Stane Street (Chichester)
The Stane Street south of the Thames was a Roman road that London with the Roman city of Regnum (today Chichester in West Sussex Association). Stane Street is of particular interest as it illustrates the principles by which the Romans planned their streets. The name of the street ( Steinstraße - Stane is an old spelling for Stone / Stein) distinguishes the cobbled street of the Romans from the more trodden streets of the locals.
The course of Stane Street corresponds to the exact line of sight from London Bridge to Chichester, with some local variations "allowed" to suit geographical conditions. For example, gentle slopes were used to climb the South Downs , but geology was considered: limestone soils were preferred to clay soils.
The road runs south-west from London Bridge along the Northern Line through Clapham and Tooting to Colliers Wood and Merton . It crosses the Wandle River at what will later become Merton Priory and then runs parallel to the A24 road from Morden to Ewell . At Ewell, which was an ancient settlement, she turns slightly left to cross the North Downs at Langley Vale and then Dorking . South of Dorking it runs parallel to the A29 road through Billingshurst to Pulborough . Here the road turns west to run directly towards Chichester, past the famous Roman villa in Bignor , and then climb the South Downs. Up here, Stane Street can be easily walked through modern streets without disturbance.
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- Ivan D. Margary: Roman Roads in Britain . 3rd Edition (1973), London: John Baker, pp. 64-67, ISBN 0-212-97001-1
- Hilaire Belloc : The Stane Street: A Monograph . (1913), London: Constable (reissued by Kessinger 2005, ISBN 1-4179-5459-0 )
