Milepost on A20 London Road at Ditton, Kent
476 London Road, Ditton, Tonbridge and Malling, Kent, ME20 6BZ
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1404161
- Date first listed:
- 25-Oct-2011
- List Entry Name:
- Milepost on A20 London Road at Ditton, Kent
- Statutory Address:
- 476 London Road, Ditton, Tonbridge and Malling, Kent, ME20 6BZ
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1404161
- Date first listed:
- 25-Oct-2011
- List Entry Name:
- Milepost on A20 London Road at Ditton, Kent
- Location Description:
- NGR TQ7155158319
- Statutory Address 1:
- 476 London Road, Ditton, Tonbridge and Malling, Kent, ME20 6BZ
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- 476 London Road, Ditton, Tonbridge and Malling, Kent, ME20 6BZ
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Kent
- District:
- Tonbridge and Malling (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Ditton
- National Grid Reference:
- TQ7155158319
Summary
Early to mid-C19 cast-iron milepost attached to an earlier milestone.
Reasons for Designation
The milestone, situated on the A20 immediately south of No 476 London Road at Ditton, Kent is designated for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural Interest: a well-preserved example of a cast-iron milepost, probably early-C19 in date, attached to an earlier milestone;
* Historic Interest: as testament to the development of the national transport system, particularly of the turnpike system, and as a reminder of the different perceptions of distance in the pre-motor age.
* Group Value: one of a group of which two near-identical mileposts, each listed at Grade II, survive on this stretch of road at Ryarsh (NGR TQ6687058643) and at Larkfield (NGR TQ6998558314).
History
From the late C17 to the mid-C18 many turnpike trusts were established along roads connecting London with major provincial cities and ports. Milestones became prevalent in the mid-C18 when turnpike trusts were encouraged to provide them, the 1744 Turnpike Act making their provision compulsory on most turnpike roads.
It is thought that this part of the road from London to Folkestone and Dover, at Ditton, became a turnpike between 1750 and 1780. This cast-iron milepost is a remodelling of an earlier stone milestone. It appears in its current position on the Ordnance Survey map of 1869 and, therefore, is probably in its original location.
Details
A V-section, white painted, cast-iron milestone, dating from the early to mid-C19 that is attached to an earlier painted milestone. On the head of the milepost, parallel to the road, the legend, in black-painted relief, reads 'To/LONDON/31/Ditton'. Below this on the east-facing angle the legend reads 'WROTHAM/7' and on the west face 'MAIDSTONE/3'.
Sources
Books and journals
Wright, G, Turnpike Roads, (1992)
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 05-Jun-2026 at 20:47:19.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
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