Watling Street is a
historic route in
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 ...
that crosses 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 ...
at
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 ...
and which was used in
Classical Antiquity
Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...
,
Late Antiquity
Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English h ...
, and throughout the
Middle Ages
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 period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
. It was used by the
ancient Britons and paved as one of the main
Roman roads in Britannia (Roman-governed
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...
during the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
). The route linked
Dover and London in the southeast, and continued northwest via
St Albans
St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman ...
to
Wroxeter. The line of the road was later the southwestern border of the
Danelaw with
Wessex and
Mercia
la, Merciorum regnum
, conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia
, common_name=Mercia
, status=Kingdom
, status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex ()
, life_span=527–918
, era=Heptarchy
, event_start=
, date_start=
, y ...
, and Watling Street was numbered as one of the major highways of medieval England.
First used by the ancient Britons, mainly between the areas of modern
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of t ...
and using a natural
ford near
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...
, the road was later paved by the
Romans. It connected the ports of
Dubris (Dover),
Rutupiae (
Richborough Castle
Richborough Castle is a Roman Saxon Shore fort better known as Richborough Roman Fort. It is situated in Richborough near Sandwich, Kent. Substantial remains of the massive fort walls still stand to a height of several metres.
It i ...
),
Lemanis (
Lympne
Lympne (), formerly also Lymne, is a village on the former shallow-gradient sea cliffs above the expansive agricultural plain of Romney Marsh in Kent. The settlement forms an L shape stretching from Port Lympne Zoo via Lympne Castle facing Lymp ...
), and
Regulbium (
Reculver) in
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
to the
Roman bridge over the Thames at
Londinium (London). The route continued northwest through
Verulamium (St Albans) on its way to
Viroconium Cornoviorum (
Wroxeter). Watling Street is traditionally cited as having been the location of the Romans'
defeat of Boudica, though precisely where on the route is disputed.
The Roman ''
Antonine Itinerary'' lists sites along the route of Watling Street as part of a longer route of 500
Roman miles connecting Richborough with
Hadrian's Wall via Wroxeter. The continuation on to
Blatobulgium (
Birrens
Blatobulgium was a Roman fort, located at the modern-day site known as Birrens, in Dumfriesshire, Scotland.
Name
Blatobulgium is recorded in the Antonine Itinerary. The name derives from the Brittonic roots ''*blāto-'' 'bloom, blossom' or ''*bl ...
,
Dumfriesshire) beyond Hadrian's Wall in modern
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
may have been part of the same route, leading some scholars to call this Watling Street as well, although others restrict it to the southern leg.
In the early 19th century, the course between London and the Channel was paved and became known as the
Great Dover Road: today, the route from Dover to London forms part of the
A2 road. The route from London to Wroxeter forms much of the
A5 road. At various points along the historic route, the name Watling Street remains in modern use.
Name
The original
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foo ...
and
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 ...
name for the road is unknown, and the Romans may not have viewed it as a single path at all, since parts of it were assigned to two separate itineraries in
one 2nd-century list. The modern name instead derives from the
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...
', from a time when "street" ) referred to any paved road and had no particular association with urban thoroughfares. The ' ("people of ")
were a tribe in the
St Albans
St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman ...
area in the
early medieval period with an early name of their city being "Waetlingacaester", which would translate into modern English as "Watlingchester".
The original Anglo-Saxon name for the section of the route between Canterbury and London was ' or Key Street, a name still borne by a hamlet on the road near
Sittingbourne. This section only later became considered part of Watling Street.
Used as a boundary
Watling Street has been used as a boundary of many historic administrative units, and some of these are still in existence today, either through continuity or the adoption of these as by successor areas.
Examples include:
* Watling Street was used as a boundary in the
Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum and it is often inferred that this made the road the SW boundary of the
Danelaw
* It is the boundary of
Leicestershire and
Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avo ...
, this may be a legacy of the treaty described above.
