This boundary post on Vesta Road, Telegraph Hill marks the historic border between Kent and Surrey. In the long years since county boundaries have been withdrawn, the post has developed a tired lean. Nonetheless, its message is still clear even if redundant.
Look more closely, and there's a smaller, stumpier boundary marker at its foot. The shorter sign reads 'Haberdashers' Company' and marks the edge of the guild's estates. The City of London Livery Company developed the area in the late nineteenth century, building houses "of a superior class" from here down to New Cross Road. Their presence remains visible locally, not only in the form of bollards but also in the Haberdashers' Aske's Schools.
3 comments:
Have you come across an online map showing where the Kent/Surrey border ran? I would like to be able to plot which local streets were in which. Clearly Deptford was in Kent, Peckham was in Surrey, but New Cross was on the border - just not sure where the line was.
This one - http://mapco.net/wyld1872/wyld1872.htm - from 1872 shows the county boundaries. About the latest that shows it clearly before the LCC was formed.
A nice observation. I think these old signs and boundary markers are lovely reminders of the past that we can enjoy today, especially when someone, such as yourself, explains their significance.
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