September 2025

Late 19th century milestones in the North Riding

The North Riding has many milestones surviving from the turnpike age, some the original 18th century ones. Some, however, were replaced later in the 19th century, such as these two here. On the left one at Breckonborough, between Northallerton and Boroughbridge on the Boroughbridge, Darlington and Durham Turnpike (now the A167); on the right one a mile north of Thirsk on the B1448, erected by the Thirsk Turnpike Trust on a road that led from Northallerton to York. Both give distances to London. Although not too dissimilar in style from later milestones the foundry that produced them is not known.

Later in the century (following the 1862 Highways Act) Highway Boards were established, to take over from failing/failed turnpike trusts. Some of these erected new milestones, with pointing fingers and the name of the Highway District (H D).

At the October 1867 “Gene Quarter Sessions of the Peace” for the North Riding the Justices made the final order for dividing the county into highway districts.  This excluded those Boroughs and Urban Districts which were already responsible for their roads.  There were 16 districts, details published in the London Gazette, each named with all the parishes and townships they comprised

Among them were:

Askrigg District, covering Upper Wensleydale;

Leyburn District, covering mainly Lower Wensleydale;

Richmond District, covering Swaledale and an area east of Richmond up to the Tees;

East Hang District, covering the area around Bedale and south to the West Riding boundary.

The East Hang District was named after the East Hang Wapentake (originally just the Hang Wapentake but divided in the 13^th century into East and West).  This gets its name from the wapentake meeting-place at Hang Bank, between Hutton Hang and Finghall.  Hang West covered all Wensleydale and so was not a Highway District.

Here are some of their milestones.

The North Riding County Council was established in 1889, and took over the functions of the Highway Boards.  At some point it set about replacing older turnpike milestones with new ones.  There were two types, both usually made by the Mattison foundry at Leeming: the first, quite elaborate, with a stylised Yorkshire rose and the name of the district where it was; the second, possibly later and definitely cheaper, merely has the letters NRYCC.  The examples below are from Hinderwell and Stillington, near Easingwold.

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Sources: Article by Christine Minto in the Milestone Society Newsletter, no 22, Jan 2012, pp 34-5; London Gazette, 29 October 1867, p 5725

RWH / Sept 2025

The Brayshaw & Booth milestones in the Colne Valley west of Huddersfield have tended to cause confusion: where is Austerlands?  And why Wakefield? 

Austerlands is a blink-and-you-miss-it place on the A62 in Saddleworth, right on the border with what was Lancashire.  The turnpike was planned to connect this part of the West Riding with Manchester, the Lancashire section having already been turnpiked, in 1735.  From Huddersfield there was already a road to Leeds, so a link eastwards to Wakefield was deemed desirable.  There were three turnpikes, whose routes differed in varying degrees, dating from 1758, 1788 and 1820, the last one being basically the same as the present main roads between Wakefield and Oldham.  The trust was wound up in 1882 and responsibility for the road reverted to the district councils along it.

This article covers the main features of the roads; a more detailed article is to follow.  The milestones on the present road are of course all those erected by the West Riding County Council in the 1890s (detail illustrated at top), but others exist elsewhere on the route.

Part one: Wakefield to Huddersfield.

The earlier turnpikes had two divergences from the A642: the section between Horbury Bridge and the present Mining Museum ran south of the present road; and the original route went through Lepton to Almondbury before going down into Huddersfield.  An old toll-house exists at Horbury Bridge (though now called The Cottage), and another on Rowley Lane going down through Lepton, an attractive little building which has survived for over 200 years despite its redundancy.

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Most interesting, though nowhere near its original location, is a milestone from perhaps the second turnpike which can be found near Middlestown.  It marks nine miles from Huddersfield and four miles and (what one presumes is a later addition) 794 yards from Wakefield.  It can be found by the side of a brick wall on Low Lane.  We have no idea when or why this came to be here but it is well-preserved and likely to remain so.

Part two: Huddersfield to Standedge.

The first two turnpikes went up to Crosland Moor and Blackmoorfoot before descending into Marsden.  And from Marsden they took separate routes up to the watershed at Standedge and over the moors.

Two milestones can be found on the old stretch up to Marsden, three and six miles from Huddersfield.  They are plainer than the one at Middlestown; the latter, slightly better preserved of the two, on Chain Road (itself a relic of the turnpike days) says simply “TO / A / 9M” and “TO / H / 6M”.  They possibly date from the first turnpike but we cannot be certain.

Interesting features above Marsden include a boundary stone where the road passed from Marsden-in-Almondbury township into Marsden-in-Huddersfield.  This reads “M+H / 720 / Yard”; it is thought that this distance represents the length of the road before it enters Saddleworth.  Where Mount Road and Old Mount Road meet a section of the second turnpike crossing a stream was demolished to avoid people trying to avoid taking a free alternative route; this is still visible.

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Part three: Standedge to Austerlands.

Saddleworth was therefore entered by three routes which met for a brief stretch before Delph but then took different routes again before reaching Austerlands.

Three milestones (or two and a bit to be more exact) survive from the earlier turnpikes in the same design as the Middlestown stone.  Part of one exists, incorporated onto the top of a wall, near Delph.  The no longer entirely legible destinations once read Huddersfield 13 miles and Oldham 4½.  Another, marking 12 miles from both Huddersfield and Manchester, is complete and still in its original position just above Delph.  And a third is in the museum in Uppermill.

Sources include Crump: Huddersfield highways down the ages (Tolson Museum, 1949) and Bodey: Roads (Batsford, 1971).

RWH / Sept 2025