A1 road (Great Britain)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6a/A1%28M%29_sign_at_junction_1%2C_South_Mimms.jpg/220px-A1%28M%29_sign_at_junction_1%2C_South_Mimms.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Edinburgh_A1_start01_2004-10-23.jpg/220px-Edinburgh_A1_start01_2004-10-23.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c8/A1scotland.jpg/220px-A1scotland.jpg)
The A1 is the longest numbered road in the UK at 409 miles (658 km). It connects London, the capital of England and the United Kingdom, with Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It passes through and near Watford, Stevenage, Peterborough, Leeds, Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne and Berwick-upon-Tweed.[1]
For much of its path it follows the Great North Road. Several sections of the route are classified as motorway. The modern course of this ancient route diverges where it passes through a town or village that has been bypassed, or where new motorway takes a more direct route. Between the M25 (near London) and A696 (near Newcastle upon Tyne) the road is part of the unsigned Euroroute E15 from Inverness to Algeciras.
Route
The A1 runs from the City of London at St. Paul's Cathedral to the centre of Edinburgh. It shares its London terminus with the A40, in the City area of Central London. It runs out of London through Islington (where Upper Street forms part of its route), up Holloway Road, through Barnet, Potters Bar, Hatfield, Welwyn, Stevenage, Baldock, Biggleswade, Sandy, St Neots and Peterborough. Continuing north, the A1 runs on modern bypasses around Stamford, Grantham, Newark-on-Trent, Retford, Bawtry, Doncaster, Knottingley, Garforth, Wetherby, Knaresborough, Boroughbridge, Scotch Corner, Darlington, Newton Aycliffe, Durham, Chester-le-Street, past the Angel of the North sculpture and the Metrocentre in Gateshead, through the western suburbs of Newcastle upon Tyne, Morpeth, Alnwick, Berwick-upon-Tweed, into Scotland, past Dunbar, Haddington and Musselburgh before finally arriving in Edinburgh at the East End of Princes Street near Waverley Station at the junction of the A7, A8 and A900 roads.
Origins and history
The modern A1 mainly follows the Great North Road coaching route used by mail coaches between London, York and Edinburgh. The many inns on the road, some of which still survive, were staging posts on the coach routes, providing accommodation, stabling for the horses and replacement mounts.[2]
A traditional starting point of the Great North Road was Smithfield in Central London. Distances on the road were computed from the now demolished Hicks Hall, situated at the south end of St John Street, just to the north of Smithfield Market.[3] The route ran from Smithfield up St John Street to the Angel Islington. However, with the building of the General Post Office at St Martin's-le-Grand in 1829, coaches started using an alternative route, used by the modern A1, beginning at the GPO building and following Aldersgate Street and Goswell Road before joining the old route at the Angel. The Angel was an important staging post on the route.[4] The next important stages were Barnet, Hatfield, Baldock, Biggleswade and Alconbury, all replete with traditional coaching inns.
At Alconbury, the Great North Road joined the Old North Road, an older route from London which follows the Roman Ermine Street. Here a milestone records mileages to London via both routes: 65 by the Old North Road and 68 by the Great North Road.[5] From Alconbury the Great North Road follows the line of Ermine Street north, through Stilton and Stamford as far as Colsterworth (at the A151 junction). Inns on this section include the George at Stamford and the Bell Inn at Stilton, the original sellers of Stilton cheese.
At Colsterworth the Great North Road diverges west of the Roman road and continues through Grantham, Newark, Retford and Bawtry to Doncaster. North of Doncaster the Great North Road again follows a short section of Ermine Street called Roman Rigg or Roman Ridge. Further north the Great North Road used the Roman Dere Street to Boroughbridge from where it went to Northallerton and then through Darlington and Durham.
