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The Milestones

Article by: Ron Iremonger

Back in the late 18th Century, Thomas Telford, the county surveyor for Shropshire, had numerous milestones erected to help travellers on their way. In fact there were milestones almost every mile along major roads, this highlights the much slower pace of travel in those days! There are many milestones shown on post-war maps however most milestones disappeared during World War 2 as the Ministry of Defence ordered they either be buried or destroyed as not to assist an invading Army. Since then even more milestones have been lost to new road developments.

The milestone before and after restoration.

The Mount Residents' Group is committed to preserving the past so when Geoff Black, treasurer of The Mount Residents' Group, discovered a milestone hidden in the hedgerow at the Shelton End of The Mount, the group was spurred into action! Unfortunately the milestone had its cast-iron plate missing. After contacting the County Council a project was launched to restore one of these rare milestones.

The Residents' Group decided to fund a replacement plate as a commemoration of The Queen's Golden Jubilee. The plate was manufactured in Ironbridge at a cost of £200. Research suggested the plate read: Holyhead 105 M (miles); Salop 1 M - 6 F (furlongs).

The milestone at the Frankwell end of The Mount.

One other interesting fact, which came to light at an annual general meeting, is that the milestone used to be situated on the other side of the road, confirmed by an old Ordnance Survey Map of 1887. So it appears that the milestone was moved either at the time when The Oak was built or when the 'new' bypass was built in the 1930s. There were no plans to relocate the stone though.

In June 2002 the restored milestone was officially unveiled by Councillor George Richey, Mayor of Shrewsbury. The Mayor of Telford, Hilda Rhodes, was also present since the milestone had been erected by order of Thomas Telford, to whom the town owes its name.

In addition to the milestone at the Shelton end of The Mount, there is a second milestone - a mile further down The Mount at the Frankwell end, outside 35 The Mount.

>Please visit our photoalbum for a selection of milestone photos.