| Watling Street | |
|---|---|
 A map of the Saxon Watling Street overlaid on the Roman road network | |
_-_geograph.org.uk_-_373527.jpg) A stretch of modern-day Watling Street in Buckinghamshire[a] | |
| Route information | |
| Length | 276 mi (444 km) [230 mi (370 km)]Rutupiae toViroconium |
| Time period | Roman Britain Saxon Britain |
| Margary number | 1 |
| Major junctions | |
| From | The Kentish ports |
| Major intersections | Canterbury, London,St Albans |
| To | Wroxeter |
| Location | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Road network | |
Watling Street is ahistoric route inEngland, running fromDover and London in the southeast, viaSt Albans toWroxeter. The road crosses theRiver Thames atLondon and was used inClassical Antiquity,Late Antiquity, and throughout theMiddle Ages. It was used by theancient Britons and paved as one of the mainRoman roads in Britannia (Roman-governedGreat Britain during theRoman Empire). The line of the road was later the southwestern border of theDanelaw withWessex andMercia, 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 modernCanterbury andSt Albans using a naturalford nearWestminster, the road was later paved by theRomans. It connected the ports ofDubris (Dover),Rutupiae (Richborough Castle),Lemanis (Lympne), andRegulbium (Reculver) inKent to theRoman bridge over the Thames atLondinium (London). The route continued northwest throughVerulamium (St Albans) on its way toViroconium 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 RomanAntonine Itinerary lists sites along the route of Watling Street as part of a longer route of 500Roman miles connectingRichborough withHadrian's Wall via Wroxeter. The continuation on toBlatobulgium (Birrens,Dumfriesshire) beyond Hadrian's Wall in modernScotland 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 18th century, England's firstturnpike trust was established to pave the route throughBedfordshire andBuckinghamshire. In the early 19th century, the course between London and the Channel was paved and became known as theGreat Dover Road.
The route from London to Wroxeter forms much of theA5 road. The route from Dover to London forms part of theA2 road. At various points along the historic route, the name Watling Street remains in modern use.
The originalCeltic andRoman 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 inone 2nd-century list. The modern name instead derives from theOld EnglishWæcelinga Stræt, from a time when "street"(Latin:via strata) referred to any paved road and had no particular association with urban thoroughfares. TheWaeclingas ("people ofWaecla")[1] were a tribe in theSt Albans area in theearly medieval period[1][2] 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 wasCasingc Stræt or Key Street, a name still borne by a hamlet on the road nearSittingbourne.[3] This section only later became considered part of Watling Street.[3]
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:
The broad, grassytrackway found by the Romans had already been used by theBritons for centuries. The main path led fromRichborough on theEnglish Channel to a naturalford in theThames atThorney Island,[6]Westminster, to a site nearWroxeter, where it split. The western continuation went on toHolyhead while the northern ran toChester and on to thePicts in Scotland.[7]
There is a longstanding tradition[citation needed] that a natural ford once crossed the Thames between Thorney Island (present-dayWestminster) and theLambeth/Wandsworth boundary.[8][better source needed] 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:[9]
TheRomans began constructingpaved roads shortly aftertheir invasion in AD 43. The London portion of Watling Street was rediscovered duringChristopher Wren's rebuilding ofSt Mary-le-Bow in 1671–73, following theGreat Fire. Modern excavations date its construction to the winter from AD 47 to 48. Around London, it was 7.5–8.7 m (25–29 ft) wide and paved with gravel. It was repeatedly redone, including at least twice before the sack of London byBoudica'stroops in 60 or 61.[10] The road ran straight from the bridgehead on theThames[11] to what would becomeNewgate on theLondon Wall before passing overLudgate Hill and theFleet and dividing into Watling Street and theDevil's Highway west toCalleva (Silchester). Some of this route is preserved beneathOld Kent Road.[12]
The 2nd-centuryAntonine Itinerary gives the course of Watling Street from "Urioconium" (Wroxeter) to "Portus Ritupis" (Richborough) as a part of its Second Route (Iter II), which runs for 501 MP fromHadrian's Wall to Richborough:[13][14]
Some site in the middle section of this route is supposed by most historians to have been the location ofG. Suetonius Paulinus'sdecisive victory overBoudica'sIceni in AD 61.
