diamond geezer

 Sunday, April 02, 2023

Britain's road numbering system was born 100 years ago on 1st April 1923. This was the date on which the Ministry of Transport published a booklet called "List of Class I and Class II Roads and Numbers", a catchy little tome which alerted the public to these new alphanumeric designations for the first time. Overnight the Uxbridge Road became the A40, Cheadle High Street the A521 and the main road through Withernsea the B1242. These road numbers soon appeared on maps and signposts, which was useful because sales of the booklet had been poor, and they're now embedded in our national psyche.

A selection of road-based media has been celebrating the centenary this weekend, including Highways Magazine, the comprehensive Roader's Digest and the launch of a brand new section on the always-excellent roads.co.uk. Look there for details of the non-intuitive nine sector system, its origins in Napoleon's Routes Impériales and a comprehensive selection of anomalies. I have instead been for a walk.

I chose to walk the Great North Road... or as it's been known for the last the century the A1, the road with Britain's premier alphanumeric code. I didn't walk all the way to Edinburgh, just the first six miles from the City to the obvious place to pause. And rather than regurgitate a familiar travelogue I've chosen to tell the tale of the A1 through the classified roads it meets, from the aforementioned A40 to the downgraded B519.




A40: St Martin's Le Grand
A1211: London Wall

The A1 kicks off somewhere understated, the Rotunda roundabout outside the defunct Museum of London. It had a few other starting points in the early days including Bank road junction and the historic edge of the City at Aldersgate Bars, but the arrival of the Ring of Steel in the 1990s shifted it here. This postmodern roundabout has walls of brick and glass, a roof of concrete and a pointless central pavement that loops nowhere. None of the exit roads at this auspicious junction are signposted but one is the A1211 and leads to Liverpool Street, another is the start of the A40 and could take you to Pembrokeshire and one is secretly the road to Edinburgh. The A1 heads north between forgettable office blocks towards the looming hulk of Lauderdale Tower, and those on two wheels are gifted 20 metres of cycle lane before that silently peters out.

B100: Beech Street
At the first junction Britain's first zero-emission street disappears into a tunnel beneath the slab of the Barbican estate. Exhaust-belching is currently permitted while the City consults on making the ban permanent so best enjoy driving down Beech Street while you can. It's also Britain's lowest-numbered B-road and previously blogged, so let's not got through all that again.



A5201: Clerkenwell Road/Old Street
A griffin on a pedestal marks the shift from the Square Mile to the London borough of Islington where we'll be spending the next ten paragraphs. High finance already feels a long way away. The junction with the A5201 is undashably broad and is fronted by a Costa, a Pret, a dead pub and a hospitality furniture supplier called Table Place Chairs. The ex-hostelry ahead is the Hat and Feathers, whose custard yellow Victorian facade conceals the awful truth that it's been 'sensitively converted' into Hotel Indigo Clerkenwell, a bland boxy layover which was an NCP car park the last time I blogged this walk in 2005.

B502: Perceval Street/Lever Street
In barely half a mile the A1 has gone from city hubbub to residential backwater, such are the vagaries of inner Islington. This junction has two mundane corner shops, one of which can't spell its name properly, and also a white bike commemorating a cyclist's death because muted does not equal safe. TfL have ignored the Pear Tree Street bus stop for so long that it has a tile for a bus route that ceased running last summer, a poster for a consultation that ended seven months ago and a warning about strikes that ended last year. Chief amongst the local flats is Turnpike House, immortalised by St Etienne's 2005 album, and the A1 perhaps never gets more lowly than this.



A501: Clerkenwell Road/City Road
A401: St John Street
The Angel is a messy circuitous junction across London's inner ring road, and also the place where the A1 first shouts its name. Turn right ahead, says the sign, for the fabled destination that is The NORTH. That squat green clocktower mid-gyratory features the name of J Smith & Sons, once eminent local clockmakers, although their telephone number Clerkenwell 1277 no longer connects. The junction is named after the famous Angel pub which stood on this street corner for three centuries before being replaced by a hotel which has since been occupied by a Co-Op. The Wetherspoons nextdoor has the right name but the wrong building.

B515: Liverpool Road
This looks like the turnoff for Chapel Market but is actually a shortcut for the A1, should you choose to take it, deftly dodging Highbury Corner and half a mile of the Holloway Road. You'll know it's reappeared in the narrative when you spot a photograph featuring Arsenal fans tackling a zebra crossing.



A104: Essex Road
Essex Road once merited a significantly low A-road number because it is indeed heading for Essex, eventually expiring in the midst of Epping Forest. A statue of Sir Hugh Myddelton oversees the fork in the road at the head of Islington Green, where I was fortunate enough to come across two pearly kings, the Mayor of Islington and a crew of cadets gathering to celebrate the RAF's 105th birthday. Each to their own. The A1 instead follows Upper Street, a magnet for middle class hospitality, as evidenced by run of ten consecutive food and beverage businesses sandwiched between a pair of estate agents. Gracie Fields lived above the pizza restaurant (although back then it was a sweet shop).

