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11 December 2008

More bootscrapers of central London

Well, I thought I'd seen more or less every kind of boot scraper there could be, but walking through Temple, St. James' and Belgravia during the past week I have found lots more really good ones. Some of the Temple ones, shown here in the top two rows, are so simple and understated; almost like they are only half there as they disappear into walls. Along Whitehall I found a pair either side of the doorway to The Parliamentary Counsel that, unusually, face the street rather than each other. But then again, if they were perpendicular to the wall then people would trip over them. There must have been H&S reps even in those days! I am particularly fond (fond? bootscraperspotteritis setting in here) of the curved corner versions, and the really simple straight ones like the dark one on the bottom row, which can be found just off Belgrave Square.

5 comments:

  1. Jane, I love the bootscrapers. I guess the modern alternative are those bristly hedgehogs that you buy in garden centres - not quite the same. What I don't understand is why you never see a pile of mud, chewing gum and dog shit under the bootscrapers? Are there bootscraper cleaners out there, who clean them in the dead of night? Toby x

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  2. Thanks Toby,
    How amusing... I think you will find it's just because no-one uses them any more; in fact most people don't even realise what they are in the first place. What you do find underneath them, especially outside houses that have been turned into offices, are cigarette butts that have escaped a broom as I am often to be found removing the offending articles prior to clicking the shutter, though some do get through the net.

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  3. I just came across this in "The Mill on the Floss" :" Mrs. Pullet’s front-door mats were by no means intended to wipe shoes on; the very scraper had a deputy to do its dirty work."

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  4. Great collection here.

    Really enjoy reading your blog. Extraordinarily interesting and eclectic range of photographs too.

    Birmingham Phil.

    ReplyDelete

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Thanks, Jane