Historic Milestones Installed

Our small works team have recently installed two beautiful milestones next to the Swan Basin, Mistley.

The two milestones, which have been installed thanks to a community effort, allow residents to see the distance between the village and London. The one on the left of the basin is the original Mistley to London milestone, dated approximately 1750, which was originally sited halfway up Mistley Hill, and in the mid-19th century was moved to Mistley Quay.

Until recently, it was situated behind Thorn Quay Warehouse at Mistley Quay, and when the warehouse was demolished in 2018, the milestone was removed and stored safely, pending re-siting.

The white cast metal marker on the right is a replica of a milestone made at Bendall Foundry in Lawford and was also originally sited further up Mistley Hill. The milestone is shown in the André and Chapman map of Mistley, drawn in 1777.

A spokesperson for Mistley Parish Council said: “We are so grateful to all those who kindly helped with this wonderful project for Mistley – to Bob Horlock for his historical research and for proposing, coordinating and overseeing the project, to EDME for its kind financial contribution, and to Rose Builders for installing both the milestones. Thank you to you all.”

Bob Horlock with our site team