Akeman Street is a
Roman road
Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...
in southern England between the modern counties of
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
and
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is the city of Gl ...
. It is approximately long and runs roughly east–west.
[
Akeman Street linked ]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 R ...
just north of Verulamium
Verulamium was a town in Roman Britain. It was sited southwest of the modern city of St Albans in Hertfordshire, England. A large portion of the Roman city remains unexcavated, being now park and agricultural land, though much has been built upon ...
(near modern St Albans
St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...
) with the Fosse Way
The Fosse Way was a Roman road built in Britain during the first and second centuries AD that linked Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter) in the southwest and Lindum Colonia (Lincoln) to the northeast, via Lindinis (Ilchester), Aquae Sulis ( Bath), Corini ...
at Corinium Dobunnorum
Corinium Dobunnorum was the Romano-British settlement at Cirencester in the present-day English county of Gloucestershire. Its 2nd-century walls enclosed the second-largest area of a city in Roman Britain. It was the tribal capital of the Dobun ...
(now Cirencester
Cirencester (, ; see below for more variations) is a market town in Gloucestershire, England, west of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswolds. It is the home of ...
). Evidence suggests that the route may well have been an older track, metalled and reorganised by the Romans. Its course passes through towns and villages including Hemel Hempstead
Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of London, which is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500.
Developed after the Second World War as a ne ...
, Berkhamsted
Berkhamsted ( ) is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the Bulbourne valley, north-west of London. The town is a civil parish with a town council within the borough of Dacorum which is based in the neighbouring large new town ...
, Tring
Tring is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Dacorum, Hertfordshire, England. It is situated in a gap passing through the Chiltern Hills, classed as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, from Central London. Tring is linked to ...
, Aylesbury
Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wy ...
, Alchester
Alchester is the site of an ancient Roman town. The site is not included in any ancient references so the Roman name is not known. However, Eilert Ekwall contended that it appears as ''Alavna'' in the Ravenna Cosmography, with the addition of ...
(outside modern Bicester
Bicester ( ) is a historical market towngarden town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cherwell (district), Cherwell district of northeastern Oxfordshire in Southern England that also comprises an Eco-towns, eco town at North Wes ...
), Chesterton, Kirtlington
Kirtlington is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire about west of Bicester. The parish includes the hamlet of Northbrook. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 988. The parish measures nearly north–south and about eastâ ...
, Ramsden
Ramsden may refer to:
;Places:
*Ramsden, Orpington, England
*Ramsden, Oxfordshire, England, a village and civil parish
* Ramsden, Worcestershire, England, a hamlet
*Ramsden Park, Toronto, Canada
*Ramsden (crater), on the Moon
* 8001 Ramsden, an as ...
and Asthall
Asthall or Asthal is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Windrush in Oxfordshire, about west of Witney. It includes the Hamlet (place), hamlets of Asthall Leigh, Field Assarting, Assarts, Stonelands, Worsham, Oxfo ...
.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, ...
between Berkhamsted and Bicester use the course of the former Roman road, as did the Sparrows Herne turnpike
Sparrows Herne Turnpike Road from London to Aylesbury was an 18th-century English toll road passing through Watford and Hemel Hempstead. The route was approximately that of the original A41 road; the Edgware Road, through Watford, Kings Lang ...
between Berkhamsted and Aylesbury. A minor road between Chesterton and Kirtlington also uses its course. Other parts are in use as public footpaths, including a stretch between Tackley
Tackley is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish beside the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, England. It is about west of Bicester and north of Kidlington. The village consists of two neighbourhoods: Tackley itself, and Nethercot ...
and Stonesfield
Stonesfield is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish about north of Witney in Oxfordshire, and about 10 miles (17 km) north-west of Oxford. The village is on the crest of an escarpment. The parish extends mostly north and ...
that is part of the Oxfordshire Way
The Oxfordshire Way is a long-distance walk in Oxfordshire, England, with 6 miles in Gloucestershire and very short sections in Buckinghamshire. The path links with the Heart of England Way and the Thames Path.
The path runs for from Bourton ...
.
The origins of the road's name are uncertain but certainly date back to the Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...
. Some have suggested that "Akeman" derives from the Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
words for "oak-man". Others have suggested a connection with Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
, which the Anglo-Saxons called ''Acemannesceastre'' (''Acemannes'' apparently being derived from the Roman name Aquae Sulis
Aquae Sulis (Latin for ''Waters of Sulis'') was a small town in the Roman province of Britannia. Today it is the English city of Bath, Somerset. The Antonine Itinerary register of Roman roads lists the town as ''Aquis Sulis.'' Ptolemy records ...
). It is unclear how this might have become associated with the road, but one possibility is that the name was originally used for the long stretch of road from Bath.Saxon Bath
/ref>
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See also
*Akeman Street (Cambridgeshire)
Akeman Street is the name given to a Roman road in eastern England that runs from Cambridgeshire to the north coast of Norfolk. It is approximately long and runs roughly north-northeast.
Akeman Street joined Ermine Street near Wimpole Hall, t ...
*Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered was ...
* Roman roads in Britain
Roman roads in Britannia were initially designed for military use, created by the Roman Army during the nearly four centuries (AD 43–410) that Britannia was a province of the Roman Empire.
It is estimated that about of paved trunk ro ...
* RAF Akeman Street
Royal Air Force Akeman Street or more simply RAF Akeman Street is a former Royal Air Force Relief Landing Ground located north east of Minster Lovell, Oxfordshire, England. It was named after the Roman road which crosses the airfield.
The ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
{{Authority control
Roman roads in England
Archaeological sites in Hertfordshire
Archaeological sites in Buckinghamshire
Archaeological sites in Oxfordshire
Berkhamsted
Aylesbury