Milestone on A30 south-west of Bagshot - 27 miles from Hyde Park Corner

Summary

A milestone erected by the Bedfont and Bagshot Turnpike Trust in 1743, carved by Chertsey mason Stephen Hart.

Reasons for Designation

The Milestone on the A30 marking 27 Miles from Hyde Park Corner, erected in 1743, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons.

Architectural interest:

* as an intact and legible milestone that survives in its original location or the original location of a contemporaneous milestone, carved by a local mason.

Historic interest:

* as a mid-C18 milestone that testifies to the development of the transport network through the turnpike system;

* for the presence of the Ordnance Survey benchmark, which acts as a reminder of the dual functions of marking distance and providing elevation references taken on by many milestones in the C19.

Group value:

* as part of a sequence of designated milestones along this stretch of the A30/London Road.

History

Milestones, along with mileposts and guideposts, are one of the most widespread forms of street furniture. Roads undergo such considerable alteration that milestones can be of particular note as testaments to the development of our transport network, and as reminders of the different perceptions of distance in a pre-motorised age. Milestones became prevalent in the mid-C18 when turnpike trusts were encouraged to provide such markers along their routes.

The Bedfont and Bagshot Turnpike Trust was established by an Act of Parliament in 1727 at a time when turnpike trusts were gaining popularity. The Trust was responsible for collecting tolls and maintaining a 15 mile stretch of the Western Road (now the A30/London Road) between the Hounslow Powder Mills and the Basingstone, an old stone which stood close to the Jolly Farmer Inn west of Bagshot. This was one of the principal routes between London and the South-West and partly follows the line of the old Roman road to Silchester. The route was popular with stagecoaches; records show that as many as 30 coaches a day called at Bagshot by 1829. The importance of the road in facilitating the transport of timber to the Hounslow Powder Mills is also thought to have been a factor in the decision to turnpike the road. In 1809 the Trust was split into two separate turnpike trusts: the east section became the Bedfont to Staines Trust, while the west section including this milestone on the A30 became the Egham to Bagshot Trust. In the mid-C19, competition from railways caused a fall in revenue and forced closure for many turnpike trusts. The Egham and Bagshot Turnpike Trust ceased operations in 1877, and in 1888, responsibility for the roads crossing Surrey Heath was taken on by local councils.

The milestone on the A30, 27 miles from Hyde Park Corner, forms part of a sequence of milestones erected by the Bedfont and Bagshot Turnpike Trust in 1743, one year before a 1744 Act of Parliament made milestones compulsory on most turnpike roads. The records of the Bedfont and Bagshot Turnpike Trust held at the London Metropolitan Archives show that Chertsey mason Stephen Hart was commissioned to carve 16 stones for the sum of £2 10s 0d each. It is reported that the milestones were carved from re-used blocks of limestone sources from Hounslow.

The milestone is marked in or close to its present position on John Rocque's map of Surrey of 1768. It is also visible on the Ordnance Survey map of 1872 and subsequent editions. Some of the milestones from the 1743 set are thought to have been removed and re-inscribed in the 1820s, and not necessarily put back in exactly the same positions. But historic maps do indicate the presence of a milestone at this location continuously since the mid-C18. At some point in the C19, an Ordnance Survey benchmark and rivet were carved into the rear face of the milestone. Such benchmarks were systematically introduced by the Ordnance Survey in 1840, but some appeared as early as 1831. In around 2017 the milestone was repainted white and the inscriptions picked out in black paint to make them more legible. Some surviving milestones along the A30 of the same design and limestone have a date inscription of 1743, including the Grade II-listed milestone marking 15 miles from Hyde Park Corner (List entry 1390714).

Details

A milestone erected by the Bedfont and Bagshot Turnpike Trust in 1743, carved by Chertsey mason Stephen Hart.

MATERIALS
Limestone.

DESCRIPTION
The milestone is situated on the south-east side of the A30 London Road, on a grass verge outside No 204 London Road. It has a square-section shaft of worked stone with a rounded, pyramidal cap. The front, north-west face is divided by a central horizontal cut with the upper half set back slightly. This face is inscribed with painted, black lettering that reads: 27 MILES/ FROM/ HYDE PARK/ CORNER. The rear, south-east face, is inscribed with an Ordnance Survey benchmark, which is also painted black and was probably added in the C19.

Sources

Books and journals
Eedle, M, A History of Bagshot and Windlesham, (1977), 58-59

Websites
Milestone Society Repository, accessed 1 March 2021 from https://www.msocrepository.co.uk/

Other
TP/BED: Records of the Bedfont and Bagshot Turnpike Trust, 1763-1850 accessed 25 February 2021 from https://search.lma.gov.uk/scripts/mwimain.dll/144/LMA_OPAC/web_detail/REFD+TP?SESSIONSEARCH

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