In the first era of stage coaches York was the terminus of the Great North Road, on the route Doncaster–Selby–York but was later superseded by the route Doncaster–Ferrybridge–Wetherby–Boroughbridge–Darlington, the more direct way to Edinburgh, the ultimate destination. The first recorded stage coach operation running to York was in 1658. This took four days to reach its destination. Faster mail coaches began using the route in 1786, stimulating a quicker service from the other passenger coaches. In the 'Golden Age of Coaching', between 1815–35 coaches could get from London to York in 20 hours and the whole distance to Edinburgh in 45 and a half hours. In the mid nineteenth century, under competition from the new railways, coach services were withdrawn. The last coach from London to Newcastle left in 1842 and the last from Newcastle to Edinburgh in July 1847.[6]
Scotch Corner, in North Yorkshire, marks the point where the traffic for Glasgow and the west of Scotland divides from that for Edinburgh, as it has for hundreds of years before motor traffic. As well as a hotel there have been a variety of homes for the transport café, now subsumed as a motorway services.
The road skirts the remains of Sherwood Forest, and passes Catterick Garrison.
The original A1 was designated by the Ministry of Transport in 1921. The route was modified in 1927 when bypasses were built around Barnet and Hatfield. In 1960 Stamford and Doncaster were bypassed, as was Retford in 1961 and St Neots in 1971.
During the early 1970s plans to widen the A1 along the Archway Road were abandoned after four public inquiries when, for the first time, road protesters disrupted the process. The scheme was dropped in 1990.[7]
During the 1980s the Hatfield section was rebuilt in a tunnel.
Construction of the Alconbury–Peterborough motorway section required moving the memorial at Norman Cross to Napoleonic prisoners buried there.[8]
Legend and popular culture
The highwayman Dick Turpin's flight from London to York in less than 15 hours on his mare Black Bess is the most famous legend of the Great North Road. Various inns along the A1 claim Turpin ate lunch there that night, or stopped for a respite for his horse. Harrison Ainsworth, in his 1834 romance Rookwood, immortalised this with a spirited account of this ride. Historians argue that Turpin never made the journey, claiming instead that the ride was by John Nevison, known as "Swift Nick", born and raised at Wortley near Sheffield and a highwayman in the time of Charles II, 50 years before Turpin. It is claimed that Nevison, in order to establish an alibi, rode from Gad's Hill, near Rochester, Kent, to York (some 190 miles (310 km)) in 15 hours. Even more unreliable evidence links highwaymen with the Ram-Jam Inn at Stretton, Rutland. The A1 passes a few feet from the door.
In literature the Great North Road features in the Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens. Part of the J.B. Priestley novel The Good Companions features the Great North Road; represented to the northerner Jess Oakroyd as the gateway to such exotic destinations as Nottingham. The Lord Peter Wimsey short story "The Fantastic Horror of the Cat in the Bag" by Dorothy L. Sayers features a motorcycle chase along the Great North Road.
The A1 and Great North Road are also celebrated in song. The A1 is mentioned by Jethro Tull on the title track of the album Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die! "Up on the A1 by Scotch Corner". Near the southern end, signs saying "Hatfield and the North" inspired the eponymous 1970s rock band Hatfield and the North. The A1 is mentioned in The Long Blondes' song, "Separated By Motorways", along with the A14. The A1(M) is mentioned in the song "Gabadon" by Sheffield band, Haze, and the 'Great North Road' is mentioned in Mark Knopfler's song, "5:15 AM", from the album Shangri La.
Improvements underway
A1 Peterborough to Blyth Grade Separated Junctions
Work began in August 2006 to replace the six roundabouts on the A1 between Blyth and the A1(M) section to Alconbury with grade-separated junctions. These will provide a fully grade separated route between the Buckden roundabout (just north of St Neots and approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) north of the Black Cat roundabout) and just north of Morpeth.[9]
Blyth (A614) | Fully operational May 2008 |
Apleyhead (A614/A57) | Fully operational January 2008 |
Markham Moor (A57) | Full operational April 2009 |
Gonerby Moor (B1174) | Fully operational March 2008 |
Colsterworth (A151) and the junction with the B6403 | Expected completion date September 2009 |
Carpenters Lodge (Stamford) (B1081) | Fully operational December 2008 |
A1(M) Bramham to Wetherby Motorway
Upgrade of 10 km of road to dual 3-lane motorway standard between the Bramham/A64 junction to north of Wetherby to meet the section of motorway began in 2006, including a road alongside for non-motorway traffic. The scheme's public inquiry began on 18 October 2006 and the project is designed by James Poyner. Work began in May 2007 and is due for completion May 2009.[10]
Proposed improvements
A1(M) Dishforth to Scotch Corner Motorway
Current proposals are for upgrade of the existing dual carriageway to dual 3-lane motorway standard, with a local road alongside for non-motorway traffic, between Dishforth (A1(M)/A168 junction) and Scotch Corner (start of current northernmost section of A1(M)). Subject to satisfactory completion of statutory procedures, work is due to start in spring 2009 and be completed by 2011.[11] Once complete this will provide continuous motorway standard between Darrington (south of M62 junction) and Gateshead. Some[who?] have suggested renaming the motorway stretch from the M1/A1(M) Hook Moor junction to Gateshead as M1, which, if implemented, would mean the M1 then connected London to Tyneside[citation needed].
