View source for Watling Street

{{Short description|Historic route in England}}
{{for multi|the book|Watling Street (book)|the racehorse|Watling Street (horse)|the football ground|Watling Street (Dartford)}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}}
{{Infobox road
|country=GBR
|type= Roman
|route= Watling Street
|alternate_name= 
|marker_image =
|map=1911Watling Street.png|map_alt=Map showing Watling Street
|map_notes    = A map of the Saxon Watling Street overlaid on the Roman road network
|length_mi    = 276
|margary=1
|length_notes = [{{convert|230|mi|km|0|abbr=on}}] [[Rutupiae]] to [[Viroconium Cornoviorum|Viroconium]]
|time_period  = [[Roman Britain]]<br>[[Saxon Britain]]
|terminus_a   = The Kentish ports
|junction     = [[Canterbury]], London, [[St Albans|St&nbsp;Albans]]
|terminus_b   = [[Wroxeter]]
|image = The old A5 (Watling Street) - geograph.org.uk - 373527.jpg
|image_notes = A stretch of modern-day Watling Street in Buckinghamshire{{efn|The sign visible is actually on the [[A5 road (Great Britain)|A5]] bypassing Watling Street on a new alignment just to right of the picture.}}
}}

'''Watling Street''' is a [[Historic roads and trails|historic route]] in [[England]], running from [[Dover]] and London in the southeast, via [[St Albans]] to [[Wroxeter]].  The road crosses the [[River Thames]] at [[London]] and was used in [[Classical Antiquity]], [[Late Antiquity]], and throughout the [[Middle Ages]]. It was used by the [[ancient Britons]] and paved as one of the main [[Roman roads in Britannia]] (Roman-governed [[Great Britain]] during the [[Roman Empire]]). The line of the road was later the southwestern border of the [[Danelaw]] with [[Wessex]] and [[Mercia]], 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 modern [[Canterbury]] and {{nowrap|[[St Albans]]}} using a natural [[river ford|ford]] near [[Westminster]], the road was later paved by the [[Ancient Romans|Romans]].  It connected the ports of [[Dubris]] (Dover), [[Rutupiae]] ([[Richborough Castle]]), [[Portus Lemanis|Lemanis]] ([[Lympne]]), and [[Regulbium]] ([[Reculver]]) in [[Kent]] to the [[London Bridge#Roman bridges|Roman bridge]] over the Thames at [[Londinium]] (London). The route continued northwest through [[Verulamium]] (St&nbsp;Albans) on its way to [[Viroconium 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 Roman ''[[Antonine Itinerary]]'' lists sites along the route of Watling Street as part of a longer route of 500 [[Roman miles]] connecting [[Richborough]] with [[Hadrian's Wall]] via Wroxeter. The continuation on to [[Blatobulgium]] ([[Birrens]], [[Dumfriesshire]]) beyond Hadrian's Wall in modern [[Scotland]] 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 first [[turnpike trust]] was established to pave the route through [[Bedfordshire]] and [[Buckinghamshire]]. In the early 19th century, the course between London and the Channel was paved and became known as the [[Great Dover Road]].

The route from London to Wroxeter forms much of the [[A5 road (Great Britain)|A5 road]]. The route from Dover to London forms part of the [[A2 road (Great Britain)|A2 road]]. At various points along the historic route, the name Watling Street remains in modern use.

