Summary
Parish boundary stone, late C18 or early C19.
Reasons for Designation
This parish boundary stone of late-C18 or early-C19 date, is listed at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* it is a good example of a late-C18 or early-C19 boundary stone, remaining in its original location;
* a well-executed round-headed design with clear lettering on two faces and one side.
Historic interest:
* unusually, it marks the junction of three parochial parish boundaries, and is an important tangible reminder of the jurisdiction of the late-C18 or early-C19 parochial councils.
Group value:
* it has spatial, historic and functional group value with several other contemporary listed boundary stones in the environs of Bollington.
History
Bollington is a civil parish in Cheshire East, situated on the northern slopes of Kerridge Ridge. During the late C18 and early C19 the area was occupied by five parish councils: Bollington, Rainow, Kerridge, Shrigley and Prestbury. The parochial parish boundaries were marked out by boundary stones and ten of these stones have since been listed at Grade II. The boundary between Bollington and Rainow follows the alignment of Kerridge Ridge and meets at the northern boundary of the parish of Kerridge, a little to the east of Cow Lane. The junction between the three boundaries is marked by a late-C18 to early-C19 boundary stone; however, at the time of the 1848 Tithe map, Kerridge and Bollington are shown as a single parish, and the stone was not included on the map. The boundary stone is shown on the 1:2,500 Ordnance Survey map of 1871 and continues to be depicted until 1954; however, after that date it is no longer marked. It is thought that around this time, the stone was toppled and buried, as it is not depicted on any subsequent Ordnance Survey map. The toppled stone was uncovered at its original location by the Kerridge Ridge and Ingersley Vale Countryside Volunteers in 2011 and was re-erected.
Details
Parish boundary stone, late C18 or early C19.
MATERIALS: sandstone ashlar.
DESCRIPTION: the boundary stone is set on the western side of a field boundary, perpendicular to the alignment of the hedgerow that formerly functioned as the boundary between Bollington and Rainow. It has a similar appearance to a small gravestone, standing approximately 0.5m high; the lower half of the stone has vertical sides and is buried in the ground, while the upper half has gently sloped sides and a semi-circular head. The north face of the stone has an inscribed 'B', representing Bollington, and the south face has a 'K' representing Kerridge. The west side is unadorned, while the east side has an inscribed 'R', which is incised a little lower than the other letters and represents Rainow.
