In the late 19th century Swanage was a major exporter of locally-quarried stone to the rest of the UK. Boats would take stone to London for building work and paving. The boats were designed for carrying heavy loads, and were unstable without them. So on the return trip the owners would fill up with unwanted heavy materials from London, bollards being a common example. (Even then London's roads were congested with horse-drawn traffic, and there was much widening and other road works going on). Swanage was therefore the recipient of many bollards, dozens of which can still be seen around the town. Other "exports" from London include the facade of the Town Hall (which you visited earlier to find a benchmark), and the clock tower that once stood at the end of London Bridge, but is now by the sea front near the RNLI lifeboat station.