Milestone Approx 16M East Of The Weighbridge

GRAMPOUND WITH CREED

1530/0/10010 A390 11-NOV-10 (North side) Milestone approx 16m east of the weigh bridge

GV II DESCRIPTION: The milestone dates from 1754; it was moved to its present location in 1828. The milestone is stone, painted white. It is rectangular in plan, and stands approximately 0.65m high, with a cambered head. It is inscribed with the letters FROM / TRURO / 8 / MILES, which are picked out in black paint; the 's' in 'miles' falls away from the line of the text. There is a benchmark and a pin on the top of the milestone.

HISTORY: From the mid-C18 onwards, turnpike trusts were encouraged to provide markers such as milestones and mileposts on the stretches of roads they operated. The Truro Turnpike Trust was established by Act of Parliament in 1754, the first Turnpike Trust in Cornwall, and this milestone stands on the former turnpike road from Truro to Probus and Grampound; it dates from 1754. In 1828, a new road was planned, taking a less steep route out of Truro and up the Ladock valley to Penhale near Fraddon, where it would link with the Bodmin Trust's road and thence to London. This new road had distinctive triangular milestones with cast-iron plates, replacing the earlier style demonstrated by the example under consideration. When in 1828 the line of the road was moved to ease the gradient out of Grampound, rather than erecting milestones in the new design, the four milestones on this stretch were moved from the line of the original road to their equivalent locations on the new road; the four stones in this run all survive in their 1828 locations. The milestone is marked on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1880.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: The milestone 16m east of the weighbridge on the A390 at Grampound is designated at Grade II, for the following principal reasons: * Intactness: It is an intact milestone dating from 1754, which remains intact. * Historic interest: it was, unusually, moved to its current location in 1828 when the turnpike road was re-routed * Historic Interest: it testifies to the great wave of C18 road improvement, undertaken by Turnpike Trusts * Group value: with the other three similar stones on the re-routed section of the Truro to Grampound road