The A307 road runs through SW London and NW Surrey. It is primary at the north-east end; the remainder is non-primary, generally superseded in the mid-twentieth century in two stages by newer alignments of the Portsmouth Road, the Kingston bypass and Esher bypass of the A3, which runs along a slightly oblique axis.

Route

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames: Kew and Richmond

The road begins at the junction with the A205 South Circular Road beside

Kew Green Kew Green is a large open space in Kew in west London. Owned by the Crown Estate, it is leased to the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is roughly triangular in shape, and its open grassland, framed with broadleaf trees, extends to abo ...

, where it is named Kew Road. It then runs towards

Richmond upon Thames The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in southwest London forms part of Outer London and is the only London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas amalgamated under the Lo ...

through the west of Kew. At the junction with the A316 in Richmond it becomes a non-primary A-road through the town centre then heads through Petersham where for fewer than 100 metres it kinks west and then travels south through

Ham Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term "ham ...

. A B-class road, the B353, leaves the A307 in Kew and runs around the town centre and up Richmond Hill and by-passing Richmond, before rejoining the A307 at Petersham.

Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames: Kingston upon Thames, Surbiton and part of Long Ditton

It bisects the north of the town, before becoming the western half of the one-way system in

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...

. Here it is briefly merged with the A308. It leads south to the northern end of the A240, for 200m travels west to the River Thames, and resuming south becomes at last the old version of the Portsmouth Road (which is also its name here). It runs next to the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

, heading through

Surbiton Surbiton is a suburban neighbourhood in South West London, within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK). It is next to the River Thames, southwest of Charing Cross. Surbiton was in the historic county of Surrey and since 1965 it ha ...

. It passes a junction with the A243, shortly before exiting the borough at

Seething Wells Seething Wells is a neighbourhood in southwest London on the border between Surbiton in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in Greater London, and Elmbridge in Surrey. The area was historically a waterworks that supplied London with water ...

there next to

Long Ditton Long Ditton is a residential suburb in the Borough of Elmbridge, Surrey, England on the boundary with the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, London. In medieval times it was a village, occupying a narrow strip of land. Neighbouring settleme ...

Thames Ditton, Esher and Cobham, Surrey

The road now follows an almost straight south-west course (losing the Thames, which at

Thames Ditton Thames Ditton is a suburban village on the River Thames, in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Apart from a large inhabited island in the river, it lies on the southern bank, centred 12.2 miles (19.6 km) southwest of Charing Cross ...

curves away to the north). It passes through

Hinchley Wood Hinchley Wood is a suburb in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England, approximately 13 miles (21 km) south-west of Charing Cross in central London, and within the Greater London Urban Area. It developed largely around its railway station at i ...

, crossing the A309 at the Scilly Isles roundabout. It forms the High Street of

Esher Esher ( ) is a town in Surrey, England, to the east of the River Mole. Esher is an outlying suburb of London near the London-Surrey Border, and with Esher Commons at its southern end, the town marks one limit of the Greater London Built-Up ...

, crosses the A3 (new Portsmouth Road) by way of a bridge north of Cobham, before terminating near a junction of the A3 in Cobham which is generally also known as Portsmouth Road.

History and events

The A307 follows the old route of the Portsmouth Road, particularly the section south of the junction with the A308. Since two major projects of the 1930s and 1960s respectively the Portsmouth Road, the A3 (Portsmouth Road) of today, has been diverted away from towns/villages instead through buffer land or more from urban centres and is a tripled or dualled (duplicated as described at the time) in each direction.

Robert Clive Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, (29 September 1725 – 22 November 1774), also known as Clive of India, was the first British Governor of the Bengal Presidency. Clive has been widely credited for laying the foundation of the British ...

("Clive of India") diverted it slightly believing it ran too close to his house at Claremont, the landscape garden of which remains and which it still borders. A watchman's box that also served as a

village lock-up A village lock-up is a historic building once used for the temporary detention of people in England and Wales, mostly where official prisons or criminal courts were beyond easy walking distance. Lockups were often used for the confinement of dru ...

, dating from 1787, is next to the Fox & Duck in Petersham. Responsibility for the north section, Kew Road and Richmond Road, passed from the crown to the Commissioner of Works under the

Crown Lands Act 1851 The Crown Lands Act 1851 is an Act of the UK Parliament. It established the Commissioners of Works as the body responsible for management of royal parks and gardens, specifically; * Saint James's Park * Hyde Park * Green Park * Kensington Ga ...

Petersham Hole

The A307 was closed during 1979 and 1980 for a total of almost 18 months by the repeated collapse of a sewer and fresh water culvert in the road's narrowest section which is in Petersham, an ordeal referred to as the Petersham Hole. The route has sometimes been used from a few hundred metres south of the Richmond Gate of

Richmond Park Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of London's Royal Parks, and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I in the 17th century as a deer park ...

to Kingston as part of the London-Surrey cycle classic events routes, depending on the availability of Park Road, Kingston which avoids the hairpin and sharper descent at Richmond Gate.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:3-0307 Roads in London Roads in Surrey Transport in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Streets in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames