Milestone

CHURCHILL AND BLAKEDOWN

1805/1/10033 BIRMINGHAM ROAD 23-FEB-06 Blakedown (Southeast side) Milestone

II Milestone. C18 with C19 alteration. The milestone is made of sandstone with a later cast iron plate refacing it. It takes the form of a rectangular slab with a tooled surface and rounded top. A later early C19 rectangular cast iron plate with a raised rim and lettering in relief is attached to one face. This reads `TO BIRM 14 MILES'. It is believed to be one of two remaining milestones of this set, the other being in Edgbaston, Birmingham. The stone is near its original position on a grass verge, having been moved when the road, now the A456, was straightened in c1930. HISTORY: The Birmingham to Blakedown turnpike road was made after a 1752 Act of Parliament for repairing the roads in the counties of Worcester, Stafford, Salop and Warwick and trustees were appointed for the road leading from Blakedown to Birmingham in 1753. In 1807 the milestones were ordered to be repaired which involved fitting them with cast iron plates inscribed with the distance from Birmingham.