A104 road (England)
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The A104 is an
A road A roads may be *motorways or freeways, usually where the local word for motorway begins with A (for example, ''Autobahn'' in German; ''Autostrada'' in Italian). * main roads or highways, in a system where roads are graded A, B and sometimes lower c ...
which runs from
Islington Green Islington Green is a small triangle of open land at the convergence of Upper Street and Essex Road (once called Lower Street) in the London Borough of Islington. It roughly marks the northern boundary between the modern district of Angel and Isl ...
in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
to Epping in
Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...
, England. At its southern end, the A104 meets the A1 near
Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles ...
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...
station in
Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ...
. The route passes through Canonbury,
Dalston Dalston () is an area of East London, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is northeast of Charing Cross. Dalston began as a hamlet on either side of Dalston Lane, and as the area urbanised the term also came to apply to surrounding areas includ ...
, Hackney, Clapton,
Leyton Leyton () is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the River L ...
, Woodford and Buckhurst Hill before meeting the A121 at the Wake Arms roundabout. The northern terminus of the route is approximately 2.7 miles (4.3km) south of St John's Church in Epping town centre, and approximately 1.3 miles (2.1km) east of the
M25 motorway The M25 or London Orbital Motorway is a major road encircling most of Greater London. The motorway is one of the most important roads in the UK and one of the busiest. Margaret Thatcher opened the final section in 1986, making the M25 the lon ...
at junction 26.


Route

The A104 takes in Essex Road, Balls Pond Road, Dalston Lane (part of), Pembury Road, Cricketfield Road, Downs Road (part of), Lower Clapton Road (part of) and Lea Bridge Roundabout (both shared with A107), Lea Bridge Road, Whipps Cross Roundabout, Woodford New Road, High Road Woodford Green, and Epping New Road.


History

The southern section of the A104 follows its original course, as set out in the 1922
Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ...
''List of Class I and Class II Roads and Numbers''. The route was defined as "London (Essex Road, Balls Pond Road, Lea Bridge Road) - Woodford". The northern section - between Woodford and Wake Arms - was originally part of the A11, which ran continuously between
Aldgate Aldgate () was a gate in the former defensive wall around the City of London. It gives its name to Aldgate High Street, the first stretch of the A11 road, which included the site of the former gate. The area of Aldgate, the most common use of ...
in the
City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...
and
Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the Episcopal see, See of ...
,
Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...
. The A11 through Woodford, Buckhurst Hill and Epping Forest became known as the A104 after the
M11 motorway The M11 is a motorway that runs north from the North Circular Road (A406) in South Woodford to the A14, northwest of Cambridge, England. Originally proposed as a trunk road as early as 1915, various plans were considered throughout the 1960 ...
opened between Woodford and
Bishop's Stortford Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, just west of the M11 motorway on the county boundary with Essex, north-east of central London, and by rail from Liverpool Street station. Stortford had an estimated popu ...
in 1975. The sections north of Wake Arms were renumbered B1393 (through Epping), A414 (through
Harlow Harlow is a large town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a new town, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire and London, Harlow occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the uppe ...
) and A1184 (through
Sawbridgeworth Sawbridgeworth is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, close to the border with Essex. It is east of Hertford and north of Epping. It is the northernmost part of the Greater London Built-up Area. History Prior to the Norman ...
and Bishop's Stortford).


