The London Inner Ring Road, or Ring Road as signposted, is a route with an average diameter of formed from a number of major

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types o ...

s that encircle

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...

. The

ring road A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...

forms the boundary of the

London congestion charge The London congestion charge is a fee charged on most cars and motor vehicles being driven within the Congestion Charge Zone (CCZ) in Central London between 7:00 am and 6:00 pm Monday to Friday, and between 12:00 noon and 6:00 pm Saturday an ...

zone, although the ring road itself is not part of the zone. Starting at the northernmost point and moving

clockwise Two-dimensional rotation can occur in two possible directions. Clockwise motion (abbreviated CW) proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands: from the top to the right, then down and then to the left, and back up to the top. The opposite ...

, the

s defining the boundary are Pentonville Road,

City Road City Road or The City Road is a road that runs through central London. The northwestern extremity of the road is at Angel where it forms a continuation of Pentonville Road. Pentonville Road itself is the modern name for the eastern part of Lon ...

Old Street Old Street is a street in inner north-east Central London that runs west to east from Goswell Road in Clerkenwell, in the London Borough of Islington, via St Luke's and Old Street Roundabout, to the crossroads where it meets Shoreditch High ...

, Great Eastern Street, Commercial Street,

Mansell Street Mansell Street is a street in East London, which is part of the London Inner Ring Road. For most of its length from the north, this street marks the boundary between the City of London and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. However, the southern ...

Tower Bridge Tower Bridge is a Grade I listed combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones and engineered by John Wolfe Barry with the help of Henry Marc Brunel. It crosses the River Thames clos ...

, Tower Bridge Road, New Kent Road, the

Elephant & Castle The Elephant and Castle is an area around a major road junction in London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground stati ...

, Kennington Lane, the roads that constitute the Vauxhall Cross one-way system and

Vauxhall Bridge Vauxhall Bridge is a Grade II* listed steel and granite deck arch bridge in central London. It crosses the River Thames in a southeast–northwest direction between Vauxhall on the south bank and Pimlico on the north bank. Opened in 1906, i ...

Vauxhall Bridge Road The London Inner Ring Road, or Ring Road as signposted, is a route with an average diameter of formed from a number of major roads that encircle Central London. The ring road forms the boundary of the London congestion charge zone, although t ...

, the roads that constitute the

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

one-way system, Grosvenor Place,

Park Lane Park Lane is a dual carriageway road in the City of Westminster in Central London. It is part of the London Inner Ring Road and runs from Hyde Park Corner in the south to Marble Arch in the north. It separates Hyde Park to the west from ...

Edgware Road Edgware Road is a major road in London, England. The route originated as part of Roman Watling Street and, unusually in London, it runs for 10 miles in an almost perfectly straight line. Forming part of the modern A5 road, Edgware Road undergoes ...

, Old Marylebone Road,

Marylebone Road Marylebone Road ( ) is an important thoroughfare in central London, within the City of Westminster. It runs east–west from the Euston Road at Regent's Park to the A40 Westway at Paddington. The road which runs in three lanes in both directio ...

and

Euston Road Euston Road is a road in Central London that runs from Marylebone Road to King's Cross. The route is part of the London Inner Ring Road and forms part of the London congestion charge zone boundary. It is named after Euston Hall, the family s ...

. The route is described as the ''"Inner"'' Ring Road because there are two further sets of roads that have been described as London ring roads. The

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

and South Circular Roads together form the second ring road around London, averaging in diameter. 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 ...

is the outermost road encircling the metropolis, at an average diameter of .

History

Plans for an Inner Ring Road were put forward by

Patrick Abercrombie Sir Leslie Patrick Abercrombie (; 6 June 1879 – 23 March 1957) was an English regional and town planner. Abercrombie was an academic during most of his career, and prepared one city plan and several regional studies prior to the Second Worl ...

in the 1940s, in the

County of London Plan The County of London Plan was prepared for the London County Council in 1943 by John Henry Forshaw (1895–1973) and Sir Leslie Patrick Abercrombie (1879–1957) Its main purpose was to point out the main directions of development and ...

Constituent roads

The route is signed as "Ring Road" and is made up of the following:

Historic New Road

Construction of the New Road from

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Padd ...

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 ...

began in 1756 to relieve congestion in the built-up area of London. At that time the districts of

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it ...

Fitzrovia Fitzrovia () is a district of central London, England, near the West End. The eastern part of area is in the London Borough of Camden, and the western in the City of Westminster. It has its roots in the Manor of Tottenham Court, and was urban ...

and

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest ...

were on the northern edge of the city, and only the southern parts of them had been built up. The New Road ran through the fields to the north of these three neighbourhoods. The road is now one of the busiest main roads in the city. It runs from

in the west to

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 ...

, in the east. After being renamed in 1857, the western section between Edgware Road and

Great Portland Street Great Portland Street in the West End of London links Oxford Street with Albany Street and the A501 Marylebone Road and Euston Road. A commercial street including some embassies, it divides Fitzrovia, to the east, from Marylebone to the west. ...

is known as

, the central section between Great Portland Street and King's Cross is known as

, and the eastern section from King's Cross to The Angel is called Pentonville Road.

was constructed in 1761 to continue the route eastwards to the northern edge of 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 ...