Ellington to Fen Ditton scheme
There is proposed Ellington to Fen Ditton scheme associated with the A14 at Brampton Hut roundabout.[12]
Other proposals
The Highways Agency has also been investigating an upgrade of the A1 Newcastle/Gateshead Western By-Pass to a dual 3 lane motorway standard to alleviate heavy congestion which in recent years has become a recurrent problem.
A proposal to replace the road with a parallel motorway between Stotfold and Alconbury thus giving a continuous motorway to Peterborough, was dropped as too expensive, as was a proposal to convert the motorway north of Peterborough to Grantham.[13]
Plans to improve the single carriageway section of road north of Newcastle upon Tyne were shelved in 2006 as they were not considered a regional priority. The intention was to dual the road between Morpeth and Felton and between Adderstone and Belford[14]. There are no current plans to dual the whole of the A1 route between Newcastle and Edinburgh, despite fierce campaigns[citation needed] in the past to make this so.
Improvements to junctions near the village of Elkesley, Nottinghamshire are planned—the village's only access to the rest of the road network is via the A1.[15]
In 2003 a propossal for a bypass of Sandy and Beeston, Bedfordshire, was put forward as a green lighted scheme as part of a government multi-modal study, with a cost of £67m.[16] However, no further work was carried out by the Highways Agency following this announcement[17] and in 2008 the proposal was submitted for consideration in the pre-2013/14 Regional Funding Advice 2 Programme of the East of England Development Agency.[18]
Further sections of motorway upgrades are planned, which would ultimately create a single motorway running from Doncaster to Gateshead[citation needed].
Expressway
In Scotland a section of the road has been upgraded to motorway standard and classified as a Special Road, but is not designated as the A1(M). This runs from the east of Edinburgh to Dunbar.
A1(M)
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Some sections of the A1 have been upgraded to motorway standard. These are known as the A1(M). These include:
M25 to Stotfold
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/A1%28M%29%2C_Hatfield%2C_South_of_junction_2._-_geograph.org.uk_-_111467.jpg/266px-A1%28M%29%2C_Hatfield%2C_South_of_junction_2._-_geograph.org.uk_-_111467.jpg)
This section opened in stages:
- Junctions 1 to 2 opened in 1979
- Junctions 2 to 4 opened in 1986
- Junctions 4 to 6 opened in 1973
- Junctions 6 to 8 opened in 1962
- Junctions 8 to 10 opened in 1967
Junctions
A1(M) Motorway | ||
Northbound exits | Junction | Southbound exits |
Stansted Airport (M11, M20) Heathrow, Gatwick (M1, M40, M4, M3,M23) M25 Barnet A1081 Non-motorway traffic |
J1 South Mimms services |
Road continues as A1 to Central London |
Start of motorway | Stansted Airport (M11, M20) Heathrow Gatwick (M1, M40, M4,M3,M23) M25 Barnet A1081 | |
Hatfield A1001 | J2 | No access |
St Albans A414 | J3 | St Albans A414 Potters Bar A1001 |
Hatfield Tunnel | ||
Welwyn Garden City, Hertford A414 | J4 | Welwyn Garden City, Hertford A414 |
No access | J5 | No access |
Welwyn, Welwyn Garden City A1000 | J6 | Welwyn, Welwyn Garden City A1000 |
Stevenage, Ware A602 | J7 | Stevenage, Ware A602 |
Hitchin, Stevenage A602 | J8 | Stevenage A602 |
Letchworth, Baldock A505 | J9 | Letchworth, Baldock, Hitchin A505 |
Stotfold, Henlow A507 | J10 Baldock services |
Start of Motorway |
Road continues as A1 to Sandy | Stotfold, Henlow A507 Non-motorway traffic |
Alconbury to Peterborough
Template:UK motorway routebox This section opened in 1998.