==Name==
The original [[Common Brittonic|Celtic]] and [[Latin|Roman]] 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 in [[Antonine Itinerary|one 2nd-century list]]. The modern name instead derives from the [[Old English]] ''{{lang|ang|Wæcelinga Stræt}}'', from a time when "street" {{nowrap|({{langx|la|via strata}})}} referred to any paved road and had no particular association with urban thoroughfares. The {{lang|ang|[[Waeclingas]]}} ("people of {{lang|ang|Waecla}}")<ref name="Williamson p64">{{cite book |last=Williamson |first=Tom |title=The Origins of Hertfordshire |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L87sjkrXr60C&pg=PA64 |access-date=13 September 2014 |year=2000 |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=071904491X |page=64 }}</ref> were a tribe in the [[St Albans]] area in the [[history of Anglo-Saxon England|early medieval period]].<ref name="Williamson p64"/><ref>John Cannon, ''A Dictionary of British History'', 2009.</ref> The Anglo-Saxon name of St Albans was {{lang|ang|Wætlingaceaster}} referred to in a charter of 1005;<ref>{{cite web |url=https://esawyer.lib.cam.ac.uk/charter/912.html |title=S 912 |series=The Electronic Sawyer: Online catalogue of Anglo-Saxon charters}} (section "Old text")</ref> this would translate into modern English as "Watlingchester".

The original Anglo-Saxon name for the section of the route between Canterbury and London was ''{{lang|ang|Casingc Stræt}}'' or Key Street, a name still borne by a hamlet on the road near [[Sittingbourne]].{{sfn|Margary|1973|p=34}} This section only later became considered part of Watling Street.{{sfn|Margary|1973|p=34}}

==Used as a boundary==
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:
* Watling Street was used as a boundary in the [[Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum]] and it is often inferred that this made the road the SW boundary of the [[Danelaw]].{{sfn|Bishop|2014|p=160}}
* It is the boundary of [[Leicestershire]] and [[Warwickshire]], this may be a legacy of the treaty described above.
* Watling Street forms part of the boundary of four London Boroughs ([[London Borough of Harrow|Harrow]], [[London Borough of Brent|Brent]], [[London Borough of Camden|Camden]] and [[London Borough of Barnet|Barnet]]) and is sometimes described as the boundary of [[West London (sub region)|West]] and [[North London]].<ref>{{citation | section = Policy 2.5, sub-regions | url = https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/planning/london-plan/current-london-plan/london-plan-chapter-two-londons-places/policy-25 | title = London Plan, chapter 2 | publisher = [[Greater London Authority]] | date = 2016 | access-date = 29 April 2020 | archive-date = 26 December 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181226033852/https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/planning/london-plan/current-london-plan/london-plan-chapter-two-londons-places/policy-25 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

==History==

===British===
[[File:Watling Street Northamptonshire.jpg|thumb|right|Watling Street near [[Crick, Northamptonshire|Crick]] in [[Northamptonshire]]]]
The broad, grassy [[ancient trackway|trackway]] found by the Romans had already been used by the [[Britons (Celtic people)|Britons]] for centuries. The main path led from [[Richborough]] on the [[English Channel]] to a natural [[river ford|ford]] in the [[River Thames|Thames]] at [[Thorney Island (Westminster)|Thorney Island]],<ref>{{cite journal |title=Loftie's Historic London (review) |journal=The Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science and Art |volume=63 |issue=1,634 |date=19 February 1887 |page=271 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m1RJAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA271 |access-date=21 October 2015}}</ref> [[Westminster]], to a site near [[Wroxeter]], where it split. The western continuation went on to [[Holyhead]] while the northern ran to [[Chester]] and on to the [[Picts]] in Scotland.<ref>{{cite book |title=English Villages |last=Ditchfield |first= Peter Hampson|year=1901 |publisher=Methuen |location=London |page=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924026406284/page/n54 33] |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924026406284}}</ref>

