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Milestoned?
As might be expected, the Romans were the first to use milestones in Britain. Theirs were usually stone cylinders, and a fragment of one is in Buxton Museum. Clearly, they had two useful functions: not only did they tell travellers how far they had to go, but at the same time they provided reassurance that…
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The name of the lane
Road name near Holbrook Although name signs like this are relatively modern, roads have been named for hundreds of years, and today road names are a useful resource for historians. We do not know what names the Romans actually gave their routes, but after their departure they were called ‘streets’ as in Ryknild Street, which…
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Crossed out?
Anyone who has travelled in the more Catholic parts of Europe such as Bavaria or Brittany may have seen the roadside crosses which frequently mark the route. Medieval England would probably have had the same, until various acts of parliament after the Reformation ordered their removal as ‘Popish elements’. The cross was obviously the symbol…
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Wells, springs and troughs
Travellers have always needed to drink, and so have their horses and dogs. Yet on the ancient ridgeways, crossing the limestone hills of north Derbyshire, there are few streams or ponds, and so providing drinking places has been critical. Stone troughs fed by springs are found by many old roads, though it is not clear…
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Dark Lanes and Holloways
How many ‘Dark Lanes’ can you find on the Ordnance Survey maps of Derbyshire? I know several, for example the one running from Wheatcroft towards Plaistow Green, but there are probably more. In practice these lanes are usually shady holloways, so that the meaning of the name is obvious. But what is the origin of…
The Old Roads of Derbyshire 