Pentonville Road

Pentonville Road runs west to east from Kings Cross to

. By far the greater portion of the road is in the

London Borough of Islington The London Borough of Islington ( ) is a London borough in Inner London. Whilst the majority of the district is located in north London, the borough also includes a significant area to the south which forms part of central London. Islington has ...

but a small part near Kings Cross is in the

London Borough of Camden The London Borough of Camden () is a London borough in Inner London. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the area of the former boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and S ...

, including an entrance to King's Cross St Pancras Underground station at the former King's Cross Thameslink station. It acquired its present name in 1857."Pentonville Road" in Ben Weinreb and Christopher Hibbert (1983)'' The London Encyclopedia'': 592 There are several halls of residence located on Pentonville Road, these being Dinwiddy House (

SOAS SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...

), Paul Robeson House and Nido Student Living. There are two green spaces along the road –

Joseph Grimaldi Park Joseph Grimaldi Park is a public garden located off Pentonville Road in Islington, north London. The former burial grounds for St James's Anglican Chapel (formerly known as the Burial Ground of St James's) are located within the park, which is ...

and

Claremont Square Claremont Square is a square in the Angel (Pentonville) part of Islington, London. Its central green mound, hiding a reservoir, is dotted with mature trees on all four sides (embankments). On its north side is Pentonville Road. It is lined on th ...

, the latter however is not open to the public. This street is distinguished by the "set back" housing lines originally intended to provide an atmosphere of spaciousness along the thoroughfare. It is one of the locations on the UK version of the Monopoly board game, which features areas native to London. Pentonville Road is one of the many London place names mentioned in the song "Transmetropolitan" by

The Pogues The Pogues were an English or Anglo-Irish Celtic punk band fronted by Shane MacGowan and others, founded in Kings Cross, London in 1982, as "Pogue Mahone" – the anglicisation of the Irish Gaelic ''póg mo thóin'', meaning "kiss my arse" ...

Mansell Street

Mansell Street is a short road, part of the A1210 route (though sometimes shown as being the A1211), which for most of its length marks the boundary between the

and the

London Borough of Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, London borough covering much of the traditional East End of London, East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropol ...

, though the southernmost part is entirely in Tower Hamlets. It runs from

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 ...

southwards to the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...

. The northern part, north of the junction with Goodmans Yard and Prescot Street, has one way northbound traffic, while the southern part has one way southbound traffic.

Tower Bridge Road

Tower Bridge Road is a

Bermondsey Bermondsey () is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham ...

in the

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 ...

Borough of

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

, UK, that runs north to south, and connects the

Bricklayers Arms Bricklayers Arms is the road intersection of the A2 and the London Inner Ring Road where Bermondsey meets Walworth and Elephant & Castle in south London. It is the junction of Tower Bridge Road, Old Kent Road, New Kent Road and Great Dover ...

roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford Eng ...

and flyover at its southern end ( New Kent Road and Old Kent Road) to

and across 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 its northern end. It also links to Long Lane. The road has an abundance of antique (or junk) shops along part of its length. There is also Bermondsey Square which holds an 'antique' market every Friday morning, usually known as ''

Bermondsey Market Bermondsey Market (also known as New Caledonian Market and Bermondsey Square Antiques Market) is an antiques market at Bermondsey Square on Tower Bridge Road in Bermondsey, south London, England. The location was formerly the site of Bermondsey ...

'', though officially as ''New Caledonian Market''. Towards its southern end are a collection of shops, pubs and takeaways.

Kennington Lane

Kennington Lane 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 lowe ...

(classified A3204) running between the

to the east and

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...

to the west. Starting at the Elephant, Kennington Lane splits off from the A3 by means of a Y-junction, where

Newington Butts Newington Butts is a former hamlet, now an area of the London Borough of Southwark, that gives its name to a segment of the A3 road running south-west from the Elephant and Castle junction. The road continues as Kennington Park Road leading to ...

becomes

Kennington Park Road Kennington Park Road is a main road in south-east London, England, and is part of the A3 trunk road. It runs from Newington Butts at its Y-junction with Kennington Lane, south-west to the Oval, where the A3 continues as Clapham Road, towards ...

. Heading in a southwesterly direction, the road then crosses the A23

Kennington Road Kennington Road is a long straight road, approximately a mile in length, in the London Borough of Lambeth in London, England, running south from Westminster Bridge Road (at the junction with Baylis Road to the north-east) to Kennington Park R ...

, before reaching the Vauxhall one-way system, where the A3036

Albert Embankment Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Alber ...

and Wandsworth Road, A202

, Durham Street and Harleyford Road, A203

South Lambeth Road South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

, and A3205 Nine Elms Lane all converge.

Vauxhall Bridge Road

Vauxhall Bridge Road runs south-east to north-west from Vauxhall Cross, over the

to Victoria station. At the southernmost point the road runs past the headquarters of MI6. The section immediately after

north of the Thames is called Bessborough Gardens and is home to the Embassy of Lithuania. Further along is the Embassy of Mauritania.

Victoria one-way system

Victoria one-way system lays in front of

Station. Clockwise, it includes Lower Grosvenor Place, Bressenden Place, and west end of Victoria Street.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Inner Ring Road Ring roads in London Transport in the London Borough of Camden Transport in the London Borough of Islington Transport in the London Borough of Southwark Transport in the City of London Transport in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Transport in the City of Westminster