===Westminster ford===
There is a longstanding tradition{{cn|date=February 2025}} that a natural ford once crossed the Thames between Thorney Island  (present-day [[Westminster]]) and the [[Lambeth]]/[[Wandsworth]] boundary.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pengepast.wordpress.com/2017/01/08/the-lambeth-ford-and-roman-watling-street/ |title=The Lambeth Ford and Roman Watling Street | publisher=Penge Past |first=Martin |last=Spence|date=8 January 2017 }}</ref>{{better source|reason=[[wp:BLOGS]]|date=September 2022}} 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:<ref>{{cite episode |publisher=Channel Four |series=[[Time Team]] |season=9 |number= 1 |title=Vauxhall: excavation and discussion |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6Ldh2ooaUg}}  (from 34:50)</ref> 
* The bend in the Thames near [[Vauxhall Bridge]].
* The two arms of the [[River Effra]] joining in that vicinity, depositing their own load, with the cross-flow causing the Thames to eddy and slow.
* Similarly the southern arm of the [[River Tyburn|Tyburn]], once joined the Thames at this point, on the northern bank.
* These factors mean the area is likely to have been the [[head of tide|tidal head]] for some of the historic period.

===Roman===
[[File:Watling Street Richborough.jpg|thumb|The eastern end of the road at [[Richborough Castle]], one of the Romans' Kentish ports and a [[Saxon Shore]] fort (visible at left)]]
The [[Ancient Romans|Romans]] began constructing [[Roman road|paved roads]] shortly after [[Roman conquest of Britain|their invasion]] in AD&nbsp;43. The London portion of Watling Street was rediscovered during [[Christopher Wren]]'s rebuilding of [[St Mary-le-Bow|St&nbsp;Mary-le-Bow]] in 1671–73, following the [[Great Fire of London|Great Fire]]. Modern excavations date its construction to the winter from AD&nbsp;47 to 48. Around London, it was {{convert|7.5|-|8.7|m|abbr=on}} wide and paved with gravel. It was repeatedly redone, including at least twice before the sack of London by [[Boudica]]'s [[Boudica's Revolt|troops]] in 60 or 61.<ref name=olo>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gbMkBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA41|page=41|title=The Origin of Roman London|last=Wallace|first=Lacey|year=2014|publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781107047570}}</ref> The road ran straight from the bridgehead on the [[River Thames|Thames]]{{refn|Although it is possible the Romans used a ferry prior to the expansion of Londinium in the rebuilding following Boudica's sack of the city in the year 60 or 61.<ref name=olo/>}} to what would become [[Newgate]] on the [[London Wall]] before passing over [[Ludgate Hill]] and the [[River Fleet|Fleet]] and dividing into Watling Street and the [[Devil's Highway (Roman Britain)|Devil's Highway]] west to [[Calleva Atrebatum|Calleva]] ([[Silchester]]). Some of this route is preserved beneath [[Old Kent Road]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Margary|first=Ivan D.|title=Roman Ways in the Weald|publisher=J. M. Dent|location=London|year=1948|edition=third|pages=126}}</ref>

