The 200th Bollard of London...

A rare City of London bollard...

The 200th bollard of London is a short octagonal shaped one which I found on the Minories, London EC3.

It's a near zebra style painted bollard in need of a little attention. If we look closely we can see that it has merely been painted over. It actually needs to be taken back to its base metal and brought back to its former glorious self. The top is the orange squeezer style and very similar to the previous bollard except shorter and if we look really closely we can see the two wings which happen to be placed on top of a helmet which would sit above the shield of the crest/emblem of the City of London.

Having reached this milestone I think it's only right to take this opportunity to thank all of you who follow the blog, on the @twitter, have viewed, passed comment and emailed me pictures of bollards from Peckham to the good old USA. Please note #guestbollards return at the beginning of February so if you have sent a picture it will appear shortly.

With so many people to thank it's only right to start at the very beginning and my thoughts will always be of the late great BiG George Webley he was a good friend, musical genius, south Londoner and the inspiration behind this blog. I used to talk about walking around the capital (Talk the Walk) on his late night show on bbc London 94.9 fm and whilst driving, then walking around this wonderful city I started to notice an ever increasing amount of bollards on the pavements/roads. If you're looking down George from that great Orchestra in the sky I hope you're happy we managed to get people talking bollards !

Any journey/project will mean you come across people/organisations who help/assist or take an interest along the way so in no particular order here follow a few of those people/organisations who have done just that for 'bollards', Dave Hill , Laura Porter , Peter Watts (bollardarian), all at the Londonist , Patrick Baty , the London Historians , Time Out London blog, Peter Berthoud , Wapping London , Clare Brown , Renaissance Girl , Nikki Bedi , @DJConnellAuthor @PeterMannionMP @bathcat @missprofanity @DMARIESTL @Feisty_Onion @mrcudlip @m37411ic48 @obotheclown @Fat_Jacques @dancing_piglet @stormbasiat @WildGooseLeys @JimBobOH @MrHappySW11 @BrunoSW11 @vivyouell @andromedababe @HotelPRGuy @damongreenITV Vanessa Woolf-Hoyle , Nigel Howard , MapLondon (bollard map), Museum of London , tiredoflondon , Caroline , London Walks , Steve Emment , Jimmy Thomas , Lucy Inglis , Andrew Collins , Josie Long , Visit London to name but a few.

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

John Kennedy,

PS just in case you're wondering the picture below is an above elevation of a bollard dated '1757' which I found on Friday evening by pure chance in central London. Could this be a mid 18th century bollard that I've stumbled upon by accident ?

Above elevation of a '1757' mid 18th century bollard...?

Bollards of London...

The 199th MBW 1870...

The 200th Bollard of London...

Metropolitan Board of Works 1870...

A near perfect bollard top...

The 199th post (bollard) on this blog/site goes to a rather original looking City of London bollard well at least I thought it was until I noticed the date/lettering on its front. MBW 1870, Metropolitan Board of Works 1870, yet another bollard dating back to the later part of the 19th Century (142 years old).

In 1856 London's Metropolitan Board of Works was created and by 1870 both the Albert/Victoria Embankments followed by the Chelsea Embankment in 1874 were completed. Londoners really do need to appreciate the work carried out by chief engineer Joseph Bazzalgette. The Metropolitan Board of Works used to meet within the City of London and this probably explains why this beautiful bollard is placed within its borders.

The Metropolis Management Act 1855 created the Metropolitan Board of works which was replaced by the London County Council in 1889.

Who would have thought that these often walked past objects could contain so many clues to our nations past.

Bollards of London...

The 198th on the Minories EC3...

A very different CoL bollard...

We are at the Minories EC3 just within the City of London where I came across this rather unusual looking 'City of London' bollard.

Why is it unusual you may be thinking or even asking, well for starters it is cylindrical in shape with a semi-circular domed top. It is nearly zebra striped except the white top doesn't follow that pattern but on the upper part of the body beneath the white rounded ridge we find the badge/emblem or shall we call it a shield containing the centre piece of the coat of arms of the City of London.

The shield contains the cross of St. George with the emblem of the City's patron St. Paul, who was beheaded with that weapon.

If you take a closer look at the picture we can see in the background immediately behind our featured bollard a more modern type/design that we are used to seeing all over the square mile and its borders with neighbouring boroughs.

Bollards of London...

The 197th St. Marylebone Parish Church...

No public right of way...

We are outside St. Marylebone Parish Church on London's busy Marylebone Road. In front of the parish church we can see a grey painted square based bollard that has a ribbed/ridged body that tapers  towards an octagonal pointed head/top. This type/design of bollard can be found around London but rarely with a shield/badge attached.

