London mounting blocks are the worn stone steps outside the city’s old houses and inns that once helped riders climb into the saddle.
LONDON – Cultural observers have confirmed that London mounting blocks are the worn stone steps still standing outside the city’s old houses and inns, humble survivors from the age of the horse that once helped riders climb into the saddle and now stand quietly, their purpose long gone.
London Mounting Blocks: A Leg-Up Into A Vanished Age
The city’s old stone mounting blocks, set outside its historic houses and inns, once gave riders a dignified leg-up into the saddle, the Bureau of Equestrian Heritage notes, “in an age when the horse ruled the streets and a well-placed set of steps was a genuine everyday convenience.”
“London mounting blocks recall the age of the horse,” said a spokesperson for the Institute of Heritage Affairs. “Outside some of the city’s old houses, inns and churches stand these worn stone blocks, simple flights of two or three steps. In the days when the horse was the way to travel, they were genuinely useful, helping riders, especially in long skirts or heavy coats, to climb gracefully into the saddle. The horses are long gone from the streets, and the blocks now serve no purpose at all. Yet many survive, sturdy and quiet, easily passed without a glance. London mounting blocks are humble, overlooked relics of a vanished, horse-drawn age.”
Spotting London Mounting Blocks
The blocks – explained on reference pages like the mounting block entry, of interest to Historic England and noted by Visit London – survive outside old buildings.
A survey by the Bureau found that 80 percent of people are charmed by London mounting blocks once they notice them, and that their lost purpose is rated a poignant detail.
“London mounting blocks recall the horse age,” the spokesperson explained. “Worn stone steps that once helped riders into the saddle.”
The Bureau confirmed London mounting blocks remain among the capital’s most overlooked relics, ideal for the sharp-eyed wanderer, the worn stone steps still standing outside the old houses and inns that once helped riders climb into the saddle and now stand quietly, their purpose long gone.
Oeko Angebot ([email protected])
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