The 2nd-century ''[[Antonine Itinerary]]'' gives the course of Watling Street from "[[Urioconium]]" (Wroxeter) to "[[Portus Ritupis]]" (Richborough) as a part of its Second Route (''{{lang|la|Iter II}}''), which runs for 501&nbsp;[[Roman mile|MP]] from [[Hadrian's Wall]] to Richborough:<ref name=ai>[[s:la:Itinerarium Antonini Augusti|Itinerarium Antonini Augusti]]. Hosted at [[:s:la:Main Page|Latin Wikisource]]. {{in lang|la}}</ref><ref name=ai2>{{cite web|url=https://www.roman-britain.co.uk/classical-references/antonine-itinerary/ |title=The Antonine Itinerary|publisher=Roman Britain }} {{in lang|la|en}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="text-align:left; border:2px solid black; margin: 1em auto 1em auto;"
|+ class="nowrap" | Route II of the Antonine Itinerary
|-
! style="background-color:#CEDFF2; text-align:left; border-right:1px solid transparent; border-bottom:2px solid black;" colspan="2" | ...from [[Hadrian's Wall|the Wall]] to [[Rutupiae|the port of Ritupis]],
! style="background-color:#CEDFF2; text-align:left; border-right:1px solid transparent; border-bottom:2px solid black;" | {{nowrap|481&nbsp;[[Roman miles]],}} || style="background-color:#CEDFF2; text-align:right; border-bottom:2px solid black; padding-right: 1em; " | thus:
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" |  From [[Blatobulgium]] || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;[[Birrens]]&#93; || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | {{nowrap|to the [[Castra Exploratorum|scout camp]] &#91;[[Netherby, Cumbria|Netherby]]&#93;,}} || style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " | 12
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | To [[Luguvalium]] || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;[[Carlisle, Cumbria|Carlisle]]&#93; || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | || style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " | 12
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | To [[Voreda]] || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;[[Old Penrith]]&#93;  || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" |  || style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " | 14
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | To [[Bravoniacum]] || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;[[Kirkby Thore]]&#93; || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | || style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " | 13
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | To [[Verterae]] || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;[[Brough, Cumbria|Brough]]&#93; || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | || style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " | 13
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | To [[Lavatrae]] || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;[[Bowes]]&#93; || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | ||style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " |  14
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | To [[Cataractonium]] || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;[[Catterick, North Yorkshire|Catterick]]&#93; || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | || style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " | 16
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | [[Isurium]]<!--sic--> || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;[[Aldborough, North Yorkshire|Aldborough]]&#93; || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | || style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " | 24
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | [[Eboracum]]<!--sic--> || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;[[York]]&#93;, || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | {{nowrap|&#91;[[Legio VI Victrix|6th Victorious Leg.]]&#93;,}} || style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " | 17
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | To [[Calcaria]] || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;[[Tadcaster]]&#93; || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | || style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " | 9
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | To [[Cambodunum (Britain)|Cambodunum]] || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;[[Slack, West Yorkshire|Slack]]&#93; || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | || style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " | 20
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | To [[Mamucium]] || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;[[Castlefield|Manchester]]&#93; || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | || style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " | 18
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | To [[Condate (Britain)|Condate]] || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;[[Northwich]]&#93; || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" |  || style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " | 18
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | To [[Deva Victrix|Deva]] || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;[[Chester]]&#93;, || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | [[Legio XX Victrix|20th Vict. Leg.]] || style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " | 20
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | To [[Bovio (Roman Britain)|Bovium]] || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;[[Tilston]]&#93; || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | || style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " | 10
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | To [[Mediolanum (Whitchurch)|Mediolanum]] || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" |  &#91;[[Whitchurch, Shropshire]]&#93; || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | || style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " | 20
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | To [[Rutunium]] || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;[[Harcourt Park, Shropshire|Harcourt Park]]&#93; || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | || style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " | 12
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | To [[Viroconium]] || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;[[Wroxeter]]&#93; || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | || style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " | 11
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | To [[Uxacona]] || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;[[Redhill, Sheriffhales|Redhill]]&#93; || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | || style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " | 11
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | To [[Pennocrucium]] || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;[[Penkridge]]&#93; || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | || style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " | 12
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | To [[Letocetum]] || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;[[Wall, Staffordshire|Wall]]&#93; || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | || style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " | 12
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | {{nowrap|To [[Manduessedum]]}} || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;[[Mancetter]]&#93; || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | || style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " | 16
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | To [[Venonae]] || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;[[High Cross, Leicestershire|High Cross]]&#93; || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | || style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " | 12
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | To [[Bannaventa]] || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;[[Norton, Northamptonshire|Norton]]&#93; || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | || style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " | 17
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | To [[Lactodurum]] || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;[[Towcester]]&#93; || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | || style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " | 12
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | To [[Magiovinium]] || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;[[Fenny Stratford]]&#93; || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | ||style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " |  17
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | {{nowrap|To [[Durocobrivae]]}} || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;[[Dunstable]]&#93; || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | || style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " | 12
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | To [[Verulamium]] || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;[[St Albans|St&nbsp;Albans]]&#93; || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | || style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " | 12
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | To [[Sulloniacae]]  || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;''Stanmore''&#93; || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" |  || style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " | 9
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | To [[Londinium]] || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;London&#93; || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | || style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " | 12
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | To [[Noviomagus Cantiacorum|Noviomagus]] || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;''unknown''&#93; || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" |  || style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " | 10
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | To [[Vagniacae]] || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;[[Springhead, Kent|Springhead]]&#93; || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | || style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " | 18
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | To [[Durobrivae Cantiacorum|Durobrivae]] || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;[[Rochester, Kent|Rochester]]&#93; || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | || style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " | 9
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | To [[Durolevum]] || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;''unknown''&#93; || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" |  || style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " | 13
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | To [[Durovernum]] || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;[[Canterbury]]&#93; || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | || style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " | 12
|-
| style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | {{nowrap|To [[Rutupiae|the port of Ritupis]]}} || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | &#91;[[Richborough]]&#93; || style="text-align:left; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: 1em; border-right:1px solid transparent;" | || style="text-align:right; padding-right: 1em; " | 12
|}

