Building record 1159800000 - Milestone on A413 at Whitchurch

Grade II. Milestone. Mid C18 with altered lettering. Diamond-plan shaft inscribed: 'London 45, Buckingham 12, Aylesbury 5, Whitchurch.' Included for group value (B1).
One of 14 probable eighteenth to nineteenth century milestones on 17 mile Buckingham - Aylesbury road recorded by V.F.Bignell (Bletchley Archaeological and Historical Society) in January 1964 on 3 record cards. This card records 7 possible milestones 'midway' between Aylesbury and Buckingham. 5 in good condition grey brown stone with flat faces, incised lettering in plain style. 2 missing. Plan of typical diamond shaped cross section 16 inches by 14 inches deep. [Drawing, location and description read in HER] (B2).
Recorded as present in 2003 on Milestone Society website Aylesbury to Buckingham route National ID number BU_LC45. On west side of A413 in High Street 'close to Tudor House in front of notice board'. 30cm wide 30cm deep 72cm high. Inscription: left face: LONDON 45 AYLESBURY: centre face: LONDON 45 BUCKINGHAM 12 WHITCHURCH. [Detailed description, photograph and locationread in HER] (B3).
' N. Aylesbury to Buckingham - C5, C6.' Stone- 5- sided. Angled to road, lettered on 2 sides. Note O.S. maps will show present positions- may not coincide wih historical positions. Milestone 45 in centre of Whitchurch, therefore 200 yds discrepancy between position on the 1835 map. On OS 1" 1835, Bryant and Jefferies. 45: Whitchurch ( now in centre of village, W side). NGR 804 206 Centre Whitchurch ( phone box W. side ) All stone 5 sided 2 labelled Buck + Ayl mileages facing wrong way. No bench mark. Drawing shows London 45 at top on both sides Ayles 5 toward bottom on L. Buck 12 towards bottom on R. "Pavement" along bottom. No mention of milestones in TMs up to 1808. 1741 Geo.II c. 15 Cont. Act- MSs to be erected.TM. 1808 Mr. Herring to be paid when" [mile]stones properly and rightly spelt, are placed".TM. 1810 50 Geo.III - Rd. to be measured MSs and posts to be erected.G.9.I.1822 (July) Surveyor to give directions for Cast Iron Mile Posts on the road from Buckingham to Wendover, and Guide Posts where necessary.TM. 1822 (Oct.) 1 Surveyor to give directions for Mile Stones on "said road" to be fresh painted and letters fresh cut where necessary. 2. Guide posts to be all new painted and new posts where necessary.TM. 1823 John King to measure the T.P. road and prepare a map or plan for use of the Trustees [See T3/51- P.R.O.].TM. 1828 Measure of road from Wendover to Buckingham 21m. 2f. 121yds.TM. 1829 'Proper hand posts' to be put up, Aylesbury and elsewhere with distances marked thereon-.TM 1831 £8:8:0 to stone mason for "new facing and engraving milestone". ( Treas.A/cs.- Wend. To Oakham). 1832 Asking Mr.King for variations in distance on Wendover/Buckingham road by shortening at Padbury Br. And at Swanbourne turning.W.and B. Trust/Dup.Wis. 1834 Jan. The Clerk to "write to the Clerk of of Oak Lane trust stating that various improvements by shortening the road have been made and the Trustees , presuming that similar improvements have been made on the Oak Lane Trust, wish to be informed whether the milestones on the Oak Lane Trust have been placed accurately from last mile-stone on the Oxford Road…".TM. 1834 July "…measure distance from 18th milestone on Oxford road..to ascertain where respective milestones (to Buckingham) ought to stand".TM. 1835 2 Mar. Wendover to Buckingham 22m.Dup.Wis. 1835 24 Mar. "…that the present milestones in this Trust be taken up, and new faced and lettered and painted and direct the turnpike road from the 18th milestone on the Uxbridge road from London"TM. 1848 1 June Length of T.P. road 21m. 2fur.110yds.Dup.Wis. 1858 MSs to be painted.GI.2. 1868 March Surveyor to report on state of milestones and "cost of putting them in good order".TM. 1868 October Tenders for repairing and re-writing milestones - Mr. Hodgkins; at 3/- per stone accepted.TM. 1871 Handposts to be painted and repaired "throughout".TM {Read written notes in HER (B4).
According to Peter Gullands study of The Toll Roads of Buckinghamahire 1706-1881 with their connections into neighbourng counties 2017. This milemarker is on road 5 The Wendover and Buckingham Turnpike Road 1721 p.99. There are 116 milestones/posts in Bucks in modern records out of 230 possible from old records. The milestones are square in cross section with incised capital letters inclined to road for easy reading. Now not all on same sde of road some may be moved during World War 2. A terrace of cottages obstructing the road at its northern end called Rotten Row was demolished after they were bought by the trust in 1736 making the road wider; a holloway now a foot path is the original route out of the village by passed by Bucks CC in 1965. After the trusts closed in the 1880s or 1890s highway authorities district or county or parish took over replacement of missing milemarkers on some roads with standardised metal pressings that the Milestones Society calls Bucks Pressings with 2 white faces and inscriptions in black paint. During WW2 milemarkeres were moved or buried for security reasons sometimes not replaced or put back wrong place. [Copy in HER] (B5).