The A442 is a main road which passes through the counties of
Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...
and
Shropshire
Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...
, in the
West Midlands region
The West Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of International Territorial Level for statistical purposes. It covers the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. The region consists ...
of
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
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Route
From
Droitwich
Droitwich Spa (often abbreviated to Droitwich ) is an historic spa town in the Wychavon district in northern Worcestershire, England, on the River Salwarpe. It is located approximately south-west of Birmingham and north-east of Worcester.
The ...
in Worcestershire it runs towards
Kidderminster
Kidderminster is a large market and historic minster town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester. Located north of the River Stour and east of the River Severn, in the 2011 census, it ha ...
where it meets the
A449
The A449 is a major road in the United Kingdom. It runs north from junction 24 of the M4 motorway at Newport in South Wales to Stafford in Staffordshire.
The southern section of the road, between Ross on Wye and Newport forms part of th ...
from
Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
. This section of road used to be the B4192 until the late 1970s when it was upgraded to A road status.
At
Kidderminster
Kidderminster is a large market and historic minster town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester. Located north of the River Stour and east of the River Severn, in the 2011 census, it ha ...
, it starts again and then runs north-north-west into
Shropshire
Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...
, via
Bridgnorth
Bridgnorth is a town in Shropshire, England. The River Severn splits it into High Town and Low Town, the upper town on the right bank and the lower on the left bank of the River Severn. The population at the 2011 Census was 12,079.
Histor ...
and
Telford
Telford () is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, about east of Shrewsbury, south west of Stafford, north west of Wolverhampton and from Birmingham in t ...
(where it crosses the
M54 motorway
The M54 is a 23-mile (37 km) east-west motorway in the counties of Shropshire and Staffordshire, England. It is also referred to as the Telford motorway, after the road's primary westbound destination, the town of Telford. It cost £65&nbs ...
). Through Telford it is known as ''Queensway'', and the ''Eastern Primary'' (EP). It ends where it meets the
A53 just outside the village of
Hodnet
Hodnet is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. The town of Market Drayton lies 5.7 miles (9.2 km) north-east of the village.
History
Evidence of a Bronze Age burial site was discovered during construction of the bypass in ...
. Before the A53 bypass around the village was built, the A442 continued through Hodnet and joined the
A41 near Darliston, south of
Whitchurch. This section of road however has now been downgraded: most of it is declassified, but part has been reclassified as part of B5065.
History
From Droitwich to Low Hill (south of Kidderminster) the road is probably ancient, as it is referred to in the Saxon charter for Whitlinge (in
Hartlebury
Hartlebury is a village and civil parish in Worcestershire, England which is in Wychavon district centred south of Kidderminster. The civil parish registered a population of 2,549 in the 2001 Census.
The railway station is centred 800 metr ...
) dated AD 980 as a ''stræte''. This road was maintained by a Droitwich
turnpike trust
Turnpike trusts were bodies set up by individual acts of Parliament, with powers to collect road tolls for maintaining the principal roads in Britain from the 17th but especially during the 18th and 19th centuries. At the peak, in the 1830s, ...
established in 1755.
North of Kidderminster it was a 'way' in the Saxon bounds of
Wolverley
Wolverley is a village; with nearby Cookley (1 mi northeast), it forms a civil parish in the Wyre Forest District of Worcestershire, England. It is 2 miles north of Kidderminster and lies on the River Stour and the Staffordshire and ...
before being joined by the great street at
Shatterford
Shatterford is a village in the Wyre Forest District of Worcestershire, England, located north-west of Bewdley.
The Bewdley School and Sixth Form Centre provides secondary education for pupils from the area.
The village hall always has local e ...
. At Shatterford, the Prior of Worcester was authorised to
assart
Assarting is the act of clearing forested lands for use in agriculture or other purposes. In English land law, it was illegal to assart any part of a royal forest without permission. This was the greatest trespass that could be committed in a ...
(i.e. to clear) of wood and heath "for the greater security of persons going through the said pass". From Shatterford the old course of the road goes through
Romsley and Allum Bridge, to rejoin the present road at
Quatt
Quatt is a small village in Shropshire, England in the Severn Valley. The civil parish, formally known as Quatt Malvern, has a population of 219 according to the 2001 census, reducing to 200 at the 2011 census.
It lies on the A442 south of Brid ...
. The old survives as lane and tracks. The present road began life as a new turnpike built in the late 1820s by the Kidderminster turnpike trust, which had been responsible for the road as far as
Quatford
Quatford is a village in the Severn Valley, Shropshire, England. It is located on the A442, just south of the town of Bridgnorth and on the bank of the River Severn.
History
Quatford is one of the oldest settlements in the area. It was listed ...
since 1760. Bridgnorth only became the northern end of the road in 1821. The trust remained responsible for the road until 1873.
North of Bridgnorth, the road formed part of the
Stafford and
Newport turnpikes. The Trust was established in 1763, becoming their third district, when their Act was renewed in 1783. Beyond Sutton Cross in
Sutton Maddock the turnpike continued through
Shifnal
Shifnal is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, about east of Telford, 17 miles (27 km) east of the county town of Shrewsbury and 13 miles (20 km) west-northwest of the city of Wolverhampton. It is near the M5 ...
to Woodcote, where it joined another turnpike (now the
A41 road
The A41 is a trunk road between London and Birkenhead, England. Now in parts replaced by motorways, it passes through or near Watford, Kings Langley, Hemel Hempstead, Aylesbury, Bicester, Solihull, Birmingham, West Bromwich, Wolverhampton, ...
). This continuation is now classified as the B4379 and the
A4169 road.
The stretch immediately beyond Sutton Cross was part of the
Madeley turnpike district, going to the Bucks Head on
Watling Street
Watling Street is a historic route in England that crosses the River Thames at London and which was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the Middle Ages. It was used by the ancient Britons and paved as one of the main ...
. This was turnpiked in 1764, continuing southeast to the New Inn on Rudge Heath, but that stretch of road was evidently not improved until the 1960s, when it was upgraded to become the B4176. The northern terminus was altered in 1827 when the road from Balls Hill in
Dawley
Dawley ( ) is a constituent town and civil parish in Telford and Wrekin in Shropshire, England. It was originally, in 1963, going to be the main centre of the 'Dawley New Town' plan before it was decided in 1968 to name the new town as 'Telford ...
to Bucks Head was discontinued in favour of an alternative route to Watling Street. The course of the road was altered again when a new major road was built to take traffic through the built-up area of
Telford
Telford () is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, about east of Shrewsbury, south west of Stafford, north west of Wolverhampton and from Birmingham in t ...
New Town in the 1970s. Some of the old routes have completely disappeared.
The next section of the old route is from Watling Street to the smithy at
Crudgington
Crudgington is a village in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It is situated in the civil parish of Waters Upton, a village to the north, and is 7 miles north-west of Telford. Nearby is the conflue ...
. The first part of this is now the
A5223 road, but the new course of A442 then rejoins the old one. This was turnpiked in 1725 with the
Shrewsbury to Crackley Bank section of
Watling Street
Watling Street is a historic route in England that crosses the River Thames at London and which was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the Middle Ages. It was used by the ancient Britons and paved as one of the main ...
.
[Statute, 12 Geo. I, c.9.]
Further sections of the road are also former turnpikes.
References
Bibliography
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:4-0442
Roads in Shropshire
Roads in Worcestershire
Kidderminster
Telford and Wrekin
Roads in England