SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

Does anyone remember the mysterious chalk symbols regularly found on pavements and outside houses?I have a vague memory that they were left by hawkers and other door to door salesmen. I seem also to recall that, to those that understood the symbols, they indicated potential customers, nightmare customers etc to other hawkers?

Yes i remember them Arrows and such if i recall correct?

Travellers (sic) use these for burglaries.

Our lass used to deliver leaflets in the 80's and they had to put there mark with an arrow at the end of the streets they had delivered too in order for the boss to check up on them.They each had different marks that they made like circles,triangle's and half moons and such all in different colour chalk so as to prove they had been.

Chrism wrote: Travellers (sic) use these for burglaries. Thanks - if I see a cross chalked on the path outside our house, I'll know to add a circle to it straight away

Isn't that an urban legend, about the 'travellers' symbols?There's a thread on the subject over at the fortean times board, but not much point my linking to it as i think you need a login to view there these days.

Not so much an urban legend. Tramps did use signs in chalk,however this was back in the 1930's! they used to be shown regularly in childrens comics as well when I was a kid in the 1960's.I have heard anecdotal evidence that some gangs use their own signs but this seems to be in the US rather than over here.mThe type of criminals I deal with on a regular basis are not the type to share their good fortune with others!    

wifi hotspots are sometimes identified in this way too