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Old July 26th 08, 04:04 PM posted to uk.rec.waterways,uk.transport.london
Tony Haynes Tony Haynes is offline
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First recorded activity at LondonBanter: Jul 2008
Posts: 2
Default Post Office Alley in Chiswick, London

On Jul 26, 4:25*pm, "John Rowland"
wrote:
In Thames Rd aka Strand On The Green, just west of the railway bridge is an
alley called Post Office Alley which contains a small old floodgate at the
river end. Set into one wall of this alleyway is a line of solid metal knobs
which are shaped like carpentry dovetails. The line is level (i.e. level
with a spirit level rather than level with the rather sloping ground). There
is nothing in the other side of the alley. I presume they serve some flood
defence purpose but I can't figure it out. Any clues?


How big are they? Which way round are they? Dovetail joints are
corner joints, so it would imply that some kind of wooden or metal
board hung vertically from these if the dovetails are in line. Some
kind of wall protection? Was this area once used for loading/unloading
of barges?

Tone