Junctions
A1(M) Motorway | ||
Northbound exits | Junction | Southbound exits |
Alconbury B1043 Non-motorway traffic |
J14 | Road continues as A1 to Sandy |
Start of Motorway | Alconbury, Huntingdon, Cambridge, Felixstowe A14 (M11) London THE CITY and EAST | |
Sawtry B1043 | J15 | Sawtry B1043 |
Yaxley, Stilton A15 | J16 | Yaxley, Stilton A15 |
Peterborough A1139 | J17 Peterborough services |
Start of Motorway |
Road continues as A1 to Newark | Peterborough A1139 Non-motorway traffic |
Doncaster bypass
Template:UK motorway routebox This section opened in 1961 and is one of the oldest sections of motorway in Britain.
Junctions
A1(M) Motorway | ||
Northbound exits | Junction | Southbound exits |
Bawtry A614 Blyth B6045 Non-motorway traffic |
J34 Blyth services |
Road continues as A1 to Newark |
Start of motorway | Bawtry A614 Blyth B6045 | |
Sheffield, Rotherham Hull, Scunthorpe, Doncaster Robin Hood Airport M18 |
J35 | Sheffield, Rotherham Hull, Scunthorpe, Robin Hood Airport M18 |
Doncaster, Doncaster Railport, Conisbrough A630 | J36 | Doncaster, Doncaster Railport, Conisbrough A630 |
Barnsley, Thurnscoe A635 | J37 | Barnsley, Thurnscoe A635 |
South Elmsall, Ackworth, Wakefield A638 | J38 | Start of Motorway |
Road continues as A1 to Wetherby | South Elmsall, Ackworth, Wakefield A638 Non-motorway traffic |
Darrington to Bramham
Template:UK motorway routebox This section opened in sections:
- Junctions 43 to 44 opened in 1999
- When this section opened it ended at a temporary terminus south of the M1. There was a final exit into Micklefield Village for non-motorway traffic onto what is now the access road. From opening in 1999 until 2008 junctions 43 & 44 were incorrectly numbered as junctions 44 & 45 and are shown as such in many road atlases.
- Junction 40 to south of 43 opened in 2005 & 2006
- This is the most recent upgrade of the road, which upgraded the previous two-lane dual carriageway, much of which was on a substandard alignment to a dual 3-lane motorway. The northern section of the upgrade, bypassing Fairburn village opened to traffic in April 2005 with a temporary connection with the existing A1 between Fairburn and Brotherton. The southern section, with a free-flow interchange with the M62 motorway opened to traffic on 13 January 2006.
Junctions
A1(M) Motorway | ||
Northbound exits | Junction | Southbound exits |
Knottingley A162 Non-motorway traffic Ferrybridge services |
J40 | Road continues as A1 to Doncaster |
Start of motorway | No access | |
Hull, Goole, Manchester, Pontefract, Leeds M62 | J41 | Hull, Goole, Manchester, Pontefract, Leeds M62 Ferrybridge services |
Leeds, Selby A63 | J42 | Selby A63 |
No access | J43 | The SOUTH, Leeds M1 |
Leeds, York A64 | J44 | Start of Motorway |
Road continues as A1 to Wetherby | Leeds, York A64 Non-motorway traffic |
Bramham to Wetherby
Work to upgrade to dual 3-lane motorway standard underway, due for completion May 2009. Work includes the numbering of the current junction with the A659 as Junction 45, an additional bridge over the River Wharfe, widening of the current dual carriageway past Wetherby Racecourse and provision of a local access road to serve the villages of Boston Spa, Thorner and Bramham.[19]
Wetherby to Dishforth
Template:UK motorway routebox This section opened in stages:
Junctions
A1(M) Motorway | ||
Northbound exits | Junction | Southbound exits |
Kirk Deighton, Wetherby A168 Non-motorway traffic |
J46 Wetherby services |
Road continues as A1 towards Doncaster |
Start of motorway | Kirk Deighton, Wetherby A168 | |
Knaresborough, Harrogate, Leeds Bradford International Airport A59 | J47 | York, Knaresborough A59 |
Ripon, Boroughbridge A168 | J48 | Boroughbridge A168 Knaresborough A6055 |
Thirsk, Teesside A168 (A19) | J49 | Start of Motorway |
Road continues as A1 to Scotch Corner | Thirsk, Teesside A168 (A19) Non-motorway traffic |
Dishforth to Scotch Corner
Section to be upgraded to dual 3-lane motorway standard, work due to start in March 2009. It will include four new junctions:
Due to junction numbers further north being based on older rejected plans which included more planned junctions there will not be a Junction 54 or 55.
