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| Wooden detail on the road. |
"London's streets are paved with gold." - Uh, no they are not.
London's streets have never been paved with gold, obviously. They have, however, been paved in concrete, tarmac, cobbles, cork and wooden blocks, throughout the years. And, depending on the area of the city, a different type of wood was used: Australian Jarrah a hardwood was used in the 'posh' areas, while Swedish a yellow deal softwood was used on the main thoroughfares.
Although the idea of using wood had been around for years, it wasn't until 1839 that wooden blocks were first trialled on the streets of London, outside the Old Bailey.
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| Chequer Street. |
Then, in 1843, a meeting was brought to discuss the discontinuation of the use of wood in favour of granite cobbles (setts). Wood had proved to be problematic and it was found that the blocks would need to be covered in pitch and sanded. Also, accidents were occurring where roads went from one type of surface to another. The wooden blocks becoming slippery in wet weather.
