Milestone ‘TRURO 51, MORETONHAMPSTEAD 19’

This fine milestone rests against a hedge/wall close to the ‘Welcome to Tavistock’ sign on the south side of the B3357 road. It is unusual in that historic OS Maps contain a discrepancy, that of showing the first destination as ‘Tavistock 1 mile’.

In fact, the inscription on the stone reads: ‘TRURO / 51 MILES’ and then: ‘MORETON / HAMPSTEAD / 19’, the latter of which is correctly referenced on old maps. It is unknown how the mapmaker could have made the mistake of confusing Tavistock for Truro; perhaps it was an educated guess or this isn’t even the original stone? That, though, seems unlikely.

The milestone has been cleared by Simon Dell and Paul Glanville before, and most recently by Max Piper in 2022. If you wish to visit, please be careful as the road can be busy.