The History And Uses Of Bollards From AD203 To 2014
A bollard is simply a short post in an upright position. In the past, these were generally used to moor ships. Today, they have a multitude of functions. Another name for a bollard is a "bole" or a "boulard" (from the French). One of the earliest known bollards is made of white marble and is placed at the northwest end of the Roman Forum. It is called the Arch of Septimius Severus and was erected in AD 203 in commemoration of one of his military victories. Beyond the arch itself are located five boulards, placed there to protect the arch from vehicle damage. It is not clear when they were placed there. In modern times, a bollard is likely to be placed in front of an expensive shop to dissuade wannabe ram-raiders or to discourage suicide bombers from driving into public buildings.
A dragon's tooth is a special kind of bollard. Dragon's teeth are pyramidal square posts made from reinforced concrete. They were used extensively during the Second World War for the purpose of halting the movement of enemy tanks and directing them into "killing zones." The Siegfried Line used a lot of dragon's teeth. This was a defense system that was erected directly opposite the French Maginot Line in the 1930s.
Boll-Art at Winchester Cathedral shows a whimsical example of boles used both decoratively and functionally. Designed to protect pedestrians from nearby vehicles, the posts have been painted with various themes. Mona Lisa is accompanied by works adapted from Matisse, Lautrec, Mondrian, Klimt and others.
Another type of bollard is called a bell. Sitting at the crossroads of sidewalks, they look like they have been dropped there to trip the unwary pedestrian. This is not the case. They are there actually to protect the pedestrian from being run over by a careless trucker driver.
Often, you will see the posts lit up from the inside to help motorists avoid jumping curbs at night. One London artist took it upon herself to decorate one on her street with delightful flowers and butterflies drawn in marker pen. Apparently, in her home town of Bribane, Australia, the city council positively encourages people to decorate signal boxes in this manner.
Probably one of the most elaborate examples of boll-art is in London, located on Duke Square in the Sloane Street area of SW1. A boy is shown leap-frogging over a bollard. Nearby, there is a little girl sitting on top of a concrete plinth. Engraved on the plinth is the title of the piece, "The Two Pupils, " and a short description of how they came to be there.
There is something about the mooring bollard with a perpendicular bar that seems to attract tourists with cameras. The purpose of the bar is to enable sailors to wind ropes around in a figure eight pattern when mooring a boat or a ship. Recent examples may be found in Marina of Izola, Lyme Regis and in the borough of Ghent in the principality of Wales.
The bollard is an inescapable part of urban life, at least in the United Kingdom. London is full of 'em. We trip over them. We back into them. We curse them and sometimes, we paint them. We wouldn't want to be without them. In a world with no boulards, more pedestrians would be struck by vehicles, cars would go the wrong way down one-way streets and sailors would not be able to make figure eight's with their ropes. Boles. Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. Long live the bollard!
A dragon's tooth is a special kind of bollard. Dragon's teeth are pyramidal square posts made from reinforced concrete. They were used extensively during the Second World War for the purpose of halting the movement of enemy tanks and directing them into "killing zones." The Siegfried Line used a lot of dragon's teeth. This was a defense system that was erected directly opposite the French Maginot Line in the 1930s.
Boll-Art at Winchester Cathedral shows a whimsical example of boles used both decoratively and functionally. Designed to protect pedestrians from nearby vehicles, the posts have been painted with various themes. Mona Lisa is accompanied by works adapted from Matisse, Lautrec, Mondrian, Klimt and others.
Another type of bollard is called a bell. Sitting at the crossroads of sidewalks, they look like they have been dropped there to trip the unwary pedestrian. This is not the case. They are there actually to protect the pedestrian from being run over by a careless trucker driver.
Often, you will see the posts lit up from the inside to help motorists avoid jumping curbs at night. One London artist took it upon herself to decorate one on her street with delightful flowers and butterflies drawn in marker pen. Apparently, in her home town of Bribane, Australia, the city council positively encourages people to decorate signal boxes in this manner.
Probably one of the most elaborate examples of boll-art is in London, located on Duke Square in the Sloane Street area of SW1. A boy is shown leap-frogging over a bollard. Nearby, there is a little girl sitting on top of a concrete plinth. Engraved on the plinth is the title of the piece, "The Two Pupils, " and a short description of how they came to be there.
There is something about the mooring bollard with a perpendicular bar that seems to attract tourists with cameras. The purpose of the bar is to enable sailors to wind ropes around in a figure eight pattern when mooring a boat or a ship. Recent examples may be found in Marina of Izola, Lyme Regis and in the borough of Ghent in the principality of Wales.
The bollard is an inescapable part of urban life, at least in the United Kingdom. London is full of 'em. We trip over them. We back into them. We curse them and sometimes, we paint them. We wouldn't want to be without them. In a world with no boulards, more pedestrians would be struck by vehicles, cars would go the wrong way down one-way streets and sailors would not be able to make figure eight's with their ropes. Boles. Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. Long live the bollard!
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