Radford

I think you are spot on, Helen. I can think of at least four black pads and there are probably several more. The one near The Slough was also called The Burning Path because of the sulphurous smoke rising from smouldering slag. Many of the black pads had blue enamel signs warning cyclists to dismount at the risk of a forty shillings fine.

Yes, I can imagine something like the Chain Gardens, that could easily have been called a black pad.