Description

788/0/10242 KITCAT TERRACE
27-FEB-09 (West side)
Seven Bollards

GV II
Seven cast-iron bollards of c1821 and c1838, probably installed here in the c1850s.

There are seven cast-iron bollards in the group. The two closest to the junction with Bow Road are of a chamfered and horizontally reeded type with shallow pointed hexagonal cap and square base. Inscribed on one side with 'Dodgson (illegible word) London' at the base and 'Dodgson 1821' in a semi-circular plaque in the centre. The bollard at the corner of the junction is painted black, the other is blue, as are the rest of the bollards in the group. These are of a typical cannon-type or gunpost design, presumably all of a similar date. Three are not inscribed and differ slightly in dimensions from the two that are which read, 'Dodgson' in the top section and 'Limehouse P Commission 1838' in the middle section.

HISTORY: Bollards have been in use since the C18 to control traffic, to deter parking and encroachment on pavements, and to protect entrances and buildings. A further use was to mark boundaries, for example, of the parish. After the Napoleonic Wars there was a surplus of guns, and many cannons were recycled as bollards, known as the cannon-type. These inspired the design of subsequent bollards, of which there are five along Kitcat Terrace, formerly called Avenue Road. Four of the bollards bear the maker's mark 'Dodgson'; presumably the John Dodgson of Lower Shadwell mentioned in the Post Office London Directory 1841, iron and brass founder. These include two cannon-type that are marked 'Limehouse P Commission', although they no longer mark any boundaries associated with the parish of Limehouse.

It is probable that the seven bollards were positioned along the road to prevent congestion outside Bow Station which opened here in 1850. The area around Bow Station was probably very busy as the railway line carried passengers and goods from the docks, through London and beyond. At least two were moved here from Limehouse. The station was part of the North London Railway which opened in 1853, originally founded in 1850 as the East and West India Docks and Birmingham Junction Railway and linking the two docks via Poplar. These lines were expanded and interconnected in the 1860s with other networks across London.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: These seven bollards, of chamfered-reeded type and cannon-type, are designated for the following principal reasons:
* Well-surviving early-C19 examples of street furniture for the purpose of traffic calming outside Bow Station;
* Their age, rarity and survival as a group, with embossed dates and local manufacturer's name.

Reasons for Listing

These seven bollards, of chamfered-reeded type and cannon-type, are designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Well-surviving early C19 examples of street furniture for the purpose of traffic calming outside Bow Station;
* Their age, rarity and survival as a group, with embossed dates and local manufacturer's name.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q27087212

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Essex: Buildings of England Series (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Suffolk: West: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)
• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Leeds, Bradford and the North (Pevsner Architectural Guides / Buildings of England)
• 
  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)