The A4260 is a

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

that leads from the A422 Henneff Way, Banbury to Frieze Way near

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

History

Romans

The route followed by the road is that of a prehistoric ridgeway between the valleys of the rivers Cherwell and

Evenlode Evenlode is a village and civil parish ( ONS Code 23UC051) in the Cotswold District of eastern Gloucestershire in England. Evenlode is bordered by the Gloucestershire parishes of Moreton-in-Marsh to the northwest, Longborough and Donnington to ...

. The Romans adopted the route and paved it from north of Oxford as far as Akeman Street at Sturdy's Castle.

Medieval period & turnpiking

The route remained in use through the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

period, being described by

John Ogilby John Ogilby (also ''Ogelby'', ''Oglivie''; November 1600 – 4 September 1676) was a Scottish translator, impresario and cartographer. Best known for publishing the first British road atlas, he was also a successful translator, noted for publishi ...

in 1675 as the primary way between Oxford and Banbury. In the 18th century the route was turnpiked.

Post-1922 road lists

Until 1990 the road was part of the

A423 The A423 road is a primary A road in England in two sections. The main section leads from central Banbury to the A45 near Coventry. Route It starts in Banbury town centre as Southam Road and goes through the Southam Road Industrial Estat ...

and the major route from Banbury to Oxford. It was renumbered to encourage the traffic that formerly used this route to use the M40.

References

External links

Highlighted Route of the A4260 on Google Maps
Roads in England Roads in Oxfordshire {{England-road-stub