====Battle of Watling Street====
[[File:Boudica statue, Westminster (8433726848).jpg|alt=Boudica's statue in London|thumb|The statue ''[[Boadicea and Her Daughters]]'' by [[Thomas Thornycroft]], near [[Westminster Millennium Pier|Westminster Pier]], London]]
{{main|Defeat of Boudica#Location}}
Some site in the middle section of this route is supposed by most historians to have been the location of [[Gaius Suetonius Paulinus|G.&nbsp;Suetonius Paulinus]]'s [[decisive victory]] over [[Boudica]]'s [[Iceni]] in AD&nbsp;61.

====Subsidiary routes====
The two routes of the [[Antonine Itinerary]] immediately following (''{{lang|la|Iter III}}'' & ''{{lang|la|IV}}'') list the stations from Londinium to "[[Portus Dubris]]" ([[Dover]]) and to "[[Portus Lemanis]]" ([[Lympne]]) at the north eastern edge of the [[Romney Marsh]], suggesting that they may have been considered interchangeable terminuses. They only differ in the distance to [[Durovernum]]: 14 and 17 [[Roman miles]], respectively.<ref name=ai/><ref name=ai2/> The route to Lemanis was sometimes distinguished by the name {{nowrap|"Stone Street"}}; it now forms most of the B2068 road that runs from the [[M20 motorway]] to Canterbury. The route between Durovernum and the fortress and port at [[Regulbium]] ([[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 (''{{lang|la|Iter VI}}'') also recorded an alternate path stopping at [[Tripontium]] ([[Newton and Biggin]]) between [[Venonis]] ([[High Cross, Leicestershire|High Cross]]) and [[Bannaventa]] ([[Norton, Northamptonshire|Norton]]); it is listed as taking 24&nbsp;[[Roman miles]] rather than 17.<ref name=ai/><ref name=ai2/>

The more direct route north from [[Londinium]] (London) to [[Eboracum]] ([[York]]) was [[Ermine Street]]. The stations between Eboracum and [[Cataractonium]] ([[Catterick, North Yorkshire|Catterick]]) were shared with [[Dere Street]], which then branched off to the northeast. [[Durocobrivis]] ([[Dunstable]]) was the site of the path's intersection with the [[Icknield Way]]. The [[Maiden Way]] ran from [[Bravoniacum]] ([[Kirkby Thore]]) to the fort at [[Epiacum]] ([[Whitley Castle]]) with its remarkable ramparts, and on to the [[Hadrian's Wall]] fort of [[Magnis (Carvoran)]].

===Saxon===
[[File:Mercia in time of Chad.jpg|thumb|A map illustrating the approximate extent of the Kingdom of Mercia in the 7th century, with the Forest of Arden nestled between the Rivers Severn, Avon, and Trent, and bordered to the north by Watling Street.]]