* Watling Street forms part of the boundary of four London Boroughs (
Harrow,
Brent,
Camden and
Barnet) and is sometimes described as the boundary of
West and
North London.
History
British
The broad, grassy
trackway found by the Romans had already been used by the
Britons for centuries. The main path led from
Richborough on the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...
to a natural
ford in the
Thames at
Thorney Island,
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...
, to a site near
Wroxeter, where it split. The western continuation went on to
Holyhead while the northern ran to
Chester and on to the
Picts
The Picts were a group of peoples who lived in what is now northern and eastern Scotland (north of the Firth of Forth) during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and what their culture was like can be inferred from ea ...
in Scotland.
Westminster ford
There is a longstanding tradition that a natural ford once crossed the Thames between Thorney Island, (present-day
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...
) and the
Lambeth/
Wandsworth boundary. Its location means that it is possible that Watling Street crossed it.
Several factors may have slowed the river here, leading to the depositing of enough sediments to create a usable ford:
* The bend in the Thames near
Vauxhall Bridge.
* The two arms of the
River Effra
The River Effra is a former set of streams in south London, England, culverted and used mainly for storm sewerage. It had been a tributary of the Thames. Its catchment waters, where not drained to aquifer soakaways and surface water drains, h ...
joining in that vicinity, depositing their own load, with the cross-flow causing the Thames to eddy and slow.
* Similarly the southern arm of the
Tyburn
Tyburn was a Manorialism, manor (estate) in the county of Middlesex, one of two which were served by the parish of Marylebone.
The parish, probably therefore also the manor, was bounded by Roman roads to the west (modern Edgware Road) and sout ...
, once joined the Thames at this point, on the northern bank.
* These factors mean the area is likely to have been the
tidal head for some of the historic period.
Roman
The
Romans began constructing
paved roads shortly after
their invasion in AD 43. The London portion of Watling Street was rediscovered during
Christopher Wren's rebuilding of
St Mary-le-Bow
The Church of St Mary-le-Bow is a Church of England parish church in the City of London, England. Located on Cheapside, one of the city's oldest thoroughfares, the church was founded in 1080, by Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury. Rebuilt sever ...
in 1671–73, following the
Great Fire. Modern excavations date its construction to the winter from AD 47 to 48. Around London, it was wide and paved with gravel. It was repeatedly redone, including at least twice before the sack of London by
Boudica's
troops in 60 or 61.
The road ran straight from the bridgehead on the
Thames to what would become
Newgate on the
London Wall before passing over
Ludgate Hill and the
Fleet and dividing into Watling Street and the
Devil's Highway west to
Calleva (
Silchester). Some of this route is preserved beneath
Old Kent Road.
The 2nd-century ''
Antonine Itinerary'' gives the course of Watling Street from "
Urioconium" (Wroxeter) to "
Portus Ritupis" (Richborough) as a part of its Second Route ('), which runs for 501
MP from
Hadrian's Wall to Richborough:
[ Itinerarium Antonini Augusti. Hosted at Latin Wikisource. ][ ]
Battle of Watling Street
Some site in the middle section of this route is supposed by most historians to have been the location of
G. Suetonius Paulinus's
decisive victory over
Boudica's
Iceni
The Iceni ( , ) or Eceni were a Brittonic tribe of eastern Britain during the Iron Age and early Roman era. Their territory included present-day Norfolk and parts of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, and bordered the area of the Corieltauvi to the we ...
in AD 61.
Subsidiary routes
The two routes of the
Antonine Itinerary immediately following (' & ') list the stations from Londinium to "
Portus Dubris" (
Dover) and to "
Portus Lemanis" (
Lympne
Lympne (), formerly also Lymne, is a village on the former shallow-gradient sea cliffs above the expansive agricultural plain of Romney Marsh in Kent. The settlement forms an L shape stretching from Port Lympne Zoo via Lympne Castle facing Lymp ...
