Summary

An early-C18 milestone situated on the north side of the original route of the A30.

Description

An early-C18 granite milestone standing on the north side of an unclassified road, c.64m to the north-east of Melroy Terrace, Blackwater. It is square-on-plan with a triangular head, both of which are painted white, and stands 0.68m high. On the north and west sides there are blank recessed faces which would have given the distances to Redruth and Lands End respectively.

History

In 1754, the first Cornish turnpike was established. The next 10 years saw the establishment of several new Turnpike Trusts in the county, resulting in the construction of new roads and erection of milestones. There were notable pre-turnpike milestones in the county, including the spine road (the A30) from Mitchell to Hayle. A number of milestones were erected along this section of road in the C18 although it was never adopted as a turnpike road; such roads were not generally furnished with milestones and the origin of these markers has not been established. They were all originally inscribed with L for Lands End, R for Redruth, and P for Penzance, as well as the distances, but seven of the most easterly markers have been partially re-carved and their inscriptions changed to include Penzance and Bodmin. This adaptation occurred in the late C19, following Cornwall County Council's adoption of a number of primary routes that had not been turnpiked.

The milestone on the outskirts of Blackwater dates from the early C18; the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1880 gives the distances that were originally inscribed on the milestone as Redruth (3½) and Lands End (31). In 1995 a by-pass was built around Blackwater and the milestone now stands on an unclassified road.

Reasons for Listing

The milestone on the north side of the former A30, c. 64m to the north-east of Melroy Terrace, Blackwater, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic Interest: it is unusually placed on a road that was never turnpiked.
* Group Value: it stands in its original location and is one of a group remaining on this road, of which a number are listed.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26675826

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

• 
  Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas and Monuments
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]
• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
• 
  Drawing up a Local Listed Building Consent Order: Historic England Advice Note 6
• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings