Monument record MDR3828 - Guidestone (not in situ), Barn Farm, Birchover

Guidepost found on farm by G. Heathcote, in use as a gate post. Removed and set up in farm yard for safe keeping. North side blank against wall. West side has date 1709 and initials SD; South side says Rowsley with R beneath it and initials EM and 1732 at the base; East side says Stanton with R beneath it, the northern corner of this side is worn to a bevelled edge which has destroyed part of the inscription. (1, 2) Supposedly found half buried in a field near the farm. A farmworker suggested it was originally from Clough Low, east of Uppertown, before Clough Ward is reached. (4) Guide stoop at Barn Farm, Birchover, marking the roads to Rowsley and Stanton. It was moved to its present position from a nearby field, where it was lying half-buried. It has been suggested that it once stood on Clough Lane, near Clough Wood, but the destinations shown on the stoop do not fit this theory. The stoop is of gritstone, with an almost square section, 25cm x 28cm, and 107cm high. It has two dates, the original 1709 under SD (the initials of the parish supervisor of the highways) and the later 1732 under the initials EM. Possible original locations for the stoop are SK 244622 and SK 242622. (5) Photographs (3, 6, 7)