Stane Street (Chichester)

Stane Street (Chichester)

Stane Street is the modern name given to an important 90 km (56 mi) long Roman road in England that linked London to the Roman town of Noviomagus Reginorum, or Regnentium, later renamed Chichester by the Saxons. The exact date of construction is uncertain, however on the basis of archaeological artefacts discovered along the road, it was in use by 70 AD and may have been constructed in the first decade of the Roman occupation of Britain (as early as 43-53 AD).

Stane Street shows clearly the engineering principles that the Romans used when building roads. A straight line alignment from London Bridge to Chichester would have required steep crossings of the North Downs, Greensand Ridge and South Downs and so the road was designed to exploit a natural gap in the North Downs cut by the River Mole and to pass to the east of the high ground of Leith Hill before following flatter land in the River Arun valley to Pulborough. The direct survey line was followed only for the northernmost 12.5 km (8 mi) from London to Ewell. At no point does the road lie more than six miles from the direct line from London Bridge to Chichester.

Today the Roman road is easily traceable on modern maps. Much of the route is followed by the A3, A24, A29 and A285, although most of the course through the modern county of Surrey has either been completely abandoned or is followed only by bridlepaths. Earthworks associated with the road are visible in many places where the course is not overlain by modern roads and the well preserved section from Mickleham Downs to Thirty Acres Barn, Ashtead is listed as a scheduled monument.