Guide stones

Guide-stones are known as guide-stoops in Yorkshire, from an old Norse word for post. The first official ones followed an act of Parliament of 1697/8, instructing the county justices to have direction indicators set up at crossroads. They could be stone or posts, presumably wooden.

Naturally, none of the latter survive, but many of the stones can be found. The Milestone Society’s repository does not distinguish between guide-stones and milestones, though they are not synonymous: the first guide-stones did not show distances.

Some are still in lonely spots on the moors, though often encroached on by later development. Sometimes they have been re-used as gate-posts and many, no doubt, will have been lost for a variety of reasons.

The links that follow are to articles on some of the many interesting ones that can be found. Guide-stones of the West Riding has a more detailed history.

The tale of a guide-stoop

Some hands on guide-stoops

NORTH RIDING

Handstones: guide-stoops on the North York Moors

WEST RIDING

Guide-stones of the West Riding

West Riding: now in Lancashire

The Earby stoop

West Riding: now in North Yorkshire

Guide-stones around Skipton: the ‘Craven stoops’

West Riding: now in South Yorkshire

A hexagonal guide-stoop near Stocksbridge