October 2<o, 1916 
LAND & WATER 
II 
New Roads for London 
By W. R. Davidge, F.S.I. 
FROM the strategical point of view, the geo- 
graphical position of London is the vital 
factor. Situated right at the head of the broad 
Thames Estuary, at a spot where the river is 
comparatively narrow, the little Roman settlement on 
the hillock bounded by the " \\'all brook " was the first 
place where the river could be crossed by bridge or ford. 
Hence London has always remained and must remain a 
focal centre to which and from which, all roads and all 
railwEws must lead. 
If England were invaded to-morrow, there would be 
a mighty rush of men to the threatened spot. Every 
railway would be congested to its utmost limits. Every 
railway truck would lend its aid, but in the last resort, 
it is upon our roads and our road system that we shall 
depend. The roads through and round London are 
therefore all important from the national point of view. 
The geographical conditions are such that troops from 
Salisbury or Aldcrshot, or, in fact, from any part 
of the country, must almost inevitably pass through 
or round London. The problem of new roads for 
London, and especially Greater London, is, therefore, 
of vital national importance, and it is a remarkable 
coincidence that through the foresight of the Local 
Government Board and the Board of Trade, a project 
has already been worked out, which, as we shall see 
later, will go a long way to the sohition of the difficulty. 
Probably the six best main roads out of London are 
those constructed by the Romans nearly nineteen cen- 
turies ago. Which of us who comes in by tram or 'bus 
along the Edgware Road, or the Staines Road, or the 
Romford Road, thinks of the Roman legions who long 
ago built the highway he uses ? Which of the travellers 
from Merton or Tooting to the Elephant, remembers that 
he is journeying along the identical Stane Street of 
Roman days from Chichester to London Bridge, the same 
road that, on the other side of the river, leads away north 
from Bishopsgate to Cambridge and Lincoln, along what 
is now the Kingsland Road, but which once was the 
Ermine Street. Even to-day the wayfarer from Rochester 
and Dover passes along the Old Dover Road, and for many 
a mile can trace the long straight stretch of road that 
leads over Shooter's Hill, and at one time ran straight 
as an arrow to Hyde Park Corner, crossing the river at or 
near the Horseferry at Westminster. The sketch map 
shows these six Roman roads, which for so many centuries 
have formed the skeleton on which London has grown. 
flROMAN LONDON ' 
I. — Roman London 
All these roads in their origin were military roads for 
strategical purposes, and the map shows how well they 
served their purpose of conveying the forces of the Empire 
straight to the desired point. It will be seen that these 
roads did not all pass through the little settlement which 
was then London. Several of them seem to have been 
planned expresssly to convey troops outside arid around 
the lines of the walled city, without the necessity of 
passing through a town which e\cn then was no doubt 
congested in its narrow streets. For considerably over 
a thousand years, these six Roman roads were practically 
the only main roads into or out of London. Even by the 
time of Queen Elizabeth, there were very few additional 
roads, and the City of London itself had not grown far 
outside its original Roman walls. 
The first attempt really to improve and extend the 
main roads was made in Ogilby's great survey of the roads 
for Charles II., intended primarily for military purposes. 
The Ordnance Survey itself, which furnishes us with all 
our maps, was in the first place, as the name implies, 
dictated by military necessity. When we consider the 
development of any continental town, it is obvious how 
great an incentive military needs have been throughout 
Europe. The routes naiionales of France are an object- 
lesson to all the world. 
A hundred and fifty years ago, with the introduction of 
the, turnpike system, a remarkable improvement took 
place in our roads, and on all hands a broader conception 
arose of the ^'ery important part played by the main roads. 
The Roman roads still formed the backbone of the means 
of comrnunication, but little by little new roads were 
formed in all directions and on a scale never before 
dreamt of. In 1756, the " New Road from Paddington 
to Islington " (now known as the Euston Road and 
Pentonville Road), was laid out in the open country, a 
mile or more away from what was then the built-up area 
of London. The evils of narrow streets had been noted, 
for the Act of Parliament laid down that the buildings 
should be set back 50 feet from the road, making 150 feet 
between the houses— a remarkable instance of foresight 
as to the probable needs of the future. 
In 1773 the General Turnpike Act fixed the widths of 
such new thoroughfares at a minimum of 60 feet, and we 
find this standard steadily improved upon as years went 
by. In i8oq the House of Commons Committee on 
Highways recommended a width of 80 feet for all main 
roads in Greater London. The Controller of His Majesty's 
mails, however, considered that a width of at a least 90 feet 
should be provided between the buildings on all roads 
within ten miles of London. 
A hundred years ago much was done to improve 
and provide new roads in the London area. During 
and immediately after the Napoleonic wars many 
new works were undertaken. The London and East 
India Docks and the broad East India Dock Road, 
Great Dover Street, and many others, and when 
peace was finally obtained after Waterloo, there was 
no more fitting memorial than the construction of Water- 
loo Bridge, one of the finest monuments ever constructed. 
With peace and prosperity came more public works, 
and the Government itself led the way with the con- 
struction of Regent Street. 
Both Government and Municipal Authorities have since 
spent many millions in improving streets in the central 
area, but no thought whatever has been given to the 
main road outlets to and from London. The cost of 
these internal improvements has been verv considerable ; 
the total amount spent' by the London County Council 
and their predecessors, the Metropolitan Board of Works, 
on street improvements, exclusive of river bridges, em- 
bankments and tunnels, has amounted to no less than 
£28,000,000. By wise planning now, we can save our- 
selves from expenditure of this kind in the near future. 
With the coming of the railways, the main loads fell 
into disuse for any but short distance traffic, and it is 
a remarkable fact that for upwards of seventy years 
hardly any new main roads have been constructed in the 
whole of Greater London. The population has grown 
sevenfold ; thousands of miles of mean suburban streets 
and houses have been built, but the main roads are the 
same as they were a hundred years ago — in many cases 
of less width than they were then. 
As a consequence, there is not a road leading in and out 
of London which is not seriously congested for consider- 
able portions of its length. The resuscitation of the use 
of the rpad consequent upon the introduction of motor 
traffic diu'ing the last fifteen years has revolutionised the 
whole problem, and the constant growth of motor omnibus 
