Milestone 11 Mile

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

The milestone is one of an original set of 17 milestones that marked intervals of one Irish mile from Enniskillen to the border of Fermanagh along the mail coach road, which extended through Cavan to Dublin. Erected between c1810 and c1835, 12 of the series survive, of which two have been relocated and one is already listed.
The milestones in the set are carved from local limestone and are square in plan, rising just over 1m. The milestones vary slightly in design, the individual, uneven vernacular quality suggesting the work of local craftsmen. Generally, they gently taper to form an elongated prism; in some, this is less pronounced. While the front and rear elevations are flush, the side elevations are more often profiled, stepping out at a low level to define a base and overhanging at the top with a roll that tapers upward to a crown profile, completing an ornate terminus.
The milestone is eleven Irish miles from Enniskillen, along the lower section of purpose-built coach road (now known as Crom Road) and opposite a listed former coach house, now known as Manorwaterhouse (HB12/03/045). The stone is somewhat damaged and only the mileage information relating to Enniskillen is clearly legible. The stone would also have originally displayed the distances 69.5 miles to Dublin and 14.5 miles to Cavan in addition to the distance from Enniskillen.

HB references for the collection of 12 Milestones along the former coach road to Dublin from Enniskillen

1 mile HB12/17/085
Nr 11 LOUGH YOAN ROAD, ENNISKILLEN, BT74 4GR

3 mile HB12/07/056
Nr 4 GOLA ROAD, TAMLAGHT, ENNISKILLEN, BT74 4AF

5 mile HB12/07/057
Nr 147 FARNAMULLAN ROAD, LISBELLAW, BT94 5EA

8 mil e HB12/05/056 (Record Only)
Nr 338 GOLA ROAD, LISNASKEA, BT92 0FE

9 mile HB12/03/059
Nr BEECH HOUSE, 52 MAIN STREET, LISNASKEA, BT92 0JD

10 mile HB12/03/040
KILLYCRUTTEN, CO.FERMANAGH
H3693 3238

11 mile HB12/03/060
Nr 87 CROM ROAD, LISNASKEA, BT92 0BZ

13 mile HB12/02/123
Nr 214 CROM ROAD, NEWTOWNBUTLER, BT92 8BE

14 mile HB12/02/124
Nr 252 CROM ROAD, NEWTOWNBUTLER, BT92 8GD

15 mile HB12/02/125 (Record Only)
Nr 300 CROM ROAD, NEWTOWNBUTLER, BT92 8JL

16 mile HB12/02/126
Nr 349 CROM ROAD, NEWTOWNBUTLER, BT92 8GH

17 mile HB12/02/127
Nr 193 WATTLEBRIDGE ROAD, NEWTOWNBUTLER, BT92 8EG

Historical information

The current milestone is one of a series of 12 erected between c1810 and c1835. These are survivors from an original set of 17 milestones that marked intervals of one Irish mile from Enniskillen to the border of Fermanagh along the mail coach road that extended through Cavan to Dublin. The section of road where the stones are located, between Enniskillen and Wattlebridge, was largely constructed between 1808 and 1822 for the purpose of providing a broad, flat road for the use of mail coaches. The road was used by the mail coach service (with some re-routing) until 1859 and the coming of the railways. (See HB12/17/085 for further details.)

The current milestone is situated at a distance of eleven miles from Enniskillen, along the lower section of purpose-built coach road (now known as Crom Road) and opposite a listed former coach house, now known as Manorwaterhouse (HB12/03/045). The stone is somewhat damaged and only the mileage information relating to Enniskillen is clearly legible. The stone would also have originally displayed the distances 69.5 miles to Dublin and 14.5 miles to Cavan in addition to the distance from Enniskillen.

One or two coaching inns were required within Fermanagh for the new road, because horses normally had to be changed about every 8 to 12 Irish miles. The ‘Treble Almanack’ suggests that stops were made at Wattlebridge and Lisnaskea and newspaper reports confirm that in 1840, the inn used by the mail coach was in Lisnaskea (near the 9th milestone), while OS Memoirs record that horses were changed at Wattlebridge (at the 17th milestone). However, the current milestone lies opposite a coaching inn, present by 1825 (but according to OS Memoirs never used as an inn), which was constructed by Colonel Madden of Hilton Park House in County Monaghan. The Madden family had also owned the nearby demesne of Manor Waterhouse from 1638 and had built a substantial dwelling house on the site of an earlier bawn, the empty house being pulled down by Madden for stone to build the coaching inn. According to Trimble the stone may also have been used to build the road itself, and it is conceivable that some may have been used for milestones. Colonel Madden is named in the presentment books as undertaking subsidiary works on the road itself, particularly on drains and bridges. The former coaching inn was listed in 1980 and remains intact with a substantial rear courtyard surrounded by double height outbuildings.

