Commemorative motorway markers on the M62 running through Yorkshire and Lancashire have been granted protected status as part of the Queens Platinum Jubilee celebrations
They are among six structures to have been listed by the Government is the Art Deco Sun Pavilion and Colonnade in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, constructed in 1933 as a place for people to relax after exercising or using the spa in the town centre.
Construction on the M62 ended in 1970 with the completion of the final stretch through the Pennines. The new motorway opened to traffic in 1971 and became the country’s highest motorway, reaching a summit of 372 metres across the Lancashire-Yorkshire border.
It was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth, and two plaques on pyramidal marker stones were constructed in commemoration of the achievement, one on each side of the M62, which runs through the two counties.
In place of county names, the markers instead display the historic symbols of the Red Rose of the House of Lancaster and the White Rose of the House of York; as well as highly recognised emblems of the two historic counties, the rose motifs are a reminder of the historic rivalry between the two, and the later bringing together of the flowers by the house of Tudor.
The markers further reference the motorway’s surroundings through the use of local Pennine aggregate and stone in their construction.