By the time of the [[Adventus Saxonum|Saxon invasions]], the Roman bridge across the Thames had presumably fallen into disrepair or been destroyed. The Saxons abandoned the walled Roman site in favour of [[Lundenwic]] to its west, presumably because of its more convenient access to the ford on the Thames. They did not return to [[Lundenburh]] (the [[City of London]]) until forced to do so by the [[Viking invasions of England|Vikings]] 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 public [[right of way (transit)|right of way]]. "Watlingestrate" was one of the four roads {{nowrap|({{langx|la|chemini}})}} protected by the [[Peace (law)|king's peace]] in the [[Laws of Edward the Confessor]].<ref name=haskill>{{citation|chapter-url=http://www.earlyenglishlaws.ac.uk/laws/texts/ecf1/view/#edition,1_0_c_11_3/commentary,1_0_c_11_1|title=Early English Laws|chapter=Leges Edwardi Confessoris (ECf1), §12|publisher=University of London|location=London|date=2015|access-date=20 February 2015 |language=la}}</ref>{{refn|The other three were "[[Fosse Way|Fosse]]", "[[Hikenildestrate]]" (Icknield Street), and "[[Herningestrate]]" (Ermine Street).<ref name=haskill/>}}

A number of Old English names testify to route of Watling Street at this time: [[Boughton Street]] in [[Kent]]; [[Colney Street]] in [[Hertfordshire]]; [[Fenny Stratford]] and [[Stony Stratford]] in [[Buckinghamshire]]; [[Old Stratford]] in Northamptonshire; [[Stretton-under-Fosse]] and [[Stretton Baskerville]] in [[Warwickshire]]. (The three adjacent settlements of [[All Stretton]], [[Church Stretton]], and [[Little Stretton, Shropshire|Little Stretton]] in [[Shropshire]]; and [[Stretton Sugwas]] in [[Herefordshire]] have a Watling Street but they are not on the route).

Watling Street served as a significant traditional boundary for the ancient [[Arden, Warwickshire|Forest of Arden]], delineating its northern and western edges. The forest's other historical boundaries included [[Icknield Street]] to the east, the [[Salt road|Salt Road]] (now the modern [[Alcester]] to Stratford Road) to the south, and the [[Fosse Way]] to the southeast.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ross |first=James |title=The Fifteenth Century XVIII |chapter=Greater Landowners and the Management of their Estates in Late Medieval England |date=20 November 2020  |chapter-url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/9781800101128.009   |pages=93–104 |doi=10.1017/9781800101128.009 |isbn=978-1-80010-112-8 |chapter-url-access=subscription}}</ref>

===Viking===
{{main|Danelaw}}
Following the [[Viking invasions of England|Viking invasions]], the 9th-century [[Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum]] mentions Watling Street as a boundary.

===Norman===
[[File:Map of London, 1300.svg|thumb|Map of London around 1300 AD, showing Watling Street running north-west from [[London Bridge]] past [[Newgate]]]]
It is assumed that the pilgrims in [[Chaucer]]'s ''[[Canterbury Tales]]'' used the southeastern stretch of Watling Street when journeying from [[Southwark]] to [[Canterbury]].{{citation needed|date=February 2015}}

===Modernity===
<!-- A5183 redirects here -->
{{hatnote|Main: [[Great Dover Road]], [[A2 road (Great Britain)|A2 Road]], and [[A5 road (Great Britain)|A5 Road]].}}