A1199: St Paul's Road
A1200: Canonbury Road

That's the longest walk yet between classified road junctions, all the way to Highbury Corner. These days it has three corners having been switched from a gyratory to a squarish chicane, as is TfL's preferred strategic plan. Deroundaboutification has created a central landscaped greenspace called Highbury Island that passers-by generally ignore, partly because it's a bit muddy and leads nowhere but mainly because it's surrounded by choking traffic. Islington's pigeons seem to like it though. The oldest building around here is The Famous Cock, which reassuringly is a pub, but I see they're currently promoting movie-themed Spicy Spellcruster pizzas that look very much like ordinary pepperoni so maybe avoid it like the plague. Holloway Road now beckons.



B515: Liverpool Road
Here's the other end.

A103: Hornsey Road
Blimey that's an even lower significantly-numbered A-Road and this one's only going to Crouch End. It does however pass Arsenal's stadium along the way, and pretty swiftly too, so is of considerable cultural significance. I arrived on the morning of a big match with home supporters already spilling out of Holloway tube station in search of somewhere to while away a few hours with food and multiple pints. A chancer on the street outside was attempting to flog half'n'half scarves emblazoned with Arsenal at one end and Leeds at the other, plus an 01.04.23 date that'd make any leftovers instantly obsolete, with no takers as yet. And oh look, up there on the railway bridge is an LNER service heading to (*checks app*) Edinburgh, and it'll get there much faster than anyone could drive.



A503: Camden Road/Tollington Road/Parkhurst Road/Seven Sisters Road
This next A-Road crosses Holloway Road twice, once heading one west and then again heading east. The A1 feels properly-proportioned now, a broad two-way boulevard between a string of decent high street shops. At the first crossroads you can choose between Sports Direct, Argos and Waitrose, and at the second Carpetright, slot machines and an evacuated former bank, so economically things are going downhill. Numerous prominent signs on lampposts remind drivers that the speed along here is now only 20mph, but it's been that way since 2018 and the traffic hasn't seized up yet. The A1 is buzzing here, indeed this may be the busiest retail section anywhere along its length.

A400: Junction Road
B519: Highgate Hill
It's a long climb up to Archway where a fiveway junction has been massively re-engineered. A complex roadsign advises A1 traffic of the awkward wiggle they need to make ahead, diverting off before the tube station through a pedestrian precinct infested with pigeons. The Lion, once a bustling Irish pub, has been demoted to a Starbucks. The Archway Tavern no longer has pride of place, that honour now falls to a Wenzel's bakery. A brief section of the original A1 has been paved over and on Saturdays hosts a minor market flogging bread, organic veg and dubious art. Many years ago the Great North Road continued straight ahead and climbed Highgate Hill instead, a steep ascent given B road classification in 1923 to discourage use. We're taking the Highgate bypass instead.



(B540: Hornsey Lane)
Here comes the A1's first flyover, namely Archway Bridge, which carries minor Hornsey Lane over what since 1813 has been a deep and convenient cutting. You can't interchange between the two roads by driving, only climb a fairly vertiginous steps on foot instead. The current iron bridge replaced the original in 1897 and the road has been massively widened since with sufficient room for a bus lane in each direction. A splendid view across the city can be enjoyed on the descent, and also on the ascent if you remember to turn round and look behind you like Dick Whittington.

B550: Muswell Hill Road/Southwood Lane
The long climb that started back at Barbican here reaches its peak on the less snobby side of Highgate. We've just passed the A1's last tube station and are about to pass Highgate Wood, but in the meantime there are chemists, charity shops and a number of hair salons to take your money. The former coaching inn on the corner, The Woodman, is owned by sports glove deodoriser magnate Tom Helliwell and these days is more gastro than pub. The Parkland Walk and Capital Ring pass close by because we're now a long way outside central London. And let's do just one more classified junction before drawing this hike to a close.



B519: North Hill
A1000: High Road
The B519 was also the road up Highgate Hill, you may remember, because here's where the original Great North Road veers back towards the modern A1. The junction is an elongated one-way loop with six houses and an Esso garage marooned in the middle, after which the two roads diverge again but more substantially. The original headed towards Finchley and Barnet, a historic road than now carries the designation A1000 as a four-figure nod to the past. The A1 meanwhile morphs into a serious dual carriageway and follows the valley of the Mutton Brook towards Henlys Corner and the North Circular, branching off alongside the terribly ordinary shops on Aylmer Parade. When Britain's roads were first numbered these were just fields, not even a dotted line on the map, but road classification has proven flexible enough to accommodate the Barnet bypass and every other upgrade in the century gone by. It's an A1 system, well worthy of a 100th birthday celebration.


