The Roman Road to Brighton

 While I was puzzling over the Wandle the other day, I came upon a couple of Roman bits.  I later did some research on these, and discovered a Roman road that I hadn't known about.  It's local - at least the first part is, so fitting for the times, and it joins up some places that I know, and some that I didn't.  Its disadvantage is that parts of it are uncertain, as it has been built over many times over the centuries.  But parts are very evidently there, much of it is rideable, so here's the story.

The road runs from London Bridge to Portslade, a suburb of Brighton.  It starts on Simon's CS VII,  Stane Street, which strides imperiously over the Downs to Chichester, but it soon branches off at the Clapham North tube station, heading off up Bedford Road.  At Streatham Hill the road becomes hard to follow due to later building, but it reappears quite convincingly at Streatham Station, and some good waymarks have been found a little further on at Norbury, where archeologists of the 1960s found remains of the road, 32 feet wide, and a ford over the River Graveney.

On towards Croydon, where 19th century archeologists noted that the road was still visible at Broad Green, and through the centre of the town.  At least, that's one theory, another is that the road went along the Wandle where I went last time, but I discount that one as it's not very straight, and would have been very boggy, which the Romans didn't like.

On to Riddlesdown, which I rode over on my bourne-hunt, and things are much better there.  You can see the road, and archeologists confirm it.

It's a good run over here, with a decent surface and very good views, passing over the railway before the valley bottom is reached.  Received wisdom is that the railway obliterated the Roman road, as the valley bottom would have been unattractive to them.  Near here there's an interesting fragment that we rode along on Dave's ride last summer.  It's a short piece of straight gravel track that emerges on Burntwood Lane.

The next half mile is unclear due to later construction, but once you start up Tillingdown Hill the road begins to emerge again.  By the time you get to the top it's very obvious, and there are a couple of miles of dead straight, metalled track.

Maggie is walking along it in the picture, as it's a footpath.  It's the sort of track that I might have taken a chance on, but it ends in a slightly threatening demolition yard, with no obvious connection to the next piece, so sticking to the footpath seemed best.

Descending to Quarry Road we join NCN21 and the old London Road, that we rode along a couple of years ago.  It's a rough track here, and the M25 has seriously changed the alignment of the current roads, but it aligns very nicely with Tilburstow Hill, going up the side that Patrick favoured last August.

Over the top and down the other side and it's quite clear that, just like Stane Street to the West, the modern road has simply been built on the Roman foundations, down to Blindley Heath and beyond.

For the minute, that's as far as I can go, but maps show more fragments further South, so I'll ride the rest as Summer comes along and we're allowed out again.

[To be continued ...]

Mark

Author: Mark G

2 Comments:

Ged Lawrenson 01 February 2021 at 16:49 GMT

Fascinating Mark! Maybe a compass and theodolite would come in handy on your next investigation!

Dave Vine 03 February 2021 at 11:47 GMT

Mark, a fascinating mixture of archaeology and cycling. I do recall the “short piece of straight gravel track” near Burntwood Lane. By a strange coincidence I remarked at the time that the last maintenance was probably done by the Romans.