City of London Boundary Dragons -- English Village, Lake Havasu City AZ
N 34° 28.384 W 114° 20.808
11S E 743682 N 3817805
Fierce dragons on plinths have marked London's Boundary since the 1840s. Today, four of these same dragons mark the boundary of the Little London English Village near the London Bridge in Lake Havasu AZ.
Waymark Code: WMMDM3
Location: Arizona, United States
Date Posted: 09/05/2014
Views: 7
For purposes of this waymark, all four dragons are the waymark. A photo of any one will do as proof of visit. We have chosen to consolidate all the dragon boundary markers here into one waymark because they are fairly close together.
The Little London English Village is a cute (but struggling) tourist area next to and under the north end of the 1831 London Bridge, which was famously relocated here to the AZ desert in 1971.
As you enter the village, you pass by two fierce dragon boundary markers. A plaque explains what they are and why there are here. It reads as follows:
"The boundary of the City of London, England, established in Roman times, is marked by a heraldic dragon at each entry by freeway. This dragon marks the boundary of the City of London Land in Lake Havasu City"
From Wikipedia: (
visit link)
"The dragon boundary marks are cast iron statues of dragons on metal or stone plinths that mark the boundaries of the City of London. The dragons are painted silver, with details of their wings and tongue picked out in red. The dragon stands on its two rear legs, with the right foreleg raised and the left foreleg holding a shield which bears the City of London's coat of arms, painted in red and white.
The design is based on two large dragon sculptures, 7 feet (210 cm) high, which were mounted above the entrance to the Coal Exchange on Lower Thames Street, designed by the City Architect, J. B. Bunning, and made by London founder, Dewer, in 1849. The dragons were preserved when the Coal Exchange was demolished in 1962-3. The two original statues were re-erected on 6 feet (180 cm) high plinths of Portland stone at the western boundary of the City, by Temple Gardens on Victoria Embankment, in October 1963.
The Corporation of London's Streets Committee selected the statues as the model for boundary markers for the city in 1964, in preference to the fiercer dragon by C. B. Birch at Temple Bar on Fleet Street..."