<< click for Newer posts

click for Older Posts >>


click to return to the main page


...or read more in my monthly archives
Jan24  Feb24  Mar24  Apr24  May24  Jun24  Jul24  Aug24  Sep24  Oct24
Jan23  Feb23  Mar23  Apr23  May23  Jun23  Jul23  Aug23  Sep23  Oct23  Nov23  Dec23
Jan22  Feb22  Mar22  Apr22  May22  Jun22  Jul22  Aug22  Sep22  Oct22  Nov22  Dec22
Jan21  Feb21  Mar21  Apr21  May21  Jun21  Jul21  Aug21  Sep21  Oct21  Nov21  Dec21
Jan20  Feb20  Mar20  Apr20  May20  Jun20  Jul20  Aug20  Sep20  Oct20  Nov20  Dec20
Jan19  Feb19  Mar19  Apr19  May19  Jun19  Jul19  Aug19  Sep19  Oct19  Nov19  Dec19
Jan18  Feb18  Mar18  Apr18  May18  Jun18  Jul18  Aug18  Sep18  Oct18  Nov18  Dec18
Jan17  Feb17  Mar17  Apr17  May17  Jun17  Jul17  Aug17  Sep17  Oct17  Nov17  Dec17
Jan16  Feb16  Mar16  Apr16  May16  Jun16  Jul16  Aug16  Sep16  Oct16  Nov16  Dec16
Jan15  Feb15  Mar15  Apr15  May15  Jun15  Jul15  Aug15  Sep15  Oct15  Nov15  Dec15
Jan14  Feb14  Mar14  Apr14  May14  Jun14  Jul14  Aug14  Sep14  Oct14  Nov14  Dec14
Jan13  Feb13  Mar13  Apr13  May13  Jun13  Jul13  Aug13  Sep13  Oct13  Nov13  Dec13
Jan12  Feb12  Mar12  Apr12  May12  Jun12  Jul12  Aug12  Sep12  Oct12  Nov12  Dec12
Jan11  Feb11  Mar11  Apr11  May11  Jun11  Jul11  Aug11  Sep11  Oct11  Nov11  Dec11
Jan10  Feb10  Mar10  Apr10  May10  Jun10  Jul10  Aug10  Sep10  Oct10  Nov10  Dec10 
Jan09  Feb09  Mar09  Apr09  May09  Jun09  Jul09  Aug09  Sep09  Oct09  Nov09  Dec09
Jan08  Feb08  Mar08  Apr08  May08  Jun08  Jul08  Aug08  Sep08  Oct08  Nov08  Dec08
Jan07  Feb07  Mar07  Apr07  May07  Jun07  Jul07  Aug07  Sep07  Oct07  Nov07  Dec07
Jan06  Feb06  Mar06  Apr06  May06  Jun06  Jul06  Aug06  Sep06  Oct06  Nov06  Dec06
Jan05  Feb05  Mar05  Apr05  May05  Jun05  Jul05  Aug05  Sep05  Oct05  Nov05  Dec05
Jan04  Feb04  Mar04  Apr04  May04  Jun04  Jul04  Aug04  Sep04  Oct04  Nov04  Dec04
Jan03  Feb03  Mar03  Apr03  May03  Jun03  Jul03  Aug03  Sep03  Oct03  Nov03  Dec03
 Jan02  Feb02  Mar02  Apr02  May02  Jun02  Jul02 Aug02  Sep02  Oct02  Nov02  Dec02 

jack of diamonds
Life viewed from London E3

» email me
» follow me on twitter
» follow the blog on Twitter
» follow the blog on RSS

» my flickr photostream

twenty blogs
our bow
arseblog
ian visits
londonist
broken tv
blue witch
on london
the great wen
edith's streets
spitalfields life
linkmachinego
round the island
wanstead meteo
christopher fowler
the greenwich wire
bus and train user
ruth's coastal walk
round the rails we go
london reconnections
from the murky depths

quick reference features
Things to do in Outer London
Things to do outside London
London's waymarked walks
Inner London toilet map
20 years of blog series
The DG Tour of Britain
London's most...

