Milestone Approx 36M North Of Cornelly Lodge

TREGONEY

571/0/10005 (West side) 11-NOV-10 Milestone approx 36m north of Cornelly Lodge

II DESCRIPTION: A milestone erected in 1820s or 1830s by the Creed, Tregony and St Just Turnpike Trust. Granite. It is triangular in plan with a flat top, and stands 0.7 metres high. Painted white with black lettering, it is inscribed TRURO/7 on the south face and TREGONY/½ on the north face; an Ordnance Survey benchmark has been carved on to the lower front of the Truro face.

HISTORY: Historically roads were maintained by the parishes they passed through. Sometimes this proved beyond them, and in 1663 the first turnpike trust, was established, empowered to levy tolls towards the upkeep of a particular stretch of road. Initially there were few such trusts, but in the early C18 their number rose steeply; by 1750 most major roads had been turnpiked, and over the rest of the century and into the early C19 over 1000 turnpike trusts were established in all, the last in 1836. Milestones (along with toll houses, and rebuilt bridges and re-engineered sections of the roads themselves) are physical evidence of these trusts' activities.

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 Creed, Tregony and St Just Turnpike Trust was established by Act of Parliament in 1762 and this milestone stands on the former turnpike road between Denas Water and Tregony. The milestone is marked on the 1st edition Ordnance Survey map of 1880.

The C18 milestones originally erected by the Trust were of the 'tombstone' design being of a rectangular plan with semi-circular rounded heads and one dressed face with stones of a triangular plan becoming popular in the 1820s and 1830s

SOURCES: Benford, M, Milestone, (2002)

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: The milestone 36m north of Cornelly Lodge is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * Intactness: it is an intact milestone dating from 1820s or 1830s, which remains in its original position. * Group Value: it has group value with other designated milestones along this turnpike route. * Historical Association: it is a testament to the development of the turnpike system in Cornwall, particularly to facilitate transportation within a growing industrial landscape.