2-860-952 - Historic England Archive/Heritage Images

Lee Road, Blackheath Park, Greenwich, Greater London Authority, 1930. An elevator depositing debris into a cart drawn by a horse, during construction work on Lee Road, with workers from the Improved Wood Pavement Company in the background. The caption on this slide reads: "The I.W.P. Co. Ltd, Blackfriars House, New Bridge Street, E.C.4. Elevator at work. Lee Road, Lewisham." The Improved Wood Pavement Company Ltd was registered in 1872, having previously operated as the London Wood Paving Company. The use of wood to pave London streets had began in around the 1840s; new systems were introduced in the 1870s. A major advantage of wooden paving was that it produced less noise under horse drawn transport than the alternatives of granite or macadam, but was slippery when wet.