Wrynose Pass, Three Shires Stone - geograph

The Three Shire Stone is a

boundary stone A boundary marker, border marker, boundary stone, or border stone is a robust physical marker that identifies the start of a land boundary or the change in a boundary, especially a change in direction of a boundary. There are several other ty ...

that marks the location where the historic English counties of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

and

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

meet. The point is in the English

Lake District The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...

at the summit of

Wrynose Pass The Wrynose Pass is a mountain pass in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England between the Duddon Valley and Little Langdale. Etymology The unusual name of the pass is taken from that of the adjacent Wrynose hill, also called Wryn ...

; latitude 54°25' North, longitude 3°7' West, elevation 1289 feet (393 m) above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

(). The

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

monolith was cut in the Lancashire village of

Cartmel Cartmel is a village in Cumbria, England, northwest of Grange-over-Sands close to the River Eea. The village takes its name from the Cartmel Peninsula, and was historically known as Kirkby in Cartmel. The village is the location of the 12th- ...

in 1816 for the

Furness Furness ( ) is a peninsula and region of Cumbria in northwestern England. Together with the Cartmel Peninsula it forms North Lonsdale, historically an exclave of Lancashire. The Furness Peninsula, also known as Low Furness, is an area of vill ...

roadmaster William Field; however, it was not erected until 1860, after his death. The front of the stone is inscribed with the word ''Lancashire''. On the reverse side is the inscription ''W.F. 1816''. It is grade II

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

. In 1997, the stone was smashed into four pieces, probably as the result of a motor accident. It was restored in 1998 by stonemason Gordon Greaves of

Troutbeck Bridge Troutbeck Bridge is a village in South Lakeland, Cumbria, England. It is situated north of Windermere on the A591 road running through the Lake District and was historically in the county of Westmorland. The main secondary school for Winder ...

. The unveiling ceremony of the restored monument took place on 27 April 1998. The possible loss of the stone prompted organisations, including

Friends of Real Lancashire Friends of Real Lancashire (FORL) is an apolitical pressure group affiliated to the Association of British Counties calling for the wider recognition of the historic boundaries of Lancashire in England. Its chairman is Philip Walsh. Backgroun ...

, to raise money for its restoration. The

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

moved the car park away from the restored stone, and placed some cobbles in the turf to mark the county boundaries radiating from it. The stone was found fallen and damaged in summer 2017. It is expected to take some time for the National Trust to repair it.

References

External links

Three Shire Stone
at Lake District Tourism and Tourist Information {{coord, 54.41505, -3.11518, type:landmark_region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(NY276027), display=title Border tripoints History of Cumberland History of Westmorland History of Lancashire Furness Lake District