The Orchard Milepost

The milepost, which was found close to the orchard entrance, has been restored and returned to the roadside this week.

In Blaydon on Tyne, at the end of the 19th century, our milepost was cast. It was placed along the toll road between Belford and Ford Bridge, where it stood for many years before a passing hedge flail caught it and broke it in to 5 pieces. We suspect the farmer hid the evidence of his accident in the hedge bottom - where, through time, the pieces became buried beneath soil level. In 1986 a man from the council listed all the milepost along the stretch of road but, by then, our broken remains were well hidden from sight.

A gentleman from the Milestone Society enlisted our help to find the milepost in 2009 but, although we got rather battered and scratched from digging through the roadside hedge, there was no sign of it. 

In June of this year we had to move a stretch of hedge to create the orchard access - and there, hidden well underneath the hedge roots, was our milepost. Using a metal detector Darren was able to locate the stem of the milepost – it was a long way beneath soil level.

We had the pieces of the milepost sand blasted to remove rust and then, with advice and help from the Milestone Society, we were able to rejoin the 5 broken pieces using steel putty (amazing stuff) and fibreglass.

The mended post was painted with several coats of white Hammerite – and then I used a small roller (thank you Jeremy) to apply black to the raised lettering. In some places the damage was too great – so I resorted to a fine brush and a steady hand (the ‘O’ in Ford is all my own work!).

 Terry and Paul gave Tom a hand to dig and cement the milepost in place at the orchard entrance. Thank you to everyone who has helped us restore this piece of local history.