Roadside milestone gets 'important' listed status

An 18th century roadside milestone has received Grade II listed status to help protect it.

The milestone on the A363 at Trowle, near Trowbridge, reads "To Bath, 10". It is thought to date back to the 1700s, when the A363 was a turnpike road - a vital route for coaches, horses and other travellers.

Listed status gives a building or monument greater protection against removal or development, ensuring it is preserved for future generations.

Trowbridge Museum's David Birks said: "Lots of history is very obvious, like Stonehenge, but there's so many little things you walk past and not see them, that tell us lots about life in the past."

"Sometimes you need to be aware and have a little luck (to see them), but they are just as important as big country houses," Birks added.

The milestone is one of three on the same stretch to receive listed status and was originally owned by the Bradford Turnpike Trust, which maintained the route and exacted tolls from those travelling along it.

Rob Westlake, chairman of the Milestone Society, said it was important to recognise smaller monuments.

"We've lost so much (heritage in recent years). These days people sadly don't look at road sides or how to find directions somewhere because of the Sat Nav.

"These objects are there, have been for more than 200 years some of them and it would be a shame to lose something that has survived through to the 21st century," he explained.

"It's all part of our heritage. These objects are important and I hope listing gives them the future they deserve."

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