History

Railway Boundary Markers

Travel just about anywhere in Britain and one will come across a stone or post intended to convey some sort of message to the traveller, such as distance markers to a place or milestones (required along turnpike roads in the 19th century). Some may also be ‘court’ stones, indicating responsibility for the repair of bridges, while others may be boundary markers, usually made of stone, but also from metal. On Whitchurch Down there is both a stone marking the boundary between the parishes of Tavistock and Whitchurch, and a metal post marking the more recent boundary between Tavistock Urban District Council and Tavistock Rural District Council. At least six of these boundary posts still exist. Markers were also used by the railways to mark their boundaries. At their height, the railways were one of the biggest landowners in Britain, after the Crown and the Church. Under the Railway Clauses Consolidation Act 1845, which apparently is still in force, British railway tracks must be fenced throughout their length, unlike mainland European countries or North America. The requirement was imposed not just to protect the public but also to reduce the risk of trains colliding with farm animals. The latter was a particular risk where a railway had divided an existing farm and animals had to move from one part to the other. Even with fencing,

Whitchurch Down boundary markers

or where land boundaries extended beyond the fenced railway line, it was inevitable that boundary disputes would sometimes arise. So many railways designed boundary posts or markers which were usually placed in the fence line at the side of the railway, or in adjacent land by bridges, viaducts or crossings. The oldest markers tended to be in stone, but these had to be individually engraved, so lettering was kept to a minimum. From about 1870 onwards, markers were made of cast iron, and could carry more detail because one mould produced hundreds of identical markers. The marker could also be used to embody a sense of pride in the railway by its colour and stylish detail.

There are two disused railways in the Tavistock area. The South Devon and Tavistock Railway opened in 1859, linking Plymouth with Tavistock, and was extended by the Launceston and South Devon Railway to Launceston in 1865. The company was amalgamated with the Great Western Railway (GWR) on 1st February 1876. The GWR was nationalised in 1948 and the line was closed to passengers in 1962. The second railway formed part of the Exeter to Plymouth (via Okehampton and Bere Alston) section of the London and South Western Railway (LSWR). The Tavistock section opened in June 1890 and closed in May 1968.

GWR boundary markers

The only surviving stone railway boundary marker in the Tavistock area is for an earlier incarnation of the GWR, the South Devon and Launceston Railway. It appears this stone was moved when the original railway bridge spanning the Tavy was removed and Stannary Bridge was built. It has been relocated to its current position by the A386 beside the steps to a footpath, opposite Celle Gardens. As for the GWR itself, two boundary markers have been found, both some distance from Tavistock. While the GWR line ran to the southeast of the LSWR line from Plymouth to Tavistock, the LSWR line crossed the GWR line at Wringworthy Farm (about 2½ miles north of Tavistock) and thereafter the two lines ran parallel to Lydford, with the LSWR line to the east of the GWR line. One GWR marker is a little south of the site of Mary Tavy and Blackdown Station and is of particular interest as it stands some way from the GWR line itself and is actually half-way up the embankment on which the LSWR line used to run. The other marker is at North Brentor, near West Blackdown and appears to have been placed there recently and is not fully

buried. In common with other GWR boundary markers, these markers are made of bridge rails, cut into lengths, with an angle iron T-piece on the bottom, and a cast iron top, moulded round the rail. Between 1880 and 1920, the year of manufacture was included on the cast top: the Mary Tavy marker is dated 1899, while the date of the other is obscured.

LSWR boundary markers

There are a number of LSWR boundary markers still in place in the Tavistock area. These markers are cast iron posts with a graceful curved top and elegant lettering; the bottom half of the marker is like a long fish-tail which makes it extremely hard to remove from the ground once placed in position. The marker in Crease Lane is against a building belonging to Buctor House. It is some way from the LSWR line and, if in its original position, suggests that the railway owned considerable land away from the railway line itself. Possibly, the marker indicates a ‘limit of deviation’ – when the railway company sought powers to construct the railway, a wide swathe of land could have been included to provide some allowance when finally designing the route. The marker would originally have had the lettering and raised edges picked out in white. As the livery of the LSWR was red, it is likely that the rest of the marker would have been painted bright (signal) red. The markers on the corner of Glanville Road and Courtenay Road, and on the parapet of Launceston New Road Bridge, both seem to have a hint of red, supporting the opinion that the markers would originally have been painted red. There is also a marker on the parapet of Launceston Old Road Bridge, though it is so submerged that it is only just visible.

Launceston New Road Bridge marker

SDLR boundary marker

GWR marker, Brentor Courtenay Road marker

There is a further marker along the fence bordering the LSWR line and a field beside Old Exeter Road, and there are no doubt others to be found.

Chris Bellers Tavistock Local History Society

See What’s On or visit tavistockhistory.co.uk for more details about our events