"Argyle Passage links the busy Tottenham High Road with Argyle Road behind and has always been a pedestrian route, dating back to when this area of countryside was first transformed into the urban sprawl we know today. Although Tottenham remained rural until the 19th century, the High Road itself is ancient - a descendant of the Roman Ermine Street, later diverted slightly to avoid the flood-prone Moselle Brook."
"The passage itself is fairly unremarkable - save for one small detail: its two plain bollards, cast by B.C. Ballard & Co of Holborn. The company's name appears frequently in local authority contracts, suggesting they specialised in tubular street furniture from lamp posts to sewer pipes. In a curious aside, the firm applied for a patent for ice skates in 1871 - an unexpected detour from drains and bollards into winter sport."
Argyle Passage connects Tottenham High Road with Argyle Road and has always been a pedestrian route dating back to the area's urbanisation. Tottenham remained rural until the 19th century, though the High Road descends from Roman Ermine Street and was slightly diverted to avoid Moselle Brook. Rapid development occurred in the 1800s after the Great Eastern Railway arrived, drawing lower-paid clerks and office workers. The High Road end features Victorian buildings such as Argyle House (dated 1881) and a classically styled white-rendered building replacing a villa. The passage contains two plain cast bollards by B.C. Ballard & Co, a firm known for tubular street furniture and an 1871 patent application for ice skates.
Read at ianVisits
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]