Who invented road bollards?

Road bollards as we know them today actually come from cannons captured during the Napoleonic war. Apparently, cannons were stuck in the ground with a cannonball on the top. And the design has remained ever since.

Nevertheless, if you want a different design for your street bollard, we at Sino Concept customize bollards to your wishes. To discover our range of products, feel free to check our Metal bollards.

Metal street bollards with a ball top

ARMAMENT MANUFACTURERS: the originators of road bollards

 In the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, the British government scrapped cannons as a result of political lobbying by the armament industry.

History says that armament manufacturers were worried that the British government would reuse the cannons captured in the war for its own military purposes and hence harm the national armament manufacturers.

Pictures of ancient street bollards

In order to protect their business and their interests, the armament manufacturers appealed to the British government. Finally, they agreed to only close several companies as it is vital to national security that it has local operating armament manufacturers. Nevertheless, the Parliament agreed to scrap the French cannons.

CANNONS BECOME bollard posts

 The scrapped French cannons found their new use. Buried in the ground with a ball top they became the basis for the surface mounted bollards that we know nowadays.

Canons used as street bollards in Uk

Local authorities unceremoniously took over hundreds of post-war cannons and upgraded them to serve as street furniture.

These road bollards are a live monument two centuries old and are still decorating the streets of England’s capital.

Bollard design standards have significantly changed and new bollard types were easier to fit in with the changing city architecture. Occasionally, however, steel bollards still come in their inherited cannon shape.

For any special request, you can also contact us, and we can design your steel bollard with our team of designers.