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The Three Shire Stone at 54.415033,-3.115179 marks the point where three county boundaries intersect. The boundaries of the ancient counties of Cumberland, Lancashire and Westmorland all meet at this point.
However, since 1974 these boundaries have been disregarded and the formation of the new county of Cumbria was established comprising Cumberland, Westmorland and the northern part of Lancashire. The stone has no current significance, only a historical marker.
The 1974 boundary changes have not been forgotten as quite a few people would like the old boundaries to be reinstated. With the apparent complete loss of Westmorland, the name is not forgotten as it appears in the County's 'principal' town, 'Appleby-in-Westmorland' and also the Kendal-based newspaper 'The Westmorland Gazette' (http://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk) established in 1818.
The stone is a rectangular pillar with 'Lancashire' engraved on the front and 'W.F. 1813' on the back. A better view of the front can be seen here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/WKLW_v5ujB2fQ_4sRPbT_Q
