Plaque

Guilders Stone

Guilders Stone - 2 locations Guilders Stone
Inscription

This Guilders Stone was originally the key stone of the old bridge, built 1815, removed 1876.

The phrase "Guilders Stone" has not been explained, other than a suggestion that it originally read "Builders Stone" and that a 1990s renovation might have caused the error. It's easily in living memory - surely someone knows more. We'd also like to know the significance of the central white stone, the spoked wheel and the crest.

Site: Guilders Stone - 2 locations (2 memorials)

NW1, Canal tow path, Camden High Street

Having already published this stone in 2016 we were delighted to spot it in an old movie, in a slightly different position.

The 1961 CFF film "The Monster of Highgate Ponds" (a catnip title to a London cinephile) shows the plaque (at c.50 minutes) in its previous location. Whereas now the path from the canal up to road level runs to the west, and then back to the road, via a 2-part accessible ramp, it used to run up a single ramp beside the road so there was just a wall and railings between the path and the road. This plaque used to be on that wall. When the double ramp was introduced the plaque was rescued and re-erected on the wall between the 2 ramps.We captured the frame and you can see that the plaque already has the explanatory text referring to its previous move in 1876.

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Guilders Stone

Subjects commemorated i

Hampstead Road Bridge over Grand Union Canal

The Listing for the current bridge tells us it is a "Public road bridge over ...

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This section lists the other memorials at the same location as the memorial on this page:
Guilders Stone

Also at this site i

Guilders Stone - 1961

Guilders Stone - 1961

We chose the frame in the film that shows the plaque (immediately in front of...

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Nearby Memorials

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The IWM explains that the previous memorial was lost in the Blitz of WW2. We can find no other references to the previous memorial - we'd...

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Reading top down the plaques are: Holstein, Harvey, "Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund".

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Newgate

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