Pre-history: The Pilgrims' Way (PW) runs from the east to west towards Salisbury Plain in the west and is an ancient track of Pre-history. Many megaliths stand near the route, eg Coldrum Stones below Trottiscliffe. This suggests that the PW may have had functions of a spiritual nature and may have had rituals associated with it.
The Swanley Hills lie to the north of the PW and there is no known (to me) linking way other than the old London to Maidstone Road which crosses the PW. The significance of the link is probably less to do with pre-historic interest, but more to do with being a route towards Canterbury.
Roman Era: The Watling Street is the second notable way through the Swanley Hills. Created by the Roman military and charactererised by straightness it provides part of the direct link to Rome from the provincial capital London.
Drovers' Roads or Ways: The Swanley Hills may have been crossed by drovers' roads - it has a name linked to grazing pigs. (Do pigs graze like sheep and cattle?) Several of the lanes in the area are deep-sided. (I have yet to find evidence of local examples.) It is likely that some might have gone back to the Bronze Age and the Roman Era and others to Mediaeval Times. (Who knows?)
From 1700: Swanley is situated about 15 miles from Charing Cross in London. A map of 1700 shows the road from London to Maidstone running through the land which is the present day Swanley. Most of the other roads appear as trackways and are shown running roughly north to south - some probably cross or begin from the sothern side of Watling Street (A2) which was the Roman road from Dover to London (in the City).
The Charing Cross road was virtually our London Road.(B2173) It came, in effect, from the Foots Cray 12 mile milestone to the 14 mile milestone at the Bull Inn (at Birch Wood Corner) ("Corner" of what?) and then on to Farningham and beyond. Mr Bedall's Ruxley Farm was shown south of the road at the 13 mile milestone. Further east the track which runs north-east is shown as such - it runs on to Swanley Village (becoming mettaled where it crosses the Birchwood Road (north of the Bull Inn). [Today the site is occupied by the recently opened (April 2011) Premier Inn and Beafeaters.]
Pedham Place was shown on the road just south -east of the 16 mile milestone.
Turnpike Road: The picturesque village of Farningham was situated on the 1700 map between the 17 mile and 18 mile milestones. The village lies in the corner of two roads (a kind of elongated x-roads) which follow the Darent River from Dartford (on the Watling Street) to Farningham and then on to Sevenoaks. This road probably existed as a road or track in Roman times giving access to the Darent Valley's many Romano-British villas. There are many sites of the villas built in the Romano-British period (roughly 100AD to 380AD). An example is the excavated Lullingstone Roman Villa is exhibited by English Heritage, about 3 kilometres from Farningham.
The road through the village was a "turnpike road" with a toll gate or bar situated thereon. I take this to be the main road to Maidstone; but the southwards turning off it to Sevenaoks is parallel to Sparepenny Lane. No doubt the locals spared many a penny avoiding the toll bar or gate!
[In the 1980s or so I saw the 14 miles milestone in the hedgerow. It was cracked and broken but the incised lettering and numbers was visible, albeit worn.]
The oldest road that can easily be followed starts at Old Maidstone Road, crosses over the A20 to the sunken lane which continues to Leydenhatch Lane to Swanley Village and onto Sutton at Home.
ReplyDeleteSparepenny Lane was used to avoid the toll in Eynsford