Stane Street
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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 Regnum (near modern Chichester). 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).
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. At Ewell it bears to the left slightly, to cross the North Downs near Langley Vale, then Dorking. South of Dorking the modern A29 follows the line very closely through Billingshurst as far as Pulborough. The alignment turns west at this point to make a beeline for Chichester, and passes the notable Roman villa at Bignor, before climbing up onto the South Downs. 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.
[edit] References
- Margary, Ivan D (1973). Roman Roads in Britain, 3rd edition, London: John Baker, pp.64–67. ISBN 0-212-97001-1.
- Belloc, Hilaire (1913). The Stane Street : A Monograph. London: Constable (re-issued by Kessinger 2005). ISBN 1-4179-5459-0.
