Milestone (Mile Marker)

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A freestanding late 19th/early 20th C cast-iron milepost on the main A2 road between Cushendall and Ballycastle.

This mile marker is in its original position, on the verge along the S side of the Cushendall Road in front of no.119. The road has been resurfaced over the years to such an extent that the post is buried all the way up to the bottom of its inscriptions.

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/ 62", it SE cant (facing Cushendall) reads "Ballycastle/ 3?/ miles", and its NW facing one (towards Ballycastle) reads "Cushendall/ 12¾/ miles"; all have serif letters and numbers.

Materials:
Mile Marker Cast-iron

Setting:
Behind the milepost is the painted and rendered wall to the front garden of no.119, a two-storey dwelling. Aside from the main road and aforementioned house, 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. 3? 12¾". 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.

There is a similar, but slightly repositioned, milepost just over a mile along the same road in the direction of Ballycastle (HB05/04/037).

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
H-. Alterations detracting from building
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 freestanding late 19th/early 20th C cast-iron milepost on the main A2 road between Cushendall and Ballycastle. This 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 HB05/04/037 with which this record has group value). Because of the variations in mileage, each post was a unique casting. The legend on its side cants were configured to indicate the mileage to the next main settlement to be encountered by the road user. However, the principal factor determining its position was the whole-mile distance from Belfast (as measured from the former G.P.O. in Royal Avenue). This post's setting is therefore a crucial factor in understanding why it is located where it is. 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. Despite this post being partially buried in the surrounding tarmac due to road resurfacing, it is of local and historical interest.