At the junction of the A685 Market Street and the B6259 Nateby Road (NY 775 085) in Kirkby Stephen is a unique road sign.

Kirkby Stephen Furlong sign

The black and white fingerpost sign, set a little higher than the road, is unusual because the distance measurements are in furlongs and not, as is customary, miles.

The furlong, now used mainly as the distances in horse racing, originating in Anglo-Saxon England is the  equivalent to 220 yd or 201.168 m.

Searching the web and little is reported about the history of the sign.  Maybe you can add to this article by using the comments section below?

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