Glossary of terms relating to work of Milestone Society

 

Wayside Features (man-made items bearing information, placed at the side of roads or tracks to aid or inform travellers or administrators of the highways)

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

Liberty stone – a marker indicating the limits of the area over which Liberties had been granted by the Crown to a Lord of the Manor

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.

 

Terms relating to Waymarkers

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.