Just below the middle of the body of the bollard we can see clearly a shield shaped sign that informs us that we have 'No public right of way' on the pavement directly in front of the steps of the church. Taking a closer look we can see the eyelet where a rope/chain could be placed to keep us off there land/pavement.

The colour of the bollard is important, it merges rather well with the grey stone stairs/paving slabs, could it be a form of urban camouflage ?

Bollards of London...

The 196th Southbank Bollards...

Southbank Bollards...

Welcome to the Southbank London and the recently installed tank stopping bollards.

If we take a close look at the picture above we can see the the beautiful shiny stainless steel circular/angled top bollards with integral blue band. To the right of the top picture you may notice the 'Automatic bollard' station that is ironically protected by three stainless steel posts (not bollards).

The second picture (below) we can clearly see the circular/cylindrical rising bollards that allow access to the riverside front of the National Theatre yes, the place that backed the now famous show and film 'War Horse'.

The final picture (bottom) is of the Automatic bollards control panel complete with stop (red) and go (green) lights upon the shiny stainless panel.

Rising Bollards of the Southbank...

Automatic Bollards...

Bollards of London...

The 195th A City of London 1878 Bollard...

A near perfect City of London bollard...

Another angle...

Get to America Square and cross over the road to Vine Street EC3 in the City of London and you'll find this shorter even stumpy looking City or Corporation of London bollard.

The top is domed but reminds me of an orange squeezer. We then come to a red painted octagonal curved ridge/lip that then tapers to a white painted area with red painted stars upon.  A smaller curved red ridge/lip leads us to the shorter stumpy/sturdy body which has placed upon the front the emblem/coat of arms of the Corporation of London I must say I am still amazed at the different types (derivatives) of bollards one can find within the Square Mile.

If we look at the bottom picture we can see the date 1878 clearly beneath the emblem/coat of arms.

1878...

Bollards of London...

The 194th on the Parliamentary Estate...

Parliamentary bollards by College Green...

Removable bollards...

We are at the junction of Great College Street/Abingdon Street SW1 and on the paved area of College Green which is generally used by the media when reporting from outside of the Palace of Westminster/Houses of Parliament.

The pair of bollards are a basic design and similar to the bog standard Westminster design but they have a square base and therefore smaller and narrower than that usual design.

At the base of these bollards we have a plate with an emblem of a 'Portcullis' (with screw). The emblem of both Houses of Parliament is the 'Portcullis' (without screw). I believe these bollards are in fact temporary eg they can be removed to allow media/vehicle access to the green on state occasions and matters of great importance to our nation.

If we take a close look at the picture below you may notice that the screw in the middle of the base plate could have been turned a further 45 degrees and this would have brought the slot of the screw head into line with the middle upright of the portcullis...

Portcullis with screw...

Bollards of London...

The 193rd Westminster and the Wookey Hole Bollards, Somerset...

Westminster City Council bollard with gold painted badge/crest...

Bollards of Wookey Hole, Somerset and models of Policemen...

The 193rd post (bollard) is of a bog standard Westminster City Council bollard (top picture) with a difference.

If we take a close look at the emblem/crest/badge we can see it is painted gold something the council doesn't normally do. Whilst trying to confirm the badge/crest/emblem is Westminster's I came across this rather interesting website www.civicheraldry.co.uk that details all of the coats of arms of London borough's and many more.

I believe the badge/emblem/crest is the former coat of arms of the old (pre 1965) Westminster City Council and this is confirmed at www.civicheraldry.co.uk where we can see the shield part of the coat of arms clearly on the bollard.

If we take a look at the picture above we will see the #guestbollards of the wonderful @MlleSorbet on the twitter which are from an area called Wookey Hole, Somerset I must say the bollards are rather fine even dandy, but who came up with the idea of these fantastic looking Policemen. Can we class them has bollards ? I'm not sure, but they carry an important warning sign that children cross the road at this particular spot in a rather nice pleasant fashion.

Bollards of London (and Wookey Hole)...

The 192nd Floored...

Lincoln's Inn Fields bollard floored...

Greenford Road bollard floored...

We are at the junction of Gate Street and Lincoln's Inn Field (top picture) where we have a bog standard black/white zebra striped bollard that has been taken out of the ground and floored.

If we look closely we can see that at least a foot of this type of bollard is planted firmly underground or should I say was. It's taken such a whack that the pavement slab has broken into a number of pieces.

The latest #guestbollard (above) is from a well known friend in the London taxi trade @thomasthetaxi on the twitter who runs the informative and well liked known blog/site theandersonshelter JT has complemented my floored bollard by providing us with an excellent shot/picture of a modern looking bollard that has either sheared off or wasn't planted that deep in the first place. Either way the bollard has been floored...