) at the north eastern edge of the
Romney Marsh
Romney Marsh is a sparsely populated wetland area in the counties of Kent and East Sussex in the south-east of England. It covers about . The Marsh has been in use for centuries, though its inhabitants commonly suffered from malaria until ...
, suggesting that they may have been considered interchangeable terminuses. They only differ in the distance to
Durovernum
Durovernum Cantiacorum was a town and hillfort ( la, oppidum) in Roman Britain at the site of present-day Canterbury in Kent. It occupied a strategic location on Watling Street at the best local crossing of the Stour, which prompted a convergence ...
: 14 and 17
Roman miles, respectively.
[ The route to Lemanis was sometimes distinguished by the name ; it now forms most of the B2068 road that runs from the M20 motorway to Canterbury. The route between Durovernum and the fortress and port at Regulbium ( Reculver) on Kent's northern shore is not given in these itineraries but was also paved and is sometimes taken as a fourth terminus for Watling Street. The Sixth Route (') also recorded an alternate path stopping at Tripontium ( Newton and Biggin) between Venonis ( High Cross) and Bannaventa ( Norton); it is listed as taking 24 Roman miles rather than 17.][
The more direct route north from Londinium (London) to Eboracum (]York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
) was Ermine Street
Ermine Street is a major Roman road in England that ran from London ('' Londinium'') to Lincoln ('' Lindum Colonia'') and York ('' Eboracum''). The Old English name was ''Earninga Strǣt'' (1012), named after a tribe called the ''Earn ...
. The stations between Eboracum and Cataractonium ( Catterick) were shared with Dere Street, which then branched off to the northeast. Durocobrivis (Dunstable
Dunstable ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north. Dunstable is t ...
) was the site of the path's intersection with the Icknield Way
The Icknield Way is an ancient trackway in southern and eastern England that runs from Norfolk to Wiltshire. It follows the chalk escarpment that includes the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills.
Background
It is generally said to be, wi ...
. The Maiden Way ran from Bravoniacum
Kirkby Thore is a small village and civil parish in Cumbria, England (), in the historic county of Westmorland. It is close to the Lake District national park and the Cumbrian Pennines. It includes the areas of Bridge End, in the southwes ...
( Kirkby Thore) to the lead and silver mines at Epiacum (Whitley Castle
Whitley Castle (''Epiacum'') is a large, unusually shaped Roman fort ( la, castra) north-west of the town of Alston, Cumbria, England. The castrum, which was first built by the Roman Army early in the 2nd century AD, was partly demolished and ...
) and on to Hadrian's Wall.
Saxon
By the time of the Saxon invasions, the Roman bridge across the Thames had presumably fallen into disrepair or been destroyed. The Saxons abandoned the walled Roman site in favour of Lundenwic
The history of Anglo-Saxon London relates to the history of the city of London during the Anglo-Saxon period, in the 7th to 11th centuries.
Romano-British ''Londinium'' had been abandoned in the late 5th century, although the London Wall rema ...
to its west, presumably because of its more convenient access to the ford on the Thames. They did not return to Lundenburh
The history of Anglo-Saxon London relates to the history of the city of London during the Anglo-Saxon period, in the 7th to 11th centuries.
Romano-British '' Londinium'' had been abandoned in the late 5th century, although the London Wall r ...
(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 ...
) until forced to do so by the Vikings
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
in the late 9th century. Over time, the graveling and paving itself fell into disrepair, although the road's course continued to be used in many places as a public right of way
A right-of-way (ROW) is a right to make a way over a piece of land, usually to and from another piece of land. A right of way is a type of easement granted or reserved over the land for transportation purposes, such as a highway, public foo ...
. "Watlingestrate" was one of the four roads ) protected by the king's peace in the Laws of Edward the Confessor.
A number of Old English names testify to route of Watling Street at this time: Boughton Street in Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
; Colney Street
Colney Street is a hamlet in the English county of Hertfordshire.
