Description

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 16 April 2021 to reformat the text to current standards

1347/0/10026

EAST MALLING AND LARKFIELD
Larkfield
LONDON ROAD (north side)
Milepost at NGR TQ6998558314

06-JUL-09

II
Cast-iron milepost attached to earlier milestone. Probably early to mid C19.

DESCRIPTION: V-section, white painted, cast-iron milepost attached to similarly painted earlier milestone. On the head of the milepost, parallel to the road, the legend, in black-painted relief, reads 'To/LONDON/30/East Malling'. Below this on the right (east facing) angle the legend reads 'WROTHAM/6' and on the left (west facing) 'MAIDSTONE/4'.

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 along them became prevalent in the mid C18 when turnpike trusts were encouraged to provide them, the 1744 Turnpike Act supposedly making the provision compulsory on most turnpike roads.

This cast-iron milepost at Larkfield on the road from London to Folkestone and Dover appears in its current position on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1862 and is probably therefore in its original location. This part of the road was turnpiked between 1750 and 1780 and there was a toll house at Larkfield, reportedly demolished in the 1960s. As it is attached to an earlier milestone the cast-iron milepost is probably from the early to mid C19 although it is hard to date exactly.

A nearly identical milepost (Grade II listed - 179382) survives two miles closer to London on this stretch of the road at Ryarsh and a damaged example reportedly survives to the east in Ditton.

Reasons for Listing

The milepost in Larkfield on the London Road (A20) at NGR TQ6998558314 is designated for the following principal reasons:

* As a well-surviving example of a probably early-C19, cast-iron milepost attached to an earlier milestone;
* An identical milepost on this road, two miles nearer to London, is currently listed;
* The development of the national transport system, particularly of the turnpike system, and a reminder of the different perceptions of distance in the pre-motorised age.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26672520

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Sussex: West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Harrow on the Hill: A photographic portrayal of listed buildings and structures (Historic Buildings Picture Guides)
• 
  London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Herefordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Derbyshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)