A historic mile marker has been returned to its original location after it was stolen over 30 years ago.
The mile marker near Morridge Top on the A53 between royal cottage and Flash was recovered by Staffordshire Police and the Milestone Society after being seen on an auction website.
The mile marker has now been reinstalled by Staffordshire County Council and Amey whose crews carried out the work as part of their community day. This follows the restoration of the post by the Milestone Society with funding from the Peak District National Park and the Moorlands Partnership.
Mile markers were introduced as early as the Roman period, though most date to the Turnpike era of the late 18th and 19th century. The posts provided travellers with distances between towns and villages and are a common sight in the English countryside.
The restored mile marker is a listed structure of historic importance and is made of cast iron. This particular ‘bobbin’ style is distinctive to North Staffordshire and South and West Derbyshire area.
Mark Deaville, Cabinet Member responsible for Highways at Staffordshire County Council said:
“It’s nice to see the mile marker returned to its former glory and put back where it belongs. They are a unique part of our heritage and a distinctive feature along our highways. It was good to work with the Milestone Society and is a good example of how we can work together with local organisations to make a difference in local communities.”
Howard Price of the Milestone Society said:
“The alleged stolen milestone was spotted on an auction site by John Nicholls and Mike Faherty of the Milestone Society. The auction was held in June 2016 and it was withdrawn from the auction with the help of the Staffordshire Police. Our member David Wright accompanied the police to Sheffield to collect the post, and since then the Milestone Society Staffordshire group has successfully applied for grant aid to reinstate the post in its rightful location. This has been a great collaborative effort to bring the post home to Staffordshire.”
Amey’s Account Director Steve Jones added:
“We encourage all our employees to spend a paid day a year supporting a local charitable cause and I’m thrilled some of my team used their day to help with this project. It’s good to see the milemarker returned to its original location after so many years.”