Orton 7 Sedbergh 4 Fairmile Gate, Sedbergh, Cumbria
N 54° 22.449 W 002° 34.330
30U E 527791 N 6025235
This small square block, showing distances to nearby towns, is set back from the lane, which would have been a main road north long before the M6 motorway. Sedbergh, 4 miles south, was a hub for many turnpikes radiating out across the dales.
Waymark Code: WM71C7
Location: North West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 08/18/2009
Views: 1
The block has a corner missing and the inscriptions are hard to read. It is on the east side of the lane beside the wall, at the top of a very steep short climb from Fairmile Beck. This is open land so the grass is short cropped by the sheep freely roaming.
The Act of parliament for this turnpike was combined with several others in 1761. (
visit link) It was part of a network from Cowan Bridge near Kirkby Lonsdale, to Borrow Bridge near Tebay, with Sedbergh in the middle. At Borrow Bridge was a Roman Camp, suggesting a long established thoroughfare. Just north of this milestone is a section of Roman road still visible as an embankment deviating from the course of current road. (
visit link)
Links
Old Cumbria Gazetteer (
visit link)
Streetmap UK (
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