IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Homington Avenue, SWINDON, SN3 6BG

The cat is harder to spot than the Renault dealer's apostrophe.

Mentioned by Richard Jefferies in his book 'The Life of the Fields-meadow thoughts'

Badbury Park is a relatively modern residential 21st century development still under construction. The term 'Badbury Park' is a marketing device adopted by the various development companies and has not been adopted by Royal Mail who use the original centuries-old local identifier 'Coate', after the hamlet of that name. The developers took the name 'Badbury' from another local hamlet, not even in the same outward postcode area. The reason may be that, if the builders had used the logical name of 'Coate Park', it could have been confused with the Coate Water Country Park just to the west of this location. Image taken in compliance with SI 2020 no. 350.

Richard Jefferies mentions this in his classic book ' The Life of the Fields' thus ''Often and often I rambled up to the milestone which stood under an oak, to look at the chipped inscription low down-'To London, 79 Miles'.So far away, you see, that the very inscription was cut at the foot of the stone, since no one would be likely to want that information. It was half hidden by docks and nettles, despised and unnoticed.''

This milestone dates from the turn of the 19th century i.e. late 1790s or early 1800s. The road on which it is installed was once the main road east from Swindon to London, and which remained so until the road was bypassed by a much wider dual carriageway in the latter part of the 20th century. It is not easy to decipher the inscriptions but it shows mileages to, inter alia, London (79 miles), Hungerford (14 miles), Swindon (2 miles) and Marlborough (? miles). Listed Grade II https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1184444 Image taken in compliance with SI 2020 no. 350.

Swindon half-round with base by the UC road, in parish of Chiseldon (Swindon District), South of Spotted Cow PH, opposite No. 19 Marlborough Road, Coate on old road off the new A4259 dual carriageway, in nettle bed between path and hedge. Inscription reads:- : TO / SWINDON / 2 / Miles : : LONDON / 79 Miles : : TO / HUNGERFORD / 14 Miles / TO / MARLBORO / 9 Miles : Grade II listed. List Entry Number: 1184444 https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1184444 Surveyed Milestone Society National ID: WI_hgsn14

Just beyond the hedge is the A4259 Marlborough Road. The housing just visible is in the very small hamlet of Coate.