History
The posts were erected under the London Coal and Wine Duties
Continuance Act, 1861, but some were originally set up under
earlier nineteenth century Acts. The duties whose area of
application they marked out originated in the seventeenth century
and earlier.The City of London had exercised the right of 'metage'
(measuring) of coal and other commodities since mediaeval times and
these rights were confirmed by two Charters of King James I. The
City was later permitted to set up "a Boundary Stone, or some other
permanent Mark" where any turnpike road, public highway, railway or
canal entered the District.
The surviving boundary marks define the London district after it
was changed in 1861. Most of the posts were erected by the sides of
roads, but very little coal actually came into London by road or
canal. Until this period coal had been brought into London by sea
and it was only later in the nineteenth century that the railways
became the most important means of transporting coal.
Types of coal tax post
A post or other mark can normally be identified by the raised
shield from the City of London's coat of arms, raised lettering
referring to the Act under which it was set up and sometimes, an
amending plate. There are five types of mark surviving, all more or
less on the 1861 boundary.
- Granite obelisks, approximately 1.2 metres high, erected on the
banks of canals and rivers.
- Cast-iron bollards about 1.2 metres high, erected after the
1861 Act. These are in the majority and are normally to be found by
the side of roads, but may also be found in open countryside by
tracks and on boundary lines.
- Cast-iron boxes or plates, about 230 mm square, built into
parapets of bridges.
- Cast-iron or stone obelisks, just under 4.5 metres high, by the
side of railways prior to the 1861 Act.
- Cast-iron obelisks, about 1.5 metres high, erected on
railways.
Of the original 250-260 posts about 200 have survived, including
some which have been moved to new positions. Only a few of the
posts are on land owned by the City of London, in areas such as
Epping Forest and the commons in Kent and Surrey. Many of the posts
are listed buildings of special architectural or historic interest
and some are within conservation areas.
List of surviving coal tax posts
A full list of existing coal postis available to download in PDF
format below. The list is arranged topographically, following the
boundary anticlockwise from Dagenham to Crayford Ness. It contains
some 219 boundary marks, including some which have been moved to
new positions and some which survive only in a damaged or
fragmentary form. Posts are only noted as having been moved where
they have been moved a significant distance and where it is certain
that they have been moved. Many other posts, especially those by
main roads, have probably been moved by a few feet or so.
Download the full list of existing coal posts (24kb)
(This list is taken from the book referred to below.)
Almost all the posts in the list can be visited, except numbers
73, 81, 219 and 165 (which is inaccessible except by rail).
However, the list is currently being updated for the first time
since 1972, so it is possible that more posts may now be
missing.
Further information
The Coal Duties of the City of London and their Boundary
Marks is a report prepared by Mr Martin Nail in
1972. Copies are held by the Guildhall Library and London
Metropolitan Archives and it is also available in many public and
academic libraries in Greater London and surrounding
areas. Tel 020 7332 1251.