Geograph - photograph every grid square

This was a Post Office marker for a buried Telegraph cable joint. From 1897 to about 1925 the Post Office were creating an underground network of telegraph cables, being more resilient (particularly to weather) than aerial cables on poles. The cables came in 150 or 176 yard sections, and were joined end-on on-site, and the joints (as the rest of the cable) buried directly in the ground. It was assumed that any faults would most likely be at joints so these were marked for easy location later; below the "ft.in." cast marking, there would have been numeral inserts identifying the horizontal distance in front of the marker where the cable lay. (text: credit Derek Pattenson of gpo-markers.derektp.co.uk )