The first [[turnpike trust]] in England was established over Watling Street northwest of London by an act of Parliament, the [[Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire Roads Act 1706]] ([[6 Ann.]] c. 4), on 4 March 1707 in order to provide a return on the investment required to once more pave the road.<ref name=holla>{{cite web| title = House of Lords Journal|volume=18 | work = British History Online | publisher =University of London | url = http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=29521#s5 | access-date =3 June 2008 }}</ref> The section from [[Fourne Hill]] north of [[Hockliffe]] to [[Stony Stratford]] was paved at a cost of [[Pound sterling|£]]7000{{efn|About £{{Inflation|UK|0.007|1707|r=1}} million today.}} 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 the [[Buckinghamshire]] 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".<ref>{{cite web | last = Bogart | first = Dan | title = Evidence from Road and River Improvement Authorities, 1600–1750 | work = Political Institutions and the Emergence of Regulatory Commitment in England | publisher = University of California | year = 2007 | url = http://www.iisg.nl/hpw/papers/law-bogart.pdf | access-date = 3 June 2008}}</ref>

The road was again paved in the early 19th century at the expense of [[Thomas Telford]]. He operated it as a turnpike road for [[British Post#History|mail coaches]] from [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland#Ireland|Ireland]]. To this purpose, he extended it to the port of [[Holyhead]] on [[Isle of Anglesey|Anglesey]] in Wales. During this time, the section southeast of London became known as the [[Great Dover Road]]. The tolls ended in 1875.

[[File:Watling Street plaque Kilburn.jpg|thumb|A paving stone on [[Kilburn, London|Kilburn]] High Road in London commemorates the route of Watling Street. (The date is incorrect.)]]

Much of the road is still in use today, apart from a few sections where it has been diverted. The [[A2 road (Great Britain)|A2 road]] between Dover and London runs over or parallel to the old path. A section of Watling Street still exists in the [[City of London]] close to [[Mansion House underground station]] on the route of the original Roman road which traversed the [[River Thames]] via the first [[London Bridge]] and ran through the City in a straight line from London Bridge to [[Newgate]].<ref>[http://www.johnchaple.co.uk/watling.html Britain's hidden history – London's missing Roman road].</ref> The sections of the road in Central London possess a variety of names, including [[Edgware Road]] and [[Maida Vale]]. At [[Blackheath, London|Blackheath]], the Roman road ran along [[Old Dover Road]], turning and running through the area of present-day [[Greenwich Park]] to a location perhaps a little north of the current Deptford Bridge. North of London, the road is designated mainly as the [[A5 (road)|A5]] between London and [[Shrewsbury]]. <!-- Details about other short-range designations are undue in this article. Also, it is true that the A5 continues to [[Holyhead]] but this article is about Watling Street, not the A5. --> At various points along the route, the A5 leaves the Roman road to bypass settlements,{{efn|For example, through [[Milton Keynes]], the A5 is diverted onto a new [[dual carriageway]] while Watling Street proper remains and forms part of the [[Milton Keynes grid road system]].}} 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 in [[Bexleyheath]] in southeast London and in [[Canterbury]], [[Gillingham, Kent|Gillingham]], [[Strood]], [[Gravesend]], and [[Dartford]] in [[Kent]]. North of London, the name Watling Street still occurs in [[Hertfordshire]] (including [[St Albans]]), [[Bedfordshire]] ([[Dunstable]]), Buckinghamshire ([[Milton Keynes]]), [[Northamptonshire]] ([[Towcester]]), [[Leicestershire]] ([[Hinckley]]), Warwickshire ([[Nuneaton]] and [[Atherstone]]) and in [[Staffordshire]] ([[Cannock]], [[Wall, Staffordshire|Wall]], [[Tamworth, Staffordshire|Tamworth]] and [[Lichfield]]).  (There are Watling Streets in [[Shropshire]] ([[Church Stretton]])<ref>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/salop/vol10/pp72-120 Victoria County History - Shropshire A History of the County of Shropshire: Volume 10, Munslow Hundred (Part), the Liberty and Borough of Wenlock, Church Stretton]</ref> and in [[Gwynedd]] ([[Llanrwst]]), but neither is on the original route.)

