milestone/milepost

Freestanding granite milestone, erected c.1840. Rectangular in plan, with flat truncated pediment. Smooth dressing to face (south) having slightly chamfered dressed edges giving ribbon dressing effect, horizontal tooling to sides (east and west) and undressed to rear (north). Inscribed in Roman lettering to side facing canal, 'CHARLEMONT 22 / CALEDON 8 / MONAGHAN 3 / [CLONES 17?]'. Situated on grass towpath north of redundant canal, with canal bridge, mooring bollard, and masonry lock to south-east and to south-west.

Canal milestones served an important function in canal transport as barge operators charged their customers both by the ton and by the mile. This milestone is positioned to the north of a section of the Ulster Canal, which was built between 1825 and 1841 and was 74 km (46 mi) long with 26 locks. The now disused canal ran through Armagh, Monaghan, Tyrone and Fermanagh, from Charlemont on Lough Neagh to Wattle Bridge on Lough Erne. It was an ill-considered venture, with the locks built narrower than on other Irish waterways, preventing through-trade, and had an inadequate water supply. The canal fell into rapid decline from the mid-nineteenth century and closed in 1931. This milestone is of historical and social significance as a reminder of canal network development in Ireland, and is close to the canal lock and canal bridges to the south-east. The site exhibits a number of different historic stone dressing techniques and forms an interesting and attractive local landmark.