Guidepost at the junction of Cow Lane and Castle Mill Lane

Guidepost, late-C19, designed and cast by W H Smith and Co (Whitchurch) Ltd.

MATERIALS: cast iron

DESCRIPTION: the hollow cast-iron octagonal shaft has a lower vertical section that forms a plinth, with an upper tapered section rising off a plain torus base and capped by a simple moulded cornice. A triangular 'shield' moulding is situated on the northern facet of the shaft, below the cornice. A narrower round-section shaft rises above the cornice and supports three cast-iron direction fingers, with raised black-painted sans serif capital letters, on a white background. These read: RINGWAY / WILMSLOW; HALE / ALTRINGHAM; MOBBERLEY / ROTHERNE. The fingers have scalloped outer corners, an integral spandrel bracket, and paired cast shaft hoops secured by locking nuts. A secondary cast-iron finial in the form of the base of a pawn chess piece, with a circular plate that has raised letters which reads: ASHLEY PARISH COUNCIL, caps off the hollow shaft that supports the fingers.