Boundary Marker No. 03 - Three Quays Walk, Tower Hill, London, UK
Posted by: 
OrientGeo
N 51° 30.497 W 000° 04.745
30U E 702692 N 5710395
Number 3 in a series of 22 surviving markers showing the boundary of the one-time Tower Liberty.
Waymark Code: WM13H8H
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 12/16/2020
Views: 5
The Tower Liberty boundary markers were set up at various dates from 1868 onward and it is said that 22 still survive in one form or another. The ‘Liberty’ was land that was outside the jurisdiction of either the City of London, to the north and west, or the County of Middlesex, to the east. Initially the boundary was formed by the walls of the castle itself, but later the boundary was extended a short distance into the surrounding area to give a buffer zone for security purposes. The boundary was surveyed in 1525 and again in 1597.
In time the Tower of London became principally a military site and boundary marking became the responsibility of the War Department - hence the initials ‘WD’ that appear on the majority of surviving boundary markers, some of which probably survive from the boundary marking exercise of 1868 (but not this one, which is a modern replacement).
The Liberty was finally abolished in 1894 and the land now forms part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets (i.e. it lies outside of the City of London). A Beating of the Bounds ceremony does still take place and a modern pub beside the boundary is named the Liberty Bounds. An explanatory plaque giving information about the markers is placed by Marker No. 4.
Marker No. 3 was described in 1967 as being made of stone, whilst as recently as 2010 Historic England listed marker No. 3 as being a painted iron post with a rounded top inscribed ‘WD No. 3’ at the base of a wall marking the perimeter of Three Quays House. Three Quays House is now demolished and the site redeveloped. The former perimeter wall now exists as a broad line on the pavement. Set into this at the appropriate place for Marker No. 3, at the point where the boundary changes to an east/west alignment, is a metal plate inscribed ‘WD’, with an arrow pointing inwards towards the former Liberty.
Type of survey mark: Ward Boundary Marker
What indicators are near the mark to help people identify where it is located?:
This marker stands immediately outside Paul's Cafe.
What property is this mark defining?:
The boundary between the Liberty of the Tower and the City of London.
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