It lies on the A5183 road, this was formerly the A5 road and, before that, Roman Britain's Watling Street. In addition its northern boundary is delineated by the M25 motorway. ...
in Hertfordshire; Fenny Stratford
Fenny Stratford is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England and in the Civil Parish of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford. Originally an independent town, it was included in the Milton Keynes " designated area" in 1967. From 1895 ...
and Stony Stratford
Stony Stratford is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. Historically it was a market town on the important route from London to Chester ( Watling Street, now the A5). It is also the name of a civil parish with a town ...
in Buckinghamshire; Old Stratford in Northamptonshire; Stretton-under-Fosse
Stretton-under-Fosse is a village and civil parish in the English county of Warwickshire. In 2001 its population was recorded as 185, increasing to 234 at the 2011 Census. The village contains a number of old cottages along its main street. ...
and Stretton Baskerville
Stretton Baskerville is a deserted medieval village and civil parish in the English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''Eng ...
in Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avo ...
. (The three adjacent settlements of All Stretton, Church Stretton
Church Stretton is a market town in Shropshire, England, south of Shrewsbury and north of Ludlow. The population in 2011 was 4,671. , and Little Stretton in 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 ...
; and Stretton Sugwas in Herefordshire
Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouths ...
have a Watling Street but they are not on the route).
Viking
Following the Viking invasions
Viking expansion was the historical movement which led Norse explorers, traders and warriors, the latter known in modern scholarship as Vikings, to sail most of the North Atlantic, reaching south as far as North Africa and east as far as Russi ...
, the 9th-century Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum mentions Watling Street as a boundary.
Norman
It is assumed that the pilgrims in Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...
's ''Canterbury Tales
''The Canterbury Tales'' ( enm, Tales of Caunterbury) is a collection of twenty-four stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. It is widely regarded as Chaucer's '' magnum opu ...
'' used the southeastern stretch of Watling Street when journeying from Southwark to Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of t ...
.
Modernity
The first turnpike trust in England was established over Watling Street northwest of London by an Act of Parliament on 4 March 1707 in order to provide a return on the investment required to once more pave the road. The section from Fourne Hill north of Hockliffe
Hockliffe is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire on the crossroads of the A5 road which lies upon the course of the Roman road known as Watling Street and the A4012 and B5704 roads.
It is about four miles east of Leighton Buzzard. Ne ...
to Stony Stratford
Stony Stratford is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. Historically it was a market town on the important route from London to Chester ( Watling Street, now the A5). It is also the name of a civil parish with a town ...
was paved at a cost of £7000 over the next two years. Revenue was below expectations; in 1709, the trust succeeded in getting a new act extending the term of their monopoly but not permitting their tolls to be increased. In 1711, the trust's debts had not been discharged and the creditors took over receivership of the tolls. In 1716, a new act restored the authority of the trust under the supervision of another group appointed by the Buckinghamshire justices of the peace. The trust failed to receive a further extension of their rights in 1736 and their authority ended at the close of 1738. In 1740, a new act named new trustees to oversee the road, which the residents of Buckinghamshire described as being "ruined".
The road was again paved in the early 19th century at the expense of Thomas Telford. He operated it as a turnpike road for mail coaches from Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
. To this purpose, he extended it to the port of Holyhead on Anglesey
Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...
in Wales. During this time, the section southeast of London became known as the Great Dover Road. The tolls ended in 1875.
Much of the road is still in use today, apart from a few sections where it has been diverted. The A2 road between Dover and London runs over or parallel to the old path. A section of Watling Street still exists 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 ...
close to Mansion House underground station on the route of the original Roman road which traversed 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 ...
via the first London Bridge and ran through the City in a straight line from London Bridge to Newgate. The sections of the road in Central London possess a variety of names, including Edgware Road and Maida Vale
Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district consisting of the northern part of Paddington in West London, west of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn. It is also the name of its main road, on the continuous Edgware Road. Maida Vale ...
