Milepost West Of Gelly Copse Cottage (Ngr Sx1909764205)

DOBWALLS AND TREWIDLAND

514/0/10024 A390 20-NOV-08 (North side) Milepost west of Gelly Copse Cottage ( NGR SX1909764205)

II Cast iron milepost of c.1820, rectangular post with rounded head. The relief lettering, in Roman capitals, is cast in an arc around the distance. The west face reads LISKEARD 4 ½, the east face reads LOSTWITHIEL 7. The milepost is sited on the north side of the road against a Cornish hedge. It was originally painted white with the lettering picked out in black.

HISTORY: The milepost is one of a series erected by the Liskeard Turnpike Trust which was established by an Act of Parliament in 1769. Between 1823 and 1826 the trust set about improving its route from Liskeard to Plymouth and erected a number of cast iron posts both east and west of Liskeard, this example is one of a series of three to the west of Liskeard. The Liskeard Turnpike Trust was the only one in the county to use cast iron mileposts, and only on this part of its east-west route.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION DECISION: The milepost approximately 50 meters west of Gelly Copse cottage is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

• This is an unusual survival of a cast iron milepost in a county where the majority of way markers were fashioned from granite. It is one of a number of cast iron mileposts erected by the Liskeard Turnpike Trust in the 1820s, the only trust to use this material for this purpose. * It stands in its original location, and is intact. * It is a good example of an early C19 milepost, illustrating the standardisation of roads and the introduction of turnpikes to facilitate the transport needs of the increasingly industrial landscape of C19 Cornwall. SX1910164205