Milestone (Mile Marker)

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A repositioned freestanding late 19th/early 20th C cast-iron milepost on the main A2 road between Cushendall and Ballycastle.
This mile marker was originally c.60m east of its current position, It is now sited on a grass verge on the S side of the Cushendall Road at the entrance laneway to no.75

It is of cast-iron construction and is painted white with its bas-relief edges and legends picked out in black.
It is of vee cross-section, with an canted top and open back. Its hip (top cant) reads "Belfast/ 63", it east-facing cant (facing Cushendall) reads "Ballycastle/ 2?/ miles", and its west facing one (facing Ballycastle) reads "Cushendall/ 13¾/ miles"; all have serif letters and numbers.

Materials:
Milepost Cast iron, painted

Setting:
The milepost has been embedded in the ground in front of a wooden fence around the front garden to no.75, almost directly opposite a lane to another farm on the other side of the road. Aside from the main road and aforementioned garden, the milepost is surrounded by open fields.

Historical information

This mile marker is not shown on the 1857 map, but first appears on the 1903-04 edition. It is captioned: "M.P. 2? 13¾". These denote the distance, in miles (and furlongs) from Ballycastle and Cushendall respectively. It is similarly captioned on the 1922 edition.

Presuming that the marker depicted on the early 1900s map was not subsequently replaced with another bearing the same mileage data, it may date from the reorganisation of local government in Ireland in 1898. It is actually marked on the maps c.60m further along the road, in the direction of Cushendall.

It was apparently discarded during road works some 20 years ago and was salvaged by the owner of no.75. Now its de facto owner, it has been cleaned, painted and erected at the entrance to his property.

There is a similar milepost just over a mile along the same road in the direction of Cushendall (HB05/04/041).

Sources - Primary References:
1. PRONI OS/6/1/9/2. OS 1:10,560 map, Co Antrim sheet 9 (1857).
2. PRONI OS/6/1/9/3. OS 1:10,560 map, Co Antrim sheet 9 (1903-04).
3. PRONI OS/6/1/9/4. OS 1:10,560 map, Co Antrim sheet 9 (1922).

Sources - Secondary References:
1. Website of the Milestone Society, .

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

R. Age
S. Authenticity
T. Historic Importance
X. Local Interest
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance
Z. Rarity

Evaluation

A repositioned freestanding late 19th/early 20th C cast-iron milepost on the main A2 road between Cushendall and Ballycastle. This particular milepost is typical of the many which once dotted the province's roads at regular intervals. Most have succumbed to road widening, traffic impacts and theft, and this example is now a rare survivor, being one of only two recorded ones along the A2 in Moyle (the other is HB05/04/041 with which this record has group value). Because of the variations in mileage, each post was a unique casting. The legend on its sides were configured to indicate the mileage to the next main settlement to be encountered by the road user. The legends on this one remain accurate despite its repositioning. The factor determining their position was the whole-mile distance from Belfast (as measured from the former G.P.O. In Royal Avenue). The fact that the distances to the nearest settlements are shown not only in miles but also in one-eighth and one-quarter mile divisions reflects the much slower modes of transport - on foot and by horse - in bygone days. It is of local interest.