Milestone on A5
Location/Address
None recorded
Type
Description
18th or 19th Century milestone on A5 at Great Brickhill, may be missing
Probable eighteenth or nineteenth century milestone beside A5 Watling Street Great Brickhill may be missing as not on current OS and not recorded by more recent surveys. Confirmed by handwritten notes on microfiched OSD surveyors drawings (1814) and OS 1" County map (1835) from Bucks County Museum now in Centre for Bucks Studies. Museum Number 20 sheet XX on in inscription noted 1814 is London 41 Brickhill 2. 1835 in red -MS does not tally - 44. Mapped on All Historic Layers where bench mark recorded. In same notes under A in red box. Milestones. 1744 Trustees order payment for setting up milestones on the road. T.M. underlined in red. 1788 Jefferys ( nos 42 - 52 ). 1825 Bryant ( nos 42 - 52 ). 1885 O.S.6" - positions marked + mileages written in. 1966 " On the road from Dunstable to Old Stratford (A5) can be found examples of cast iron plates on stones ( Illustration F ). Sometimes plates were used to replace old and worn inscriptions altough there is no evidence of these been the case in these stones. The combination of iron and stone made use of the better properties of both materials - stone standing up well to impact and iron lettering resisting the weather and remaining legible longer than small incised letters in very exposed positions." G. Folder 5. underlined in red. Ref. underlined in red: Bucks Life ( Nov 1966) R.I.E. Haynes. For further information see also : - underlined in red. Milestones of Watling Street - Pat Mortimer - Country Life 6. 4. 1989. Buckinghamshire Milestones - R.I.E. Haynes - Bucks Life Nov 1966. Attached to C7 and L1 BCC Engineers Dept (Maintainance Division) Mr Hoxley and Highways Superintendant Mr Churchwood promised to look at stones ,report missing plates to police and try to arrange for replacements to be made. Also said that other plates had been stolen on A5 and A422 towards N.Pagnell. AHB 31 March ' 89.
[ Handwritten notes consulted ] (B1).
According to Peter Gullands extensive study of TheToll Roads of Buckinghamshire 1706-1881 this on the The Hockliffe and Stratford Turnpike Road 1706 p,63. The first governedfinanced road improvement so early turnpiked because of important route to Holyhead. Orinal milemarkers may be represented by a record on a 1731 estate map in Sheep Lane Potsgrove. ? Early set ofmilemarkers after 1744 the tust surveyed its road in 1745 from 38 miles to London northwest of Hockliffe to 52 miles south eastren edge Stony Stratford. In 1830 to 1840some were replaced by a standard design introduced by Telford for the whole Holyhesd road. Stone slabs rectangular cross section gable top and iron plate wih raised capital lettering on front faces. Plates all missing except in Milton Keynes relaced by alloy; stones turned round. One in Stony Straford missing but along the whole route 11 still in place 5 Telford original, 5 with tops dating frm 1745 and one concrete replacement. This is part of a system of milemarkers in Bucks there were 230 in records 116 survive. During WW2 some were removed for security and not put back or replaced wrongly. (B2).
Statement of Significance
Asset type
18th or 19th Century milestone on A5 at Great Brickhill, may be missing
Date Listed
n/a