Milepost

Throughout the early years of the 18th century parishes were complaining that the upkeep of the roads through them was impossible due to the increased traffic. 

This is especially true of Staffordshire: so many through routes were being used, the travellers along them having no business with the parishes concerned. Steps were taken to remedy the situation with the increasing turnpiking of major routes, effectively privatising the main roads. Turnpike Trustees were appointed to oversee the collection of tolls, which they used in order to maintain the highways, any theoretical profit returning to the trustees. Initially, toll gates were set up along each turnpike, but there was no compulsion by law to place milestones along the route. Often, this was left to local innkeepers, who had a vested interest in telling travellers how far it was to their hostelry; sometimes they were set up by public subscription. This hit-and-miss situation was not rectified until the General Turnpike Act of 1767, which stated that “the commissioners or trustees appointed … shall direct the surveyor of every such turnpike road … to erect mile-stones upon such turnpike roads, with proper inscriptions and figures thereupon”. So, after 1767, milestones generally became much more prevalent, and most of the stock of early milestones in Staffordshire comes from this period.

We have two existing Mileposts both are Charles Lathe Standard.