read the archive
Oct24  Sep24
Aug24  Jul24  Jun24  May24
Apr24  Mar24  Feb24  Jan24
Dec23  Nov23  Oct23  Sep23
Aug23  Jul23  Jun23  May23
Apr23  Mar23  Feb23  Jan23
Dec22  Nov22  Oct22  Sep22
Aug22  Jul22  Jun22  May22
Apr22  Mar22  Feb22  Jan22
Dec21  Nov21  Oct21  Sep21
Aug21  Jul21  Jun21  May21
Apr21  Mar21  Feb21  Jan21
Dec20  Nov20  Oct20  Sep20
Aug20  Jul20  Jun20  May20
Apr20  Mar20  Feb20  Jan20
Dec19  Nov19  Oct19  Sep19
Aug19  Jul19  Jun19  May19
Apr19  Mar19  Feb19  Jan19
Dec18  Nov18  Oct18  Sep18
Aug18  Jul18  Jun18  May18
Apr18  Mar18  Feb18  Jan18
Dec17  Nov17  Oct17  Sep17
Aug17  Jul17  Jun17  May17
Apr17  Mar17  Feb17  Jan17
Dec16  Nov16  Oct16  Sep16
Aug16  Jul16  Jun16  May16
Apr16  Mar16  Feb16  Jan16
Dec15  Nov15  Oct15  Sep15
Aug15  Jul15  Jun15  May15
Apr15  Mar15  Feb15  Jan15
Dec14  Nov14  Oct14  Sep14
Aug14  Jul14  Jun14  May14
Apr14  Mar14  Feb14  Jan14
Dec13  Nov13  Oct13  Sep13
Aug13  Jul13  Jun13  May13
Apr13  Mar13  Feb13  Jan13
Dec12  Nov12  Oct12  Sep12
Aug12  Jul12  Jun12  May12
Apr12  Mar12  Feb12  Jan12
Dec11  Nov11  Oct11  Sep11
Aug11  Jul11  Jun11  May11
Apr11  Mar11  Feb11  Jan11
Dec10  Nov10  Oct10  Sep10
Aug10  Jul10  Jun10  May10
Apr10  Mar10  Feb10  Jan10
Dec09  Nov09  Oct09  Sep09
Aug09  Jul09  Jun09  May09
Apr09  Mar09  Feb09  Jan09
Dec08  Nov08  Oct08  Sep08
Aug08  Jul08  Jun08  May08
Apr08  Mar08  Feb08  Jan08
Dec07  Nov07  Oct07  Sep07
Aug07  Jul07  Jun07  May07
Apr07  Mar07  Feb07  Jan07
Dec06  Nov06  Oct06  Sep06
Aug06  Jul06  Jun06  May06
Apr06  Mar06  Feb06  Jan06
Dec05  Nov05  Oct05  Sep05
Aug05  Jul05  Jun05  May05
Apr05  Mar05  Feb05  Jan05
Dec04  Nov04  Oct04  Sep04
Aug04  Jul04  Jun04  May04
Apr04  Mar04  Feb04  Jan04
Dec03  Nov03  Oct03  Sep03
Aug03  Jul03  Jun03  May03
Apr03  Mar03  Feb03  Jan03
Dec02  Nov02  Oct02  Sep02
back to main page

the diamond geezer index
2023 2022
2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
2011 2010 2009 2008 2007
2006 2005 2004 2003 2002

my special London features
a-z of london museums
E3 - local history month
greenwich meridian (N)
greenwich meridian (S)
the real eastenders
london's lost rivers
olympic park 2007
great british roads
oranges & lemons
random boroughs
bow road station
high street 2012
river westbourne
trafalgar square
capital numbers
east london line
lea valley walk
olympics 2005
regent's canal
square routes
silver jubilee
unlost rivers
cube routes
Herbert Dip
metro-land
capital ring
river fleet
piccadilly
bakerloo

ten of my favourite posts
the seven ages of blog
my new Z470xi mobile
five equations of blog
the dome of doom
chemical attraction
quality & risk
london 2102
single life
boredom
april fool

ten sets of lovely photos
my "most interesting" photos
london 2012 olympic zone
harris and the hebrides
betjeman's metro-land
marking the meridian
tracing the river fleet
london's lost rivers
inside the gherkin
seven sisters
iceland

just surfed in?
here's where to find...
diamond geezers
flash mob #1  #2  #3  #4
ben schott's miscellany
london underground
watch with mother
cigarette warnings
digital time delay
wheelie suitcases
war of the worlds
transit of venus
top of the pops
old buckenham
ladybird books
acorn antiques
digital watches
outer hebrides
olympics 2012
school dinners
pet shop boys
west wycombe
bletchley park
george orwell
big breakfast
clapton pond
san francisco
thunderbirds
routemaster
children's tv
east enders
trunk roads
amsterdam
little britain
credit cards
jury service
big brother
jubilee line
number 1s
titan arum
typewriters
doctor who
coronation
comments
blue peter
matchgirls
hurricanes
buzzwords
brookside
monopoly
peter pan
starbucks
feng shui
leap year
manbags
bbc three
vision on
piccadilly
meridian
concorde
wembley
islington
ID cards
bedtime
freeview
beckton
blogads
eclipses
letraset
arsenal
sitcoms
gherkin
calories
everest
muffins
sudoku
camilla
london
ceefax
robbie
becks
dome
BBC2
paris
lotto
118
itv