TWO historic milestones have been installed into their new homes in public parks after being moved from the former Cowley Hill health facility.

The four-foot-high sandstone posts, which have flanked the entrance to the former health facility in Balker Drive for many years, were relocated to two parks by St Helens Council.

It is not known how the milestones, once situated on a turnpike that is now the A58, came to be at the Cowley Hill location, but they were handed to the local authority following a successful request by the local branch of the Milestone Society to keep them in public ownership and on display.

The milestones have been put in place in their new permanent homes in Victoria Park and Taylor Park, which are as close as practically possible to their original locations.

A service access road to a supermarket and the Jackson Street Industrial Estate occupy the sites where the milestones were first placed.

The milestones are made from sandstone extracted from one of the many former quarries around St Helens. The turnpike road where they were originally placed is one of the oldest in the country, dating from 1753 – and is now the A58.

Dave Bloor, St Helens Council’s environmental services manager, said: “The fact that the existing gateposts to the Victorian house in Balker Drive, the old NHS site, happen to be the turnpike road milestones, was brought to my attention by the Milestone Society.

“It’s created great interest with local historians. St Helens Council welcomes the gift of these historic milestones to display in Victoria Park and Taylor Park to preserve their history.”

Historian Barrie Pennington, who orchestrated the project on behalf of the Milestone Society, added: “We are particularly indebted to Robert Bentley, who immediately understood the relevance and importance of these historical artefacts and moved quickly to help us in securing their conservation.

“Local historian Chris Coffey has also been instrumental in the project and we’d like to thank local resident Stan Gibbons who spotted the milestones at Balker Drive.”

He added: “Next year is the 150th anniversary of St Helens as a borough so the recovery and preservation of the milestones is a timely reminder of the town’s industrial past.

“At one time Liverpool required huge amounts of coal for its steel, salt, chemical and ship building factories and St Helens had enormous quantities so the town became highly dependent on the turnpike roads for its economic development.

“When Turnpike Trusts were disbanded in 1888, responsibility for maintaining roads shifted to county and county borough councils and many assets were sold off at auction to cover debts.

“These two milestones may have had several owners before becoming gatepost guardians but we’re not aware of any records of purchase as individual items.”

The vacant Cowley Hill site is set to be sold after it was placed on the open market in December 2016.

The inscriptions on the milestones, which are unusually well-preserved and legible, read:

•To Ashton VI miles St Helens I mile To Prescot III miles Liverpool XI

•To Ashton V miles To Prescot IV miles Liverpool XII

All proceeds from the sale of the Cowley Hill site will be reinvested in the NHS.