Essex Road

According to the 1985 article "Islington: Communications", the northern portion of Essex Road was known as Seveney Street in the 1500s, a title which suggests the road could have
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
origins. Throughout its history Essex Road has also taken the names Lower Street and Lower Road (as opposed to
Upper Street Upper Street is the main street of the Islington district of inner north London, and carries the A1 road. It begins at the junction of the A1 and Liverpool Road, continuing on from Islington High Street which runs from the crossroads at Pentonv ...
, which remains the name of the A1 route). Its current title appeared in official documents from at least 1863. Islington Local History Education Trust believes Essex Road is so named because it is part of a main route into the county of Essex, although it may take its name from the earldom of Essex. A
railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...
bearing the street's name was opened in 1904 - on the
Northern City Line The Northern City Line is a commuter railway line in England, which runs from Moorgate station to Finsbury Park in London with services running beyond. It is part of the Great Northern Route services, and operates as the south-eastern branch ...
between
Finsbury Park Finsbury Park is a public park in the London neighbourhood of Harringay. It is in the area formerly covered by the historic parish of Hornsey, succeeded by the Municipal Borough of Hornsey. It was one of the first of the great London parks ...
and Moorgate. As of 2022, station is served by
Great Northern Great Northern may refer to: Transport * One of a number of railways; see Great Northern Railway (disambiguation). * Great Northern Railway (U.S.), a defunct American transcontinental railroad and major predecessor of the BNSF Railway. * Great ...
trains between London Moorgate and
Welwyn Garden City Welwyn Garden City ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London. It was the second garden city in England (founded 1920) and one of the first new towns (designated 1948). It is unique in being both a garden city and a new town and ...
or
Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Steven ...
(via Hertford North).


Lea Bridge Road

Lea Bridge Road runs between Clapton and Whipps Cross. Until the mid-18th century, a ferry crossing existed at the
River Lea The River Lea ( ) is in South East England. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Creek. It is one of ...
between Clapton and Leyton. Legislation from eighteenth century and histories of Hackney and Leyton refer to the crossing point as "Jeremy's ferry" - a name which was used from at least 1709. The first bridge near Jeremy's ferry was constructed in 1745. The River Lea Bridge and Roads Act 1757 set out that a permanent crossing should be installed at Jeremy's ferry:
An Act for building a Bridge over the River Lea, at or near a Place called Jeremy's Ferry; and for making, repairing and widening Roads from thence into the great Roads at Snaresbrook in the County of Essex, and at Clapton in the County of
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...
.
A permanent timber bridge was built in 1772, which was replaced with an iron crossing in the early 1820s, followed by a new bridge in the 1890s. Mapping from the 18th century suggests the route north-east out of Leyton, further into the county of Essex, was established through heath and forest in the 1700s, which was "the haunt of highwaymen" at the time.


Epping New Road

There is no evidence of Epping New Road (between Woodford and Wake Arms) in John Norden's 1594 "Map of Essex". Historians have identified two main routes between London and Epping in the sixteenth century - the first through Waltham Abbey and the second through Stratford,
Chigwell Chigwell is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, England. It is part of the urban and metropolitan area of London, and is adjacent to the northern boundary of Greater London. It is on the Central line of the Lon ...
and Abridge. A route between Epping and Loughton was established by 1678, but the Epping New Road - bypassing Loughton - was not created until 1834. According to the Buckhurst Hill Residents' Society, the creation of the Epping New Road "encouraged some of the earliest developments" in the town. A study of the Epping and Ongar Highway Trust, which was charged with caring for public highways in the corridor between Woodford and Harlow, suggests that around 25 coaches passed through Epping each day in the 1800s on what appeared to be the main route between London,
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
,
Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton ...
and
Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the Episcopal see, See of ...
. The forest either side of Epping New Road is protected according to the Epping Forest Act 1878 and is managed by the
Corporation of London The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United Ki ...
(which also governs the
Square Mile The square mile (abbreviated as sq mi and sometimes as mi2)Rowlett, Russ (September 1, 2004) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved February 22, 2012. is an imperial and US unit of measure for area. One square mile is an ar ...
in central London). As of 2022, the road is maintained by Essex County Council and
Redbridge London Borough Council Redbridge London Borough Council is the local authority for Redbridge in Greater London, England, and one of the capital's 32 borough councils. Redbridge is divided into 21 wards and elects 63 councillors. , Redbridge Council comprises 55 Labour ...
(southernmost portion).


References

Roads in England Transport in Epping Forest District Streets in the London Borough of Hackney Streets in the London Borough of Islington Transport in the London Borough of Redbridge Streets in the London Borough of Waltham Forest {{coord, 51.60113, N, 0.01442, E, type:landmark_region:GB_dim:10000, display=title