NORTH DOWNS & BEYOND

For a number of years, I have trawled across the footpaths of the Uberpatch and come across these white posts. And for a number of years I have dismissed them, assuming that they are boundary markers of a parish council or administrative border. Recently curiosity has got the better of me... They are coal tax boundary markers. Coal imported into the City of London had been taxed since medieval times and, as it was originally all brought by sea to riverside wharfs, the collection of the duties was relatively easy. By the 19th century however, there was increasing trade by canal and rail, and various Acts of Parliament extended the catchment area to include these new modes of transport. In 1845 the boundary was set at a radius of 20 miles from the General Post Office , London . In 1851 an Act permitted the erection of boundary markers to indicate where this boundary lay; and about fifty markers were erected. In 1861 a further Act was passed, reducing the area to that of the Metropo...

I think it most when I am stationary, maybe sitting in a car at traffic lights, or pausing while walking a footpath that runs alongside a light industrial unit.  “What on earth has this place done to deserve this?” Looking at the acres of concrete, prefabricated buildings, sodium lights and metal gantries, I’m compelled to look beyond this man-made horror and imagine what lies beneath. What was once here? A field? A wood? I can now imagine someone walking across this very spot, flat cap, roll-up stuck in the corner of his mouth, on the way home after a day’s work. There is the row of cottages of which one he calls home. A mile from town, but still well served by a couple of pubs and several homesteads that sell fresh produce. The earth roads this way see little traffic, they’re more like tracks and see just a few horses each day, and certainly no wandering stranger. Our ‘ghost’ was born in the very same house that he is now walking to, he was christened in the church that we can st...

And now for the passerines - as per yesterday's post, all my own data... House Martin  LOSER Declining summer visitor, passage migrant This species is greatly reduced as a breeding bird. In the 1970s it was easy to find nests on houses in Sutton and flocks above suburbia in the height of the summer were to be expected. This is not the case now. Extreme dates: 3 April 2010 ( Holmethorpe ) - 22 October 1978 ( Beddington SF ). Spring passage can be small and brief (peak count of 350 at Holmethorpe on 3 May 2010), while that of autumn heavier and more protracted, as evidenced by 6,710 south on 21 September 2017 at Canons Farm, Banstead ; 2,185 south-west on 9 October 1999 at Holmethorpe ; 1,900 south-west on 25 September 2014 at Canons Farm, Banstead ; 600 on 12 September 1976 at Beddington SF ; 500 on 31 August 1976 at Beddington SF and 20 September 2017 at Holmethorpe . Tree Pipit  LOSER Summer visitor, passage migrant and former breeder. ...