Mileway stones
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Under an Act of 18 Elizabeth, everyone who occupied land within five miles of Oxford was bound to contribute to the repair of the roads within one mile of Oxford, and supervisors were nominated by the Mayor and Vice-Chancellor for the executing of the repairs. The mileways stretched for one mile northward from the four city gates.
The three surviving mileway stones leading out of Oxford are measured from the East Gate, which was just to the west of Longwall Street. They stand on the three different routes to London: (1) near the top of Headington Hill (the new route to London from the 1790s); (2) Old Road (the ancient route to London), and (3) Henley Road (the alternative route to London via Henley).
The stone at the bottom of Cuckoo Lane is different: it marks the end of the route for which Headington was responsible. Cuckoo Lane was once the main route between Oxford and Old Headington.