Stane Street

"There are several Roman Stane Streets - see also Stane Street (St Albans)"

Stane Street, sometimes called "Stone Street" (Stane is simply an old spelling of "stone" which was commonly used to differentiate paved Roman roads from muddy native trackways), is the modern name given to an important Roman road in England that linked London to the Roman town of Noviomagus Reginorum or "Regnentium" renamed Chichester by the conquering Saxons.

Stane Street is especially interesting as it shows clearly the principles of planning that the Romans used. The overall alignment is based on an accurate line "sighted" from London Bridge to Chichester, with subtle local variations to allow for not only the nature of the intervening terrain (gentle slopes are used to climb the line of the South Downs) but also the underlying geology (the preferred line stays on chalk ground and avoids London clay as far as possible).

Posting stations

There are four known posting stations along Stane Street where official messengers could change horses and travellers could rest. These are at Merton Abbey, Dorking, Alfoldean and Hardham [David E Johnson, "An Illustrated History of Roman Roads in Britain". Spurbooks Ltd. 1979 p 74 ISBN 0 906978 34 6 ] . These stations were normally rectangular fortified sites of about 1 hectare (2.5 acres). The station at Alfoldean has been excavated.

London Bridge to Ewell

The line of the road runs south west from London Bridge, closely followed by the Northern Line through Clapham and Tooting up to Colliers Wood and Merton. It then crosses the River Wandle at the site of what later became Merton Priory, and is then closely followed by the A24 from Morden to Ewell. This is the only section of the road that is on the true line from London Bridge to the east gate of Chichester.

Ewell to South Holmwood

At Ewell it bears to the left slightly, avoiding wet difficult alluvial soils by moving onto the chalk, to cross the North Downs near Langley Vale, then crosses the River Mole and passes through Dorking which was a Roman station. This route takes the road east of Leith Hill, one of the highest hills in southern England at 294 metres (965 feet).

outh Holmwood to Pulborough

South of Dorking, near South Holmwood, Stane Street takes a line sighted from London Bridge to Pulborough with most of this section still in use as the modern A29 which follows the line very closely through Billingshurst as far as Pulborough. This line to the east of the middle reaches of the River Arun is mostly free of steep gradients, although the modern road does avoid the hill at Rowhook.

Pulborough to Chichester

The alignment turns west at this point to make a beeline for Chichester, and passes the notable Roman villa at Bignor, before making a slight detour from the line where it climbs the escarpment of the South Downs. At Hardham south west of Pulborough there was a junction with the Greensand Way road to Lewes and a posting station near the junction. Up on the open heath of the downs the line of the road can be followed very well on foot and is free of modern roads and paths. Walking south from Bignor Hill one soon comes to open sheep grazed pasture at Gumber farm where the scale of the agger of the road can be clearly seen. The spire of Chichester cathedral can be seen above the distant trees, slightly to the right of the road line as the road heads for Chichester's east gate. Further on at Eartham Woods where the Monarch's Way long-distance path follows the route, the flint surface of the well preserved road is exposed, the trees are mostly cut back to the boundary ditches, and the road seems little different from the time when the Legions left Britain. Although the invading Saxons made Chichester the capital of the South Saxon kingdom only the southern 7 kilometres of this superbly engineered road into the western weald have remained in use as the A285.

References

* cite book
last = Margary
first = Ivan D
year = 1973
edition = 3rd edition
title = Roman Roads in Britain
publisher = John Baker
location = London
id = ISBN 0-212-97001-1
pages = pp.64–67
* cite book
last = Belloc
first = Hilaire
authorlink = Hilaire Belloc
year = 1913
title = The Stane Street : A Monograph
location = London
publisher = Constable (re-issued by Kessinger 2005)
id = ISBN 1-4179-5459-0

ee also

* Roman Britain
* Roman roads in Britain