Warrington travellers' rest stones given Grade II listed status

The rest stone at Stag Inn traffic island has been given listed status

Two travellers' rest stones designed by a doctor about 160 years ago have been Grade-II listed.

The seats in Warrington, Cheshire, were created to be the ideal seat for migrant workers to rest while travelling on foot for work.

The Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) has made the decision on the advice of Historic England.

The stones were installed in about 1860 on busy routes from Liverpool to Manchester.

The second stone to be listed is at Red Bank

Roughly spaced two miles (3.2km) apart, up to 30 sites were selected for the stones to be placed but only about 12 were known to have survived, with many others having been moved or damaged.

Four other examples, previously thought to be blocks for mounting horses, have been relisted and their entries on the National Heritage List for England updated to outline their use as rest stones.

The two newly listed stones are located at Red Bank and Stag Inn traffic island, Lower Walton.

The four that were being relisted and their entries updated are located at Great Sankey, Swan Green at Winwick, Grappenhall and Lymm.

They were designed by Warrington resident, Dr James Kendrick, who was inspired by the donation of drinking fountains in Liverpool in 1859 by philanthropist Charles Melly.

Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, said: "These travellers' rest stones were a thoughtful, well-designed and welcome place to rest for migrant workers and their families, many from Ireland, who walked miles to find work harvesting crops.

"It's right that these journeys should be remembered by the listing of two new travellers' rest stones in Cheshire. They illustrate the incredible diversity of our heritage and its capacity to shed light on different aspects of past lives."