Summary
Milepost, probably mid-C19, erected by the Cow-Causey & Buckton Burn Turnpike Trust.
Description
Milepost, probably mid-C19, erected by the Cow-Causey & Buckton Burn Turnpike Trust.
The milepost is situated on the east side of what is now a B road. The cast-iron milepost has a triangular plan with an open back, and stands about 0.7m high. It is painted white with black figures. The raised legend reads: N (Newcastle) 6 / M (Morpeth); the detachable plate that formerly bore the mileage 8 ¾ is missing.
History
This is one of a series of mileposts erected in the mid-C19 on the Great North Road by the Cow-Causey & Buckton Burn Turnpike Trust. The Great North Road was the principal route between London and Edinburgh and the Cow-Causey & Buckton Burn Turnpike Trust, established in 1747, was the earliest Turnpike Trust to be established in Northumberland. The milepost is not depicted on the first edition Ordnance Survey map published in 1858, but is present on the second edition map published in 1897. On the latter its position is shown slightly to the south of its present location, to which historic mapping shows it was moved between 1961 and 1969. Since it was moved, the milestone has lost the detachable metal plate bearing the figures 8 3/4, denoting the miles from Morpeth. Thirteen similar examples of mileposts along the former Great North Road between Newcastle and Berwick-upon-Tweed have been listed at Grade II.
Reasons for Listing
The milepost on the former Great North Road, Wideopen of mid-C19 date, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* Despite the loss of one of the distance plates, the milepost survives close to its original position and has a legible inscription.
Historic interest:
* As testament to the continued wave of road improvement throughout the C19, following the widespread C18 development of turnpike roads.
Group value:
* It forms part of a significant, extended group with 13 other listed milestone along this significant national route.
External Links
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
Liverpool: Pevsner City Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
The Listed Buildings and Other Principal Structures at the Royal Gunpowder Mills Waltham Abbey
Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Hampshire: Winchester and the North (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Yorkshire West Riding: Sheffield and the South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Cambridgeshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)