Above: Recently revealed milestone on Denmark Hill.
In case you are not familiar with SE London, probably the most helpful thing to say first is that Denmark Hill is in Camberwell with its lower end starting at Camberwell Green. Denmark Hill is where the main entrance to King’s College Hospital used to be and the emergency entrance for ambulances still is.
What is curious about this particular milestone is that it is only since 2019 that anyone has been able to see its inscription for maybe 150-200 years. In the early part of the 20th century, there was a butcher’s shop called ‘J Kennedy’ just two or three doors from where Denmark Hill joins onto Camberwell Green. Immediately beside the doorway of the shop was what appeared to be a lump of stone protruding from the wall. In the 1970s many local historians suspected that it was the side of a milestone that was embedded into the wall of the terrace of shops beside Kennedy’s. The stone only protruded from the wall by about an inch but its surface was smooth and there was no inscription to be seen. Even if you suspect something of being a milestone, you cannot just start scraping away to reveal the evidence because it is private property.
However, in 2019, much to everyone’s delight, the render on the stone was carefully removed, revealing beautifully clear incised letters. The proof that it was a milestone is clear to see and, of course, what it has to say is also of great interest. Several comments were to be found on the Internet in December 2019. This means that yet another piece of history has been unveiled of Camberwell’s history – this time connected with the days of coaching and coaching inns.
As has been said several times on this Website, that Inner London has so few inns that remain from the days of coaching. The only coaching inn still being used as a tavern is the George Inn, Borough High Street. A small part of the ancient galleried inn – when compared how much there was before most of it was torn down – remains on the site. Another coaching inn stands beside Bermondsey Street but that is now privately owned. There are a few more ‘bits and pieces’ around Inner London but these are the only two such premises near Camberwell.
Milestones in Inner London easily reach into double figures but they are not particularly common. A few have already been described on this Website and more will be added as time goes by. This particular one was erected by the Surrey & Sussex turnpike trust in the 19th century.
The lettering on the milestone states ‘3 MILES from the Treasury, Whitehall’ and ‘3 MILES from the Standard, Cornhill’.
Taking the second phrase first, many stagecoach routes started in the City of London. Ths Standard was a water source that once stood at the crossroads formed by Cornhill, Leadenhall Street, Bishopsgate and Gracechurch Street. The water standard no longer exists but there is a City Plaque recording its site. Although few people know of this location, it was at one time extremely well-known.
The first phrase on the milestone relates to the site of the Treasury on the west side of Whitehall. It so happens that the milestone is three miles from each location. Until 1750 only London Bridge crossed the Thames in Central London. In 1750, Westminster Bridge was completed and stagecoaches that had previously left Westminster bound for the south of England no longer had to take the circuitous route along the Strand and over London Bridge, they could take the shorter route over Westminster Bridge and thus reduce journey distances as well as journey times. The text on the stone, therefore, indicates that the stone was made after Westminster Bridge was opened.
-ENDS-
Know Your London 