Huddersfield has a (unique?) series of milestones, triangular in section, at half-mile intervals within the old town boundary including on minor roads; the legend on one side reads ‘To Huddersfield 1.5 miles’ and on the other ‘FROM Huddersfield 1.5 miles’ or whatever distance is appropriate. Hence Milestoners have named them the ‘To and Froms’. But what purpose did they serve ?
They were actually Victorian fare stages for Hansom cabs and other hired vehicles, measured from the Market Cross, 3d a half-mile. In 1889, the Watch Committee was asked to change the datum to the railway station, the main (very congested!) departure point, but this was refused. Perhaps they didn’t fancy shifting all the milestones a hundred yards or so J
One such ‘To and From’ was situated some 11 yards north of this cache, being moved from the side of the old Huddersfield – Wyke –Low Moor road when that was made into a dual carriageway in the 1970s. Then someone mowed it down one New Year’s Eve. You can find info on hundreds of local milestones on www.milestonesociety.co.uk, including flipflopnick’s GC bookmark list shown on GoogleEarth mapping. Or follow the Yorkshire ‘Miles Apart’ caches!
This smart new ‘From’ was created by local sculptor Dave Bradbury, out of the huge stone gate pillar that once graced the entrance to Fartown Lodge, demolished as part of the road widening scheme.
The container is now a tic tac mints box, bring your own writing implement - you might need to use it to fish out the log! An old penny (1d) for the ftf! After 6pm, you might park on the forecourt of the shop near GZ, HD2 2QZ. During daytime, use York Avenue HD2 2QN or Ashbrow Road. [ A big ash tree marked the boundary between two farms here in the 1700s!]