Milemarker
(regularly spaced marker, specifying a distance, positioned beside a road or
track)
Milestone – a free-standing milemarker of
natural stone with an engraved legend or attachments bearing a legend
Milepost – a manufactured, free-standing milemarker,
cast or constructed from metal, concrete, wood or plastic, and having an
engraved or attached legend
Mile plate – a manufactured milemarker, bearing
a legend, attached to a separate support such as a building or wall
Boundary
Marker (engraved marker at the junction of jurisdictions)
Bridge stone – a carved stone placed on
approach to a county bridge indicating limit of responsibility (often engraved
with the letter C, hence may be called a C-stone)
County boundary – a marker bearing the
name of a county or of adjoining counties
Coal Post – a marker indicating the limit
of areas subject to fuel tolls or taxes.
Horse stone (Take off stone) – a carved
stone indicating where on approach to a hill horses could be put on or must be
taken off
Land use boundary (warrens etc) – a
carved marker stone indicating the limit of an activity or land use
Mayoral stone – a marker bearing the name
or initials of a town official, placed at the limits of that town
National boundary – a marker bearing the
name of a country or adjoining countries
Parish boundary – a marker bearing the
name or initials of a parish or adjoining parishes
Parole stone – an engraved stone marking
the limits of freedom for paroled prisoners or engaged persons
Property boundary – an engraved marker
stone indicating the limit of an estate or land holding
Turnpike terminus – an engraved marker
indicating the limit of jurisdiction of a turnpike trust
Sign
post (a sign on a free-standing post indicating direction or information at a
junction)
Cairn – A pile of stones marking a route
or trackway (usually not engraved)
Crossway monument (or Cross) – an
engraved stone placed at a crossroad or junction of a highway giving
information on the direction to a place or bearing a symbol of religious
support to the traveller
Estate or House direction marker - an
engraved stone indicating the direction and/or distance to a large dwelling or
estate.
Fingerpost – a post fitted with arms or
fingers indicating the direction and or distance to a community or
establishment (also known as a guide post)
Guide stone – an engraved stone
indicating direction and/or distance to a community.
Guide stoop (or stoup) - an engraved
stone indicating direction and/or distance to a community over open country
such as moorland or estuary – alternative term for a Guide stone in the North
of England.
Wayside Cross – a pre-reformation
engraved stone placed beside a highway giving religious support to the traveller.)
Sign
plate (a flat board, normally attached to a support structure, giving
information at a point)
AA Sign – a yellow and black painted sign
attached to a wall by the Automobile Association bearing a place name and
distances to other towns
Bridge plate – an engraved plate attached
to a bridge giving information on the responsible authority or builder
Caution plate - a sign indicating the consequences of theft or vandalism
on the road or roadside
Direction sign – a flat painted or
lettered sign attached to a wall or post giving a place name and direction and
or distances to other towns (may be in the form of a map or text)
Name board - a flat painted or engraved
sign attached to a wall or post giving the name of a place
Restriction plate – a plate attached on
or near to a bridge giving information on weight or other restrictions on users
of the bridge or road.
Street name - a flat painted or engraved
sign attached to a wall or post giving a street name
Toll board – a sign indicating the
charges or tolls for use of the road, market or other roadside activity
Traffic regulation sign- a flat painted
or engraved sign attached to a wall or post giving information on restriction
to traffic using a road or track
Warning sign - a flat painted or engraved
sign attached to a wall or post warning traffic users of a hazard
Commemorative
Roadside Monument ( a unique carved or cast item at the roadside, with an
inscription recording a person, an event, anniversary or having religious
significance relating to the road or its users)
Benefactor memorial – a monument with a
legend recording a benevolent act relating to the road
Disaster memorial - a monument with a
legend recording an unhappy event such as an accident, robbery or death on the
road
Millennium stones – an engraved roadside
stone erected to mark a particular date
Obelisk – a tall, tapering monument
engraved with information concerning the road
Wall plaque – a flat monument attached to
a wall, engraved with information concerning the road
Wayside
furniture ( a unique carved or cast item at the roadside, with an inscription recording
a person, an event, anniversary or having religious significance) Not normally
related to the road
horse troughs,
shrines, wayside wells, water pumps, travellers' benches, mounting blocks,
churn stands
Note that items in the
later categories are not routinely surveyed or recorded by the Milestone
Society, though individual members of the Society may have personal interests
in these.
Benchmark – surveying mark placed on a
stable structure by the Ordnance Survey; of particular use in triangulation and
setting of spot heights. (Definitions below from the Benchmark Society).
In most cases an incised arrow is found
associated with;
A cross
cut which is made in a vertical surface or a rivet which is found on a horizontal surface. The centre line
of the cross cut or the top of the rivet head are the points which were
levelled. The cut arrow head
normally indicates the point of reference.
Pivot
bench marks - the arrow
points to a depression in which a 3/4 inch (19mm) ball should be placed, the
top of that ball being the levelled height
Hip – the sloping section forming the
junction between two adjoining vertical surfaces on a milepost (has been referred
to as bib or bevel)
Incuse – incised inscriptions on a marker
Palimpsest – turned by 180 degrees –
hence used for milemarkers that have been turned and reused.
Draft version 1.4; Alan Rosevear 8th
March 2008.