milestone/milepost

Cast-iron milepost (on circular-plan), erected 1880, having moulded stringcourse to shaft and domed cap over with projecting lip to base. Raised\embossed inscription to shaft reading ‘L.DERRY 7 MILES, BUNCRANA 3½ MILES, CLONMANY 12 MILES. Foundry stamp to base illegible. Set on south side of R238 road leading to Derry.

This cast-iron milepost makes an attractive, if subtle, historical impression in the streetscape of Fahan. It is of same appearance and style as mileposts at Clonmany (see 40804004) and at Buncrana (see 40902931) to the north, suggesting that they were erected at the same time as part of a road construction or widening project. The example at Clonmany has a foundry mark dated ‘1880’. The raised lettering and domed cap with protruding lip to base adds some decorative interest, indicating the importance of aesthetics as well as function. It may have been originally erected by the Board of Works. This simple item of street furniture acts as a subtle historical reminder of the expansion of the road network in Ireland during the second half of the nineteenth century, and it is an integral element of the built heritage of the local area.