Boundary disputes
Disputes over boundaries range from the international down to the local – from the arguments that racked Latin America following independence in the 19th century …
About Milestones and Waymarkers
We use the term waymarker to cover a wide variety of different stones, posts,, plates and signs generally that tell the traveller where he or she is, or is going to, or which direction to follow when a choice of routes presents itself.
The articles that follow on this and successive pages are a random selection, but if you want something more specific, click on the links here or under Categories at the bottom of the page.
Milestones.
Guide stones (or stoops)
Boundary markers
Bridge markers
Other waymarkers: many other stones and posts can be found on our roadsides and elsewhere.
Roads and travel: there are also some more general articles here on road history.
RWH / updated June 2020
Perambulation of Stanbury, 1805
Stanbury is a township in Haworth Chapelry in the Parish of Keighley. To the west is Lancashire, and its Yorkshire boundaries are with Oakworth on …
Roman milestones
Roman milestones were generally stone pillars with Latin inscriptions erected when a road was first constructed or when it was repaired. The inscriptions usually give …
Foiling invaders: waymarkers at war
In 1939, with war looming, an Emergency Powers (Defence) Act was passed enabling the government to make orders as the need arose for the defence …
Highways Acts: a brief summary
The first Act of Parliament relating to roads was in 1555, and they have followed thick and fast ever since. This is a brief list …
The Earby stoop
Earby, a small town in the north-west of the old West Riding, boasts an interesting and rare old guide-stoop. It was probably put up early …
Guide-stones of the West Riding
Guide-stones (or stoops as they are often called in Yorkshire, from an old Norse word for a post) are equivalent of today’s signposts. They came …
Wayside and other crosses
All over the country, in towns and villages, and even in the middle of nowhere, you may encounter crosses – usually on a pedestal, some …
Divisions of townships
The north of England had some huge parishes, such as Rochdale (which included part of Yorkshire) and Halifax. So big that for practical purposes they …
More road history websites
The Internet has huge numbers of websites, or sections of websites, devoted to the history of roads – often created by local enthusiasts. Here are …