. At Blackheath, the Roman road ran along Old Dover Road, turning and running through the area of present-day Greenwich Park to a location perhaps a little north of the current Deptford Bridge. North of London, the road is designated mainly as the A5 between London and Shrewsbury. At various points along the route, the A5 leaves the Roman road to bypass settlements, but its historic route invariably remains evident even where motor traffic is restricted or banned.
The name Watling Street is still used along the ancient road in many places, for instance in Bexleyheath in southeast London and in Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of t ...
, Gillingham, Strood, Gravesend, and Dartford in Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
. North of London, the name Watling Street still occurs in Hertfordshire (including St Albans
St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman ...
), Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...
(Dunstable
Dunstable ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north. Dunstable is t ...
), Buckinghamshire ( Milton Keynes), Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by
two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It ...
( Towcester), Leicestershire ( Hinckley), Warwickshire ( Nuneaton and Atherstone) and in Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands C ...
(Cannock
Cannock () is a town in the Cannock Chase district in the county of Staffordshire, England. It had a population of 29,018. Cannock is not far from the nearby towns of Walsall, Burntwood, Stafford and Telford. The cities of Lichfield and Wolverh ...
, Wall
A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including:
* Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the s ...
, Tamworth and Lichfield
Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west o ...
). (There are Watling Streets in 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 ...
(Church Stretton
Church Stretton is a market town in Shropshire, England, south of Shrewsbury and north of Ludlow. The population in 2011 was 4,671. ) and in Gwynedd ( Llanrwst), but neither is on the original route.)
Other Watling Streets
Dere Street, the Roman road from Cataractonium ( Catterick in Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
) to Corstopitum (now Corbridge, Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey.
It is bordered by land ...
) to the Antonine Wall
The Antonine Wall, known to the Romans as ''Vallum Antonini'', was a turf fortification on stone foundations, built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth. Built some ...
, was also sometimes known as Watling Street. A third Watling Street was the Roman road from Mamucium (Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
) to Bremetennacum ( Ribchester) to Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. ...
. Preston
Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to:
Places
England
*Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement
**The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement
**County Boro ...
, Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...
, preserved a Watling Street Road between Ribbleton and Fulwood, passing the Sharoe Green Hospital.[.] Both of these may preserve a separate derivation from the Old English ''wealhas'' ("foreigner") or may have preserved the memory of the long Roman road while misattributing its upper stages to better-preserved roads. The Roman road between Deva Victrix (Chester) and Condate (Northwich) is also known locally as Watling Street.
Gallery
File:Welsh_Watling_Street.png , A detail from a 1910 map displaying the Welsh "Watling Street"
File:Midlands Watling Street.png , A detail from the same map displaying the Northwest "Watling Street"
File:Scots Watling Street.png , A detail from the same map misattributing as "Watling Street"
See also
* 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 wa ...
* 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 ...
* ''The Widow of Watling Street
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
'', an apocryphal Shakespearean
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
play
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
* .
* John Higgs
John Higgs is an English writer, novelist, journalist and cultural historian. The work of Higgs has been published in the form of novels (under the pseudonym JMR Higgs), biographies and works of cultural history.
In particular, Higgs has writt ...
, (2017). '' Watling Street: Travels Through Britain and Its Ever-Present Past''. Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
External links
*
Watling Street – A Journey through Roman Britain
by the BBC
*
Walking Britain's Roman Roads
by My5
My5 (previously Five Download and later Demand 5) is the brand name of video-on-demand services offered by Channel 5 in the United Kingdom. The service went live on 26 June 2008. It is owned by Paramount Global and operated by their Paramoun ...
*
Stone Street, Suffolk
, at the University of Chicago
{{Transport in Buckinghamshire
History of transport in London
Streets in London
Dunstable
Roman roads in England
Ancient trackways in England
Transport in Milton Keynes
Works of Thomas Telford
Archaeological sites in London
Archaeological sites in Kent
Archaeological sites in Shropshire
Roman roads in Wales