Watling Street

Watling Street is the name given to a major ancient route across England that was formalised and paved by the Romans and later remained an important medieval and post-medieval thoroughfare. The route runs broadly from the Kentish ports and the southeast through London and northwest into the Midlands and towards Shropshire.

Today the name applies to stretches of modern roads and to surviving Roman alignments; significant parts of the route were incorporated into later turnpikes and trunk roads. The road served military and commercial traffic in Roman Britain and continued to influence settlement and communications for centuries.

The road began as a pre-Roman trackway that the Romans reconstructed and paved where it suited their military and administrative needs; its use evolved from Roman logistics to medieval coaching and modern vehicular transport. Watling Street crosses varied landscapes from coastal plains in Kent through the London basin and into the rolling hills of central England.

Sections are accessible from numerous towns and major roads, and the route’s archaeological traces and place-name survivals are visible along its length.

• Modern alignment: Segments of the historic route survive as modern roads such as the A2 in the southeast and the A5 in the Midlands and represent continuous use from Roman through medieval and modern times.