Milepost on Drimnin to Dorlin road, at NM 55599 54877

Milepost on Drimnin to Dorlin Road

This is one of seven cast iron mileposts probably erected in or shortly after 1897 along the Drimnin to Dorlin road. The milepost has a fluted column post that splays towards the base. On the front face at the top of the column is an oval makers emblem for the Pioneer Foundry in Blaydon-on-Tyne. The mile marker panels are formed as two oval faces within a larger sub-oval cap, set on the top of the post, with place names and distance numbers in relief. The milepost is unpainted.

These mileposts were erected following the completion of the Poor Relief Road from Drimnin to Dorlin around 1880. Poor Relief Roads were constructed using money from the Poor Relief Fund to provide employment for people receiving poor relief. The route from Drimnin to Dorlin was essentially an upgrade of an existing track, as shown on historical maps from 1747 onwards, rather than an entirely new creation. The County Council briefly adopted the road in 1897 and may have been responsible for erecting the mileposts at that time.

Originally eight mileposts were installed along the route; seven now survive. All are cast iron, made by Pioneer Foundry, and are of the same style and casting as mileposts found on the Isle of Mull and on the isles of Seil and Luing, with other examples visible in Ardnamurchan, Berwickshire, and west Fife.