Bollards of London (floored)...

The 191st Southwark to Cape Girardeau, Missouri, USA...

Southwark bollard...

A Cape Girardeau, Missouri, USA bollard...

This is the 191st post (bollard) and I must admit I found these pebble dashed bollards (top picture) in Southwark but forgot to log the street name at time of taking the photograph. I do know the general area is Blackfriars.

What we have hear is a circular/cylindrical concrete bollard that starts with a narrow circular base that then expands its circumference and rises vertically. The bollard is topped off with a shallow dome shaped top. This is obviously a bollard of the seventies when concrete was all the rage and used to build everything that stood in many parts of London.

Now the #guestbollard on the blog/site (above) today is provided by the wonderful @DMARIESTL on the twitter and what an absolute cracker we have here all the way from across the pond in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, USA.

I tend to let the #guestbollards do the talking but this one is just so simple it certainly stands out from the crowd, a big red ball.

Bollards of London (and the USA)...

Broomhouse Lane SW6 to Toulon, France...

Broomhouse Lane SW6...

Toulon, France Bollard...

Here we are in Broomhouse Lane (top picture) SW6 where I came across a modern trying to look older slim bollard with a message for cyclists regarding the national cycle network route 4.

So we have a message (for cyclists) on a bollard that is placed upon the kerb to ensure motorists don't park upon the pavement. It's a square based bollard that immediately turns into a octagonal base which then morphs into a thin/slim circular column with two ridges/ribbed areas leading us to the semi-circular rounded ball shaped top.

Back to the #guestbollards theme which has taken another European twist with a beautiful bollard from Toulon, France  picture taken by @damongreenITV on the twitter and I must say what a stunning bollard and certainly shows its not just London borough's that take their bollards seriously...

Bollards of London (and Toulon)...

PS I love the way the pigeon has managed to get in on the act, what a coo...

Buckingham Gate SW1 to SE12...

Something Moon like about this bollard top ?

@Feisty_Onions SE12 bollard...

We are at Buckingham Gate SW1 in the heart of central London next to a London taxi-cab rank where I've found these wonderful stone bollards.

The top picture is an above elevation picture which shows the domed circular top surrounded by the octagonal shaped body. The main body retains the octagonal shape but this is only after the base of the bollard takes up a greater area of space than the upper part of the bollard by tapering outwards.

Looking closely at the top picture there is something moon like about the circular looking part of this stone bollard. If I'm honest I think the second picture which clearly shows the tapering body is very much like a Dalek.

Continuing our #guestbollard theme for January I must say the @Feisty_Onion on the twitter has come up with an absolute classic in the sense I haven't seen this type/design of bollard before. The bollard was found in SE12 which is a London Borough of Lewisham postcode and if I'm correct this colour blue is a colour the borough uses.

The Lewisham bollard looks if it is made of a plastic with a small circular base and then a rising squared column with white integral reflective strips/parts.

Bollards of London (and Lewisham)...

Highgate West Hill 1826...

A very tall imposing 'cannon' type bollard.

St. P/S.W.D/1826 another 19th century bollard ?

With a square shaped shallow base this rather tall 'cannon' type bollard quickly turns into a rather sturdy/chunky circular column which is ridged/ribbed at lower and upper parts in equal proportions.

The top section of the bollards is painted black with a white half ball shaped top. On the main body of the bollard we can see the lettering St.P/S.W.D/1826 (picture above) have we managed to come across another bollard from the early part of the 19th century ?

We are approaching the 200th post (bollard) here on the blog/site and it is fascinating to be still finding bollards so different and of such an age here in the capital.

Bollards of London...

Highgate, North Road N6 and the Clown...

North Road, Highgate N6...

North Road Highgate certainly has a collection of bollards and none more interesting than these near beehive looking hedged covered classics lining the borders of some properties set back slightly from the road.

The bollards are a very neat simple square based tapering angled slated design that I've not come across before. The more I look at them the more they make me think of beehives. If you look closely at the top picture you'll notice they come with or without hedge, simply wonderful and cracking start to the New Year.

Looks like a Beehive...

Obo's bollard in Cambridgeshire...

Throughout December I've asked many of you to send me pictures of bollards you've found or seen and I must say you've all been wonderful with all the bollards so far that I'm continuing the #guestbollard theme throughout the month of January.

The honour of the first #guestbollard of 2012 goes to none other than @obotheclown on the twitter. Obo has come up with an excellent picture/bollard in my humble opinion. The bollard is pretty new with a domed/ribbed head and ribbed/ridged lower third on the column/bollard. I like the reflective hazard tape placed around the column just in case you don't see the bollard in your headlamps.

Happy New Year to you all.

Bollards of London...