What's this cute little rock? Someone's gravestone? Cairn? Milestone? Halloween decoration? Actually it's none of the above. It's an Ordnance Survey stone erected to mark the northeast corner of the military lands where British troops were stationed up until 1868. The Ordnance lands were passed over to the City of London in 1873 to become Victoria Park, the Fair Grounds, and rows upon rows of housing that today makes up part of London's residential core.
The stone stands in a little patch of shrubbery on the southwest corner of Waterloo Street and Kenneth Avenue, just on the edge of Piccadilly Park. An explanatory plaque nearby was erected by the City and London & Middlesex Historical Society Just one of those small but delightful historical items one comes across when prowling about the city on foot.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Survey Says...
What's this cute little rock? Someone's gravestone? Cairn? Milestone? Halloween decoration? Actually it's none of the above. It's an Ordnance Survey stone erected to mark the northeast corner of the military lands where British troops were stationed up until 1868. The Ordnance lands were passed over to the City of London in 1873 to become Victoria Park, the Fair Grounds, and rows upon rows of housing that today makes up part of London's residential core.
The stone stands in a little patch of shrubbery on the southwest corner of Waterloo Street and Kenneth Avenue, just on the edge of Piccadilly Park. An explanatory plaque nearby was erected by the City and London & Middlesex Historical Society Just one of those small but delightful historical items one comes across when prowling about the city on foot.
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There should still be one of these traditional survey tools in Victoria Park. One apparently lies underneath Central's school yard, and have never heard anything about the fourth, marking the northwest corner of the site.
ReplyDeleteApparently the Kenneth St. one was "saved" by a local surveyor, fearful its historical importance would not be recognized by the public, and someone at City Hall learned of this, got it back - so placement is not entirely accurate. This is one of the overlooked L&MHS plaquings, although it was the City which got it placed, and possibly paid for it.