The Millennium Stone, Marton, Lincolnshire
Best explained by the plaque beneath the anchor which reads "THIS ANCHOR WAS DREDGED FROM THE RIVER TRENT NEAR TO THE PORT OF MARTON - PRESENTED BY MARTON & GATE BURTON PARISH COUNCIL - 2003 AD."
Marton is now a sleepy little village 65 miles inland from the sea (by river) and some 5 miles further upstream from Gainsborough, Britain's most inland port. Just how old the anchor is is difficult to ascertain but probably dates from the days when sailing boats plyed their trade up the river to Marton and beyond. The coming of the railways in the mid 19th century marked a severe decline in river trade and the river was allowed to become silted up in places and partially blockage by wrecks, perhaps the anchor came from one of these.
