This plate would have stood at what was known as the Crick crossroads of the A428 with the A5 Watling Street (London-Holyhead) road.

My first question was ‘Why Dunchurch and not Rugby?’ This led me to believe that it would have been put in place by the Northampton-Dunchurch Turnpike Trust who looked after that road.

The style of plate was designed by civil engineer Thomas Telford (1757-1834) who was tasked c1815 - 1830s with improving the links between London and Holyhead. The most important being the mail-coach route. The entire length of the road was largely re-paved.

It was made by Nathaniel Tarver (1772-1842) whose premises were in Sheaf Street, Daventry, backing onto where Foundry Court and Foundry Walk are today.

The date range can be anything from 1820 but certainly no later than 1844 when the foundry went into liquidation. I would however think it highly unlikely to be after 1835, which even pre-dates the railway age.

Now as to its removal, I have two suggestions for that, the first being many such items were removed to confuse the enemy in case of invasion during the Second World War. The second is the conversion of the crossroads to a roundabout c1960. If it is assumed the latter, the plate takes us from the days of the stagecoach to the motorway age.

David Holton

Rugby & District Historic Transport Studies Group