MSO10652 - Milestone at NGR SS 9208 3485, Exton (Building)

Milestone. Early C19. Sandstone and cast iron. Cambered head stone, attached cast iron plaque with semi-circular head to central section, inscribed in incised lettering: '12 miles to Minehead'. The road was turnpiked in 1824. [1] The milestone was destroyed in March 1985 before Listing. [2] The milestone was shown as 'MS' and 'Minehead 12' on the Ordnance Survey map of c.1904. [3] 'MS' is still shown on recent mapping. [4] The construction of the 14 miles or so of the A396 road from Timberscombe southwards to beyond the County boundary with Devon was authorized under the Turnpike Act of 1822 and completed by 1827. A total of twelve Ham stone milestones were erected on the western side of the road to a standard design with cast iron plates inscribed with incised lettering reading 6 miles to Minehead to 18 Miles to Minehead. A survey of roadside heritage on this section of the A396 was carried out in 1985 or 1986 and showed that ten milestones remained largely complete but with some damage to stonework and wear and tear. A new survey at the end of 2005 showed that four milestones had subsequently been removed or seriously damaged in the intervening years. In 2005 the stonework was descibed as only surviving to ground level [5] A project in 2006- 2007 was set up by Somerset Historic Environment Service to repair the surviving milestones and replace the missing milestones. [6]