatting and somehow I managed to mention 'Bollards of London' and what followed was a very pleasant, funny even comical taxi-cab journey. So once again I would like to thank all of you in the picture below and hope you enjoy noticing these rather interesting if not forgotten pieces of street furniture.

I do love the way they are all posing and touching a Bermondsey Street bollard.

Bollards of London...