==Other Watling Streets==
[[Dere Street]], the [[Roman roads in Britain|Roman road]] from [[Cataractonium]] ([[Catterick, North Yorkshire|Catterick]] in [[North Yorkshire|Yorkshire]]) to [[Corstopitum]] (now [[Corbridge]], [[Northumberland]]) to the [[Antonine Wall]], was also sometimes known as Watling Street. A third Watling Street was the Roman road from [[Mamucium]] ([[Manchester]]) to [[Bremetennacum]] ([[Ribchester]]) to [[Cumbria]]. [[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]], [[Lancashire]], preserved a Watling Street Road between Ribbleton and [[Fulwood, Lancashire|Fulwood]], passing the Sharoe Green Hospital.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bury.gov.uk/VisitorGuidesAndMaps/History.htm|title=Bury Metropolitan Council—History|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100702214123/http://www.bury.gov.uk/VisitorGuidesAndMaps/History.htm|archive-date=2 July 2010|df=dmy-all}}.</ref> Both of these may preserve a separate derivation from the [[#Name|Old English ''wealhas'']] ("foreigner") or may have preserved the memory of the long Roman road while misattributing its upper stages to better-preserved roads. The Roman road between [[Deva Victrix]] (Chester) and [[Condate (Britain)|Condate]] (Northwich) is also known locally as Watling Street.<ref name="ref">{{cite web |url=http://www.romanroads.org/gazetteer/cheshire/M7a.htm |title=The Roman Road from Chester to Northwich |first1= David |last1=Ratledge |first2=Neil |last2=Buckley |publisher=Roman Roads Research Association |date=August 2018 |accessdate=6 June 2021}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery class="center">
File:Welsh_Watling_Street.png | A detail from a 1910 map displaying the Welsh "Watling&nbsp;Street"
File:Midlands Watling Street.png | A detail from the same map displaying the&nbsp;Northwest  "Watling&nbsp;Street"
File:Scots Watling Street.png | A detail from the same map misattributing {{nowrap|[[Dere Street]]}} as "Watling&nbsp;Street"
File:Watling Street sign in Canterbury.jpg|Modern Watling Street in Canterbury
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Roman Britain]]
* [[Roman roads in Britain]]
* ''[[The Puritan|The Widow of Watling Street]]'', an [[Shakespeare Apocrypha|apocryphal]] [[Shakespearean]] play
* [[Tollgate Hotel]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |last= Bishop |first= MC |year= 2014 |title= The Secret History of the Roman Roads of Britain |location= Barnsley |publisher= Pen & Sword |isbn= 978-1-84-884615-9 }}
* {{Citation|last=Margary|first=Ivan|author-link=Ivan Margary|year=1973|title=Roman Roads in Britain|edition=3rd|location=London|publisher=John Baker|isbn=0212970011}}
* {{citation|last=Roucoux|first=O.|title=The Roman Watling Street: from London to High Cross|publisher=Dunstable Museum Trust|date=1984|isbn=0-9508406-2-9}}.
* [[John Higgs]], (2017). ''[[Watling Street (book)|Watling Street]]: Travels Through Britain and Its Ever-Present Past''. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. {{ISBN|978-1-4746-0347-8}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Watling Street}}
{{EB1911 poster|Watling Street}}
* "[https://www.h2g2.com/edited_entry/A24369951 Watling Street – A Journey through Roman Britain]" by the [[BBC]]
* "[https://www.my5.tv/walking-britain-s-roman-roads Walking Britain's Roman Roads]" by [[My5]]
* "[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Periods/Roman/Topics/Engineering/roads/Britain/_Texts/CODROM/6*.html Stone Street, Suffolk]", at the University of Chicago

{{Transport in Buckinghamshire}}

[[Category:History of transport in London]]
[[Category:Streets in London]]
[[Category:Dunstable]]
[[Category:Roman roads in England]]
[[Category:Ancient trackways in England]]
[[Category:Transport in Milton Keynes]]
[[Category:Works of Thomas Telford]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in London]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Kent]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Shropshire]]
[[Category:Roman roads in Wales]]
[[Category:Roads forming part of the Milton Keynes grid road system]]