Guidestone Approx 46M North-West Of Longcross

LANSALLOS

1043/0/10004 (Northeast side) 11-NOV-10 Guidestone approx 46m north-west of Lo ngcross

II DESCRIPTION: Guidestone, erected in the early C18, removed in 1940 and re-erected in 2008. The granite stone is square on plan, has a flat-top, chamfered corners and stands 1.1 metres high by 0.25 metres wide. It is painted white with black letters, the northern face is inscribed with an abbreviated form of Liskeard which reads LISK with a lower case "d" directly above the "K". The eastern face is inscribed LooE whilst the western face is inscribed with an abbreviated form of Lerryn which reads LeRy. On the southern face the inscription for Lansallos has been separated in two parts and reads LAnsa / llos. Ordnance Survey benchmarks have been carved on the lower parts of the south and east faces.

HISTORY: In 1697, under an Act of Parliament, Justices in Highway Sessions were authorised to require the Surveyors of Highways to set up direction stones or posts at cross highways. The guidestone at the Longcross Crossroads forms part of a resulting group of early C18 guidestones at road junctions in the area south of Liskeard, on the road between Looe and Fowey. The guidestones were erected along a section of the London to Penzance post road, marking a route across the river Fowey that avoided the use of the ferry. In 1863, under the Act for the Better Management of Highways in England (1862), the majority of Highway Boards in Cornwall replaced their old granite stones with more visible wooden fingerposts. However, the Trecan Gate Highway Board, who was responsible for the maintenance of the roads in Lansallos civil parish, left their stones in place. On 30 May 1940 the Government ordered the defacing or removal of all direction posts, which might aid an invading army. The stone at Longcross was subsequently removed and re-erected on the road from Polperro to Raphael, a measure that was intended to prevent an invading army from navigating its way through the English countryside. In January 2008 the guidestone was returned to the crossroads and re-erected, for safety reasons, on north-east side of the junction.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: The guidestone at the Longcross Crossroads, approx 46m north-west of the house called Longcross is designated at Grade II, for the following principal reasons: * Architectural interest: it is a good example of an early C18 guidestone. * Historic interest: it acts as a witness to the impact of world events on our national story * Group value: it has strong group value with the eighteen surviving guidestones along the road between Looe and Fowey.