The current set of milestones, as individual stones, are one of the few remaining reminders of the days of coach travel and the mail coach system in Fermanagh. The historical context in which they were put up adds to our understanding of the significant improvements to the road system made during the 19th century. Their significance is increased by their survival as a series with relatively few losses on this stretch of the former mail coach road to Dublin.

References:
Primary Sources:
1. PRONI OS/6/4/27,28,34,39,40,43/1 First Edition Six Inch OS map (1834)
2. PRONI OS/6/4/27,28,34,39,40,43/2 Second Edition Six Inch OS map (1857)
3. PRONI OS/6/4/27,28,34,39,40,43/3 Third Edition Six Inch OS map (1906,1907)
4. PRONI FER/4/2/1-3 Grand Jury Presentment Books for Baronies of Coole, Magherastephana and Tirkennedy (1808-33)
5. PRONI FER/4/3/1-2 – Grand Jury Presentment Books for County Fermanagh (1792-1833)
6. Sixth report of the Select Committee on the roads from London to Holyhead and into the regulations for conveying His Majesty’s mail between Dublin and the interior of Ireland, House of Commons, printed 4th July 1822
7. Commissioners of Inquiry into collection and management of revenue in Ireland and Great Britain, 19th report, Appendix (1829)
8. Report from the Select Committee on the Turnpike Roads in Ireland, printed 26th July 1832 (contains map of post roads showing turnpikes, presentment roads and mail coach roads)
9. Report from the Select Committee on Post Communication with Ireland. London: House of Commons, printed 9th August 1832 (contains ‘A new map of Ireland showing the post towns and mail conveyances throughout’)
10. Moll, H (1695) A new map of Ireland according to Sr. W. Petty (but supplied wth. many additions which are not in his survey nor in any other map) divided into its provinces, counties & baronies. London: Sold by Philip Lea at the Atlas and Hercules in Cheapside (Norman B Leventhaal map and education centre)
11. Moll, Herman (1714) A new map of Ireland divided into its provinces, counties and baronies, wherein are distinguished the bishopricks, boroughs, barracks, bogs, passes, bridges & c. With the principal roads, and the common reputed miles. Ewart Map Collection, Queen’s University Belfast.
12. Taylor, G and Skinner, A (1778) Taylor and Skinner’s Maps of the Roads of Ireland, surveyed 1777, Dublin: Wilson, W.
13. Larkin, William (1805) A Map of the Mail Coach Branching Cross and Bye Post Roads of Ireland. Ewart Map Collection, Queen’s University Belfast
14. Maps of the post-roads of Ireland, showing suggested improvements, adjoining owners etc. 1805-1816. 14 volumes. Held by National Library of Ireland (MAP 15 A 14)
15. The Treble Almanack (for the years 1815 to 1825). Dublin: John Watson Stewart (babel.hathitrust.org)
16. Day, A and McWilliams , P (eds) (1990) OS Memoirs of Ireland Volume 4, Parishes of County Fermanagh I 1834-5. Belfast: Institute of Irish Studies
17. Northern Ireland Road Map (1926) https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/
18. OS Half Inch map of Ireland (c.1969) https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/
19. OS 1:250k OpenData 1988 https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/
20. HED First survey card (HB12/03/040)

Secondary Sources:

21. Andrews, J H (1964) ‘Road planning in Ireland before the railway age’ Irish Geography Vol 5 Iss 1
22. McCutcheon, W A (1980) The Industrial Archaeology of Northern Ireland. Belfast: HMSO
23. McNeill, D. B. (1982) Public Transport in Fermanagh. Clogher Record. Vol 11, No 1, pp.31-42
24. Society for All British and Irish Road Enthusiasts (SABRE) (https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk)
25. Trimble, W Copeland (1921) The History of Enniskillen, with reference to some manors in Co. Fermanagh. Volume III. Enniskillen: Impartial Reporter

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

C. Ornamentation
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

R. Age
Z. Rarity
S. Authenticity
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance
W. Northern Ireland/International Interest

Evaluation

This collection of 12 (of an original 17) milestones along the Crom and Gola Roads is one of the most complete series of its kind in NI and constitutes one of the few surviving components of the late 18th / early 19th century mail coach system, perhaps the single most important communications network to be established throughout the entirety of these islands prior to the coming of the railways. The stones themselves have what appear to be a unique profiled top, and are mostly well preserved, whilst their group value is enhanced by the existence along the same stretch of a contemporary coaching inn (HB12/03/045.)
This milestone is special as it is in its original location and retains its form, material and some original lettering. It makes a significant contribution to the narrative of the group.