The two routes of theAntonine Itinerary immediately following (Iter III &IV) list the stations from Londinium to "Portus Dubris" (Dover) and to "Portus Lemanis" (Lympne) at the north eastern edge of theRomney Marsh, suggesting that they may have been considered interchangeable terminuses. They only differ in the distance toDurovernum: 14 and 17Roman miles, respectively.[13][14] The route to Lemanis was sometimes distinguished by the name"Stone Street"; it now forms most of the B2068 road that runs from theM20 motorway to Canterbury. The route between Durovernum and the fortress and port atRegulbium (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 (Iter VI) also recorded an alternate path stopping atTripontium (Newton and Biggin) betweenVenonis (High Cross) andBannaventa (Norton); it is listed as taking 24 Roman miles rather than 17.[13][14]
The more direct route north fromLondinium (London) toEboracum (York) wasErmine Street. The stations between Eboracum andCataractonium (Catterick) were shared withDere Street, which then branched off to the northeast.Durocobrivis (Dunstable) was the site of the path's intersection with theIcknield Way. TheMaiden Way ran fromBravoniacum (Kirkby Thore) to the fort atEpiacum (Whitley Castle) with its remarkable ramparts, and on to theHadrian's Wall fort ofMagnis (Carvoran).
By the time of theSaxon invasions, the Roman bridge across the Thames had presumably fallen into disrepair or been destroyed. The Saxons abandoned the walled Roman site in favour ofLundenwic to its west, presumably because of its more convenient access to the ford on the Thames. They did not return toLundenburh (theCity of London) until forced to do so by theVikings 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 publicright of way. "Watlingestrate" was one of the four roads(Latin:chemini) protected by theking's peace in theLaws of Edward the Confessor.[15][16]
A number of Old English names testify to route of Watling Street at this time:Boughton Street inKent;Colney Street inHertfordshire;Fenny Stratford andStony Stratford inBuckinghamshire;Old Stratford in Northamptonshire;Stretton-under-Fosse andStretton Baskerville inWarwickshire. (The three adjacent settlements ofAll Stretton,Church Stretton, andLittle Stretton inShropshire; andStretton Sugwas inHerefordshire have a Watling Street but they are not on the route).
Following theViking invasions, the 9th-centuryTreaty of Alfred and Guthrum mentions Watling Street as a boundary.
It is assumed that the pilgrims inChaucer'sCanterbury Tales used the southeastern stretch of Watling Street when journeying fromSouthwark toCanterbury.[citation needed]
The firstturnpike 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.[17] The section fromFourne Hill north ofHockliffe toStony Stratford was paved at a cost of£7000[b] 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 theBuckinghamshire 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".[18]
The road was again paved in the early 19th century at the expense ofThomas Telford. He operated it as a turnpike road formail coaches fromIreland. To this purpose, he extended it to the port ofHolyhead onAnglesey in Wales. During this time, the section southeast of London became known as theGreat 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. TheA2 road between Dover and London runs over or parallel to the old path. A section of Watling Street still exists in theCity of London close toMansion House underground station on the route of the original Roman road which traversed theRiver Thames via the firstLondon Bridge and ran through the City in a straight line from London Bridge toNewgate.[19] The sections of the road in Central London possess a variety of names, includingEdgware Road andMaida Vale. AtBlackheath, the Roman road ran alongOld Dover Road, turning and running through the area of present-dayGreenwich Park to a location perhaps a little north of the current Deptford Bridge. North of London, the road is designated mainly as theA5 between London andShrewsbury. At various points along the route, the A5 leaves the Roman road to bypass settlements,[c] 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 inBexleyheath in southeast London and inCanterbury,Gillingham,Strood,Gravesend, andDartford inKent. North of London, the name Watling Street still occurs inHertfordshire (includingSt Albans),Bedfordshire (Dunstable), Buckinghamshire (Milton Keynes),Northamptonshire (Towcester),Leicestershire (Hinckley), Warwickshire (Nuneaton andAtherstone) and inStaffordshire (Cannock,Wall,Tamworth andLichfield). (There are Watling Streets inShropshire (Church Stretton)[20] and inGwynedd (Llanrwst), but neither is on the original route.)
Dere Street, theRoman road fromCataractonium (Catterick inYorkshire) toCorstopitum (nowCorbridge,Northumberland) to theAntonine Wall, was also sometimes known as Watling Street. A third Watling Street was the Roman road fromMamucium (Manchester) toBremetennacum (Ribchester) toCumbria.Preston,Lancashire, preserved a Watling Street Road between Ribbleton andFulwood, passing the Sharoe Green Hospital.[21] Both of these may preserve a separate derivation from theOld Englishwealhas ("foreigner") or may have preserved the memory of the long Roman road while misattributing its upper stages to better-preserved roads. The Roman road betweenDeva Victrix (Chester) andCondate (Northwich) is also known locally as Watling Street.[22]
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