Description

PROBUS

1146/0/10018 B3275
25-JAN-11 Milestone immediately in front of cott
age wall at top of Tresowgar Lane

GV II
A granite guidestone dating from 1830, standing in front of a cottage wall on the pavement, on the east side of the road.

EXTERIOR:
The stone is triangular in plan with a flat top and chamfered edges. It stands at 0.85m high and is 0.55m wide. There are cast iron plates on either front, road-facing side, set flush with the dressed stone. The left is inscribed `TRURO 5 FALMOUTH 15 ½, the right `BODMIN 19 ¼ LONDON 245. The type faces of the two plates are different. The stone and the plates are painted white, with the lettering in black. There is a benchmark carved into the left face beneath the plate.

HISTORY:
In 1754, the first Cornish turnpike was established. The next 10 years saw the establishment of several new Turnpike Trusts in the county, resulting in the construction of new roads and erection of milestones. Under the renewal of the General Turnpike Act in 1828 new roads were commissioned in Cornwall, in order to provide a 'modern' passage from Falmouth to London, with good gradients and surfaces for horse-drawn traffic. The milestone that is the subject of this assessment is one of a series of twelve, eleven of which are extant, beginning in Truro and heading north-east to Fraddon.

In 1835 a new route was constructed which avoided a steep hill, and hence nullified some of the distances on the stones. There are uniform discrepancies in distance on this, and the other milestones in the series, on the first edition of the Ordnance Survey map in 1880. The second edition of 1907 shows the correct distances, suggesting the milestones were given new mileage plates sometime between these dates, probably in 1889 when the County Council took on the maintenance of the road.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION:
The milestone immediately in front of cottage wall at top of Tresowgar Lane is designated at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:
* Intactness: it is a good example of an early C19 milestone
* Historic interest: it illustrates the development of the road network in Cornwall and further afield
* Group value: it has strong group value with the other ten surviving milestones along the road between Truro and Fraddon

Reasons for Listing

The milestone immediately in front of cottage wall at top of Tresowgar Lane is designated at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:
* Intactness: it is a good example of an early C19 milestone
* Historic interest: it illustrates the development of the road network in Cornwall and further afield
* Group value: it has strong group value with the other ten surviving milestones along the road between Truro and Fraddon

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26675212

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Harrow on the Hill: A photographic portrayal of listed buildings and structures (Historic Buildings Picture Guides)
• 
  Gloucestershire 1: The Cotswolds: Cotswolds Pt. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Herefordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of History Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Drawing up a Local Listed Building Consent Order: Historic England Advice Note 6