Boundary Marker No. 26 - East Smithfield, London, UK - Public Land Survey Marks on Waymarking.com

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 (although not this one, which is of a modern design).

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 between numbers 3 and 4 in the sequence.

The plaque reads as follows:
“This plaque and line of paving mark the historic boundary of the Tower Liberty.
From the Middle Ages until the 19th century, this area immediately outside the walls of the Tower of London did not belong to the City of London or the County of Middlesex, but was governed directly by the Tower Constable on behalf of the Crown. He had control of taxation, law enforcement and military service within this boundary.
The Liberty boundary runs in an irregular arc around the Tower. Boundary markers with an arrow symbol representing the Board of Ordnance and the letters WD for the War Department still mark the boundary today”.

Marker No. 26 is a relatively modern placement following redevelopment in the area. It is a small, copper-coloured, metal plaque. Inscribed into the plaque is a triangle (pointing south, i.e. along the line of the boundary at this point), together with “E II R No. 26”. An earlier marker was affixed to a building which was part of St Katharine’s Dock, but it seems that the original marker was lost when the dock buildings were demolished in the 1970s. The replacement marker is set into the pavement.

Type of survey mark: Metal plaque. What indicators are near the mark to help people identify where it is located?: The marker is set into the pavement on the south side of East Smithfield at the junction with St Katharine's Way. What property is this mark defining?: Historically the marker at this location indicated the boundary between the Liberty of the Tower and the County of Middlesex. It now lies entirely within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

Visit Instructions:
Please submit a photo(s) taken by you of your visit to the location (non-copyrighted photos only). GPS photos are also accepted with the location in the background, and old vacation photos are accepted. If you are not able to provide a photo, then please describe your visit or give a story about the visit. If you have additional information about the survey mark which is not listed in the waymark description, please notify the waymark owner to have it added, and please post the information in your visit log.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log   12/27/2020 Master Mariner visited it