This milestone in Little Chalfont was on the Hatfield to Reading Turnpike which provided a route around London from the Great North Road to the Bath Road and came into use in the 1760s. Developed and managed by the Reading and Hatfield Trust until 1881, the Turnpike was the only proper road in Little Chalfont and only given a modern surface in 1914, allegedly to provide easier transit for the Marquis of Salisbury from his home at Hatfield House to the Spa in Bath. It was therefore referred to as the ‘Gout Road’ or the ‘Gout Track’!
Although the milestone is not a building, it does appear on Historic England’s register with a Grade II listing to protect it. It is on the edge of the modern A404 on the South side next to Amersham Way.
Users of Turnpikes had to pay tolls for the upkeep. There were toll gates in Chorleywood, at the entrance to Beel House and in Whielden Gate going out of Old Amersham – see below.
Read more about the Goat Road by Peter Borrows by clicking on this link