Obelisk on GEML between Chadwell Heath & Romford?

[martin2345uk]

Anyone know what it is? It's not that big, it's next to the Down Electric line between these 2 stations, I am never going slow enough to see if there's writing on it...

 

[Ediswan]

Anyone know what it is? It's not that big, it's next to the Down Electric line between these 2 stations, I am never going slow enough to see if there's writing on it...

OpenStreetMap shows a 'Coal Duty Obelisk' https://www.openstreetmap.org/search?query=chadwell heath#map=19/51.56931/0.14835

Does it look like what is shown here ? Coal tax post

 

[martin2345uk]

It does indeed look like that! I've literally never heard of a Coal Duty Obelisk, thanks for the link!

 

[AM9]

It does indeed look like that! I've literally never heard of a Coal Duty Obelisk, thanks for the link!

Just looked it up. It was to mark the boundary of the London Coal Duty. That was introduced after the Great Fire of London to help rebuilding costs. A sort of UHEZ marker.

Ultra High Emission Zone? I'll get the scuttle filled.

 

[306024]

There's a picture of it in the book 'Chadwell Heath and the road to Romford market' with a 306 unit passing.

 

[Taunton]

There was an article, with photographs, of all of these in the Railway Magazine sometime back in the 1950s/60s (somebody must have the index). Apparently at the time the tax was in force there were a number of these in a ring around London when the railways were built, but even then the one by the GE Main was one of prominent ones remaining.

Bit ironic because there must have been little, if any, inward coal transported past Chadwell Heath.

Here's a Wikipedia article on them :

Coal-tax post - Wikipedia

 

[PeterC]

Bit ironic because there must have been little, if any, inward coal transported past Chadwell Heath.

Here's a Wikipedia article on them :

Coal-tax post - Wikipedia

Which raises the question, how many coal yards outside of the area had coal shipped duty paid through the London area? I am guessing that trains simply transiting London didn't get away with avoiding the tax.

And a secondary question, if coal delivered duty paid to Romford goods yard, one stop beyond the post, was delivered to a property inside the area was the duty payable again?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Interesting. What's the OS map reference of the marker post / obelisk in question?

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Just looked it up. It was to mark the boundary of the London Coal Duty. That was introduced after the Great Fire of London to help rebuilding costs. A sort of UHEZ marker.

Ultra High Emission Zone? I'll get the scuttle filled.

Very good about the scuttle

Presumably the railways were not bothered about their own coal consumption. Thoughts of a J39 or similar making illicit deliveries to station staff off a well filled tender..?

 

[Ediswan]

Interesting. What's the OS map reference of the marker post / obelisk in question?

OSM suggests the lat/lon is 51.56957/0.14837. You may be able to convert. Does not seem to be shown on old OS maps.

 

[Magicake]

OSM suggests the lat/lon is 51.56957/0.14837. You may be able to convert. Does not seem to be shown on old OS maps.

That lat/long gives grid reference TQ489878.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

That lat/long gives grid reference TQ489878.

So, just east of the Whalebone Lane overbridge and quite near to West Ham United's Chadwell Heath training ground?

 

[Railsigns]

As a listed building, it has its own page on the Historic England website:

OBELISK ON RAILWAY EMBANKMENT APPROXIMATELY 280 METRES EAST OF WHALEBONE BRIDGE, Non Civil Parish - 1064421 | Historic England

List entry 1064421. Grade II Listed Building: Obelisk On Railway Embankment Approximately 280 Metres East Of Whalebone Bridge. May include summary, reasons for designation and history.

historicengland.org.uk

 

[Ediswan]

I did a bit more digging. On current OS maps, as seen in Bing, the obelisk does appear to be shown as 'BS' (Boundary Stone).