Scotch Corner to Gateshead
Template:UK motorway routebox This section in stages:
- Junctions 56 to 59 opened in 1965
- Junctions 59 to 63 opened in 1969
- Junctions 63 to 65 opened in 1970
Junctions
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/Driving_on_the_left_or_the_right.jpg/266px-Driving_on_the_left_or_the_right.jpg)
A1(M) Motorway | ||
Northbound exits | Junction | Southbound exits |
Melsonby, Barton B6275 Non-motorway traffic |
J56 | Road continues as A1 towards Wetherby |
Start of Motorway | Melsonby, Barton B6275 | |
Darlington, Stockton, Middlesbrough A66(M) | J57 | No access |
Shildon, Bishop Auckland A68 | J58 | Darlington A68 |
Newton Aycliffe A167 | J59 | Newton Aycliffe, Darlington, Stockton A167 |
Newton Aycliffe, Hartlepool, Ferryhill A689 | J60 | Newton Aycliffe, Hartlepool A689 |
Spennymoor A688 Durham A177 |
J61 Durham services |
Bishop Auckland, Spennymoor A688 |
Durham, Sunderland A690 | J62 | Durham A690 |
Chester-le-Street A167 Stanley A693 |
J63 | Chester-le-Street A167 Stanley A693 |
Washington A195 | J64 | Washington A195 |
Washington services | ||
South Shields, Tyne Tunnel A194(M) | J65 | Start of Motorway |
Road continues as A1 to Edinburgh | Sunderland A1231 Non-motorway traffic |
See also
References
- ^ Roadlists
- ^ Norman W. Webster (1974) The Great North Road
- ^ Norman W. Webster (1974) The Great North Road: 15-16
- ^ Norman W. Webster (1974) The Great North Road: 22-23
- ^ Norman W. Webster (1974) The Great North Road: 56-7
- ^ Norman W. Webster (1974) The Great North Road: 6-9
- ^ "Road Victories" (pdf). Road Block. Retrieved 2008-01-22.
- ^ "Norman Cross Eagle Appeal". Local Heritage Initiative. Retrieved 2008-01-22.
- ^ "A1 Peterborough to Blyth Grade Separated Junctions Scheme". Highways Agency. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
- ^ "A1(M) Bramham to Wetherby Improvement Scheme". Highways Agency. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
- ^ "A1 Dishforth to Barton Improvement Scheme". Highways Agency. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
- ^ Highways Agency "A14 Ellington to Fen Ditton Scheme". Highways Agency. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
{{cite web}}
: Check|url=
value (help) - ^ "Column: 1180". Hansard. 1995-12-20. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
- ^ "Northumberland Today - A1 dualling hopes dashed". Northumberland Today. 2006-07-13. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
- ^ Highways Agency - A1 Elkesley Junctions Improvement
- ^ "List of schemes announced". The Daily Telegraph. 2003-07-09. Retrieved 2009-07-02.
- ^ "Route of Proposed Sandy/Beeston Bypass" (PDF). Highways Agency. Retrieved 2009-07-02.
- ^ "Regional Funding Advice – Transport Update" (PDF). East of England Development Agency. 2008-12-11. Retrieved 2009-07-02.
- ^ "A1(M) Bramham to Wetherby". Highways Agency. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
- ^ "A1(M) Wetherby to Walshford". Highways Agency. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2008) |
External links
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