Milestone Circa 260M Nw Of Pencalenick Lodge

Milestone circa 260m NW of Pencalenick Lodge, St Clement

This is a granite milestone dating to 1830, located on a wide verge on the south side of the A390.

The milestone is triangular in plan with a flat top and chamfered edges, standing approximately 76 centimetres high. Cast iron plates are set almost flush with the dressed stone on both road-facing sides. The left plate is inscribed 'TRURO 2 FALMOUTH 12 ½', while the right reads 'BODMIN 22 ¼ LONDON 248'. The two plates have different typefaces. Both the stone and plates are painted white with black lettering. A benchmark is carved into the left face beneath the plate.

This milestone was erected in 1830 as part of improvements to the turnpike road from Truro to London. The Truro Turnpike Trust, established in 1754, was the first in Cornwall. Under the renewal of the General Turnpike Act in 1828, new roads were commissioned in Cornwall to provide a modern passage from Falmouth to London with easier gradients and better surfaces for horse-drawn traffic. William McAdam, Surveyor for Truro Trust between 1825 and 1833, laid out the road, which was completed in 1830. Benjamin Bowden erected twelve milestones along the route, of which this is one. The cast iron plates were produced by the Perran Foundry Company.

In 1835, changes to another part of the route meant the distance to Bodmin became incorrect. Discrepancies in the mileage appear on the First Edition Ordnance Survey Map of around 1880, but the Second Edition of 1907 shows correct distances, suggesting the milestones received new mileage plates sometime between these dates, probably after 1889 when the County Council took responsibility for road maintenance.

This milestone is one of eleven surviving examples in a series between Truro and Fraddon, and it is the only series in Cornwall that indicates the distance to London.