Milestones
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- Was92now625
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Re: Milestones
- ellandback
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Re: Milestones
Me neitherronhale wrote:I don't know of any
"Ealand" is an old name for Elland, but I'm not sure how long it has been since the town was so called. Suffice to say, this MS must be pretty ancient.
Re: Milestones
It told me that Nottingham was 16 miles.
It also told me that Alfreton was 0 miles!
- bob@romiley1
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- Vierwielen
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I believe that large numbers of road signs, particularly near the coast, were removed as they might prove useful to the enemy.Halmyre wrote:
... that had been defaced during the war:
I wonder how many more milestones were destroyed or defaced during the war for similar reasons? Was it a common practice?
- Ruperts Trooper
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And many of them were put back in the wrong place after WW2 which explains various anomalies in distance figures.Vierwielen wrote: I believe that large numbers of road signs, particularly near the coast, were removed as they might prove useful to the enemy.
Re: Milestones
No, they're all still there (give or take one or two that have sunk).Was92now625 wrote:I remember that there used to be a stone every mile on the A82 across Rannoch Moor. I don't think they're there any more though.
See Milestones and the Gallery:Milestones for more.
There are in fact a lot up here. As well as the A82, they are found along the A87, A861, A884, B849, A830, A83 and many many more roads. Some date right back to the construction of new roads in the 1880s-1900s, most relate to the mass improvement schemes from the late 1920s up to 1939.
Down south, the A38 and A370 in northern Somerset have many, again from the widening and improvements done in the late 1920s.
The OS still mark milestones on Landrangers and Explorers and it is quite amazing how many survive, often lost in the undergrowth along the verges. See the A82 on Rannoch Moor on Sabre Maps
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I don't like thinking about how badly I am doing.
From the SABRE Wiki: Milestones :
Milestones originally date back as far as Roman times, however the ones we see at the roadside today became common in 1767, when they became compulsory on all Turnpike Roads. These were erected and maintained by the road's owner. However, when Turnpikes were handed over to the county and local councils in 1888, so were the milestones. Many were replaced with cast iron 'stones', of which many still exist today.
In their time, Milestones served a real purpose. At the time signposts
Re: Milestones
As stated, it's situated at Christ Church, Birmingham Street, Oldbury.
Re: Milestones
This one is on the former A49 route through Wem. Whitchurch 9 1/2, Shrewsbury 7.
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Re: Milestones
Apologies if it's already been posted but couldn't see it. There are also quite a few links to other websites on the "Links" page.
- Bfivethousand
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followed immediately by Batman
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- FosseWay
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Motorways and many HQDCs have driver location signs. These are more frequent than milestones (every 500 metres IIRC?) but crucially they only tell you where you are (if you have a corresponding map or GPS with the DLS marked on it), not the distance to somewhere else. DLSs mark distance from a point zero like milestones but that point is fairly arbitrary from the traveller's POV, since (a) the zero mark tends to be at the start of a given road number, which probably doesn't coincide with the centre of a town or any other obvious starting point or goal, and (b) it refers to the route you're currently on, which for a long journey probably isn't the route you started on or will finish on.crazyknightsfan wrote:Is there a modern equivalent to these in the UK? Not route confirmation signs but smaller signs every mile or 5 miles or whatever?
So no, AFAIK there isn't an equivalent nowadays to counting down the miles to the nearest town in a formalised sequence.
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Re: Milestones
Perhaps because there's generally more junctions, presumably with route confirmation signs, they aren't as needed? Australia has these signs every 5km generally along classified roads. Very useful, not so much from a driver location perspective in a crash or breakdown, but for reassurance on a long drive. I thought they might have been borrowed from UK practice - I guess not.FosseWay wrote:So no, AFAIK there isn't an equivalent nowadays to counting down the miles to the nearest town in a formalised sequence.
Re: Milestones
These are probably the nearest thing - more common than DLS, providing similar information: http://goo.gl/maps/6xwBFosseWay wrote:Motorways and many HQDCs have driver location signs. These are more frequent than milestones (every 500 metres IIRC?) but crucially they only tell you where you are (if you have a corresponding map or GPS with the DLS marked on it), not the distance to somewhere else. DLSs mark distance from a point zero like milestones but that point is fairly arbitrary from the traveller's POV, since (a) the zero mark tends to be at the start of a given road number, which probably doesn't coincide with the centre of a town or any other obvious starting point or goal, and (b) it refers to the route you're currently on, which for a long journey probably isn't the route you started on or will finish on.crazyknightsfan wrote:Is there a modern equivalent to these in the UK? Not route confirmation signs but smaller signs every mile or 5 miles or whatever?
So no, AFAIK there isn't an equivalent nowadays to counting down the miles to the nearest town in a formalised sequence.
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- Mattemotorway
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Re: Milestones
Indeed, I remember at school seeing a pic of that practise being used... In fact all the books used the same pic, of the sign at the A320/A317 junction...Ruperts Trooper wrote:And many of them were put back in the wrong place after WW2 which explains various anomalies in distance figures.Vierwielen wrote: I believe that large numbers of road signs, particularly near the coast, were removed as they might prove useful to the enemy.
Expects to climb the job ladder quickly and is often glued to my phone... Apparently..
Re: Milestones
Greystoke lost its original enamelled with standing out letters (embossed, cast, stuck on?) last year. Although the replacement was in the same style it's lost "A594" painted out but still visible due to standing out (still visible on Streetview).Glenn A wrote:One still exists down the road from me, built into a modern wall to protect it, stating EGREMONT 4 MILES. Indeed Cumbria is good for retaining vintage signage as many of the unclassified roads still use the pre war iron black and white posts and most have the original enamelled signs. Maybed it's a tourism thing.
Re: Milestones
Are there still a few milestones on the A591?Helvellyn wrote:Greystoke lost its original enamelled with standing out letters (embossed, cast, stuck on?) last year. Although the replacement was in the same style it's lost "A594" painted out but still visible due to standing out (still visible on Streetview).Glenn A wrote:One still exists down the road from me, built into a modern wall to protect it, stating EGREMONT 4 MILES. Indeed Cumbria is good for retaining vintage signage as many of the unclassified roads still use the pre war iron black and white posts and most have the original enamelled signs. Maybed it's a tourism thing.
Re: Milestones
This was actually the old spelling of Duns until the early 20th century, and it's from the place name Duns that the word "dunce" is derived, along with the term "dunce's cap". For this we have to thank the ancient Scottish philosopher John Duns Scotus, who was born in Duns and took his middle name from his birthplace. His followers were called "duns" or "dunsmen"; through time, as his teachings were superseded, anyone who still believed in them was said to be foolish and the term dunce, meaning stupid, then came into being.