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Victoria County History of Kent Vol. 3  1932 - Romano-British Kent - Roads - Page 135

   The course of the road from Dover to Canterbury, a distance of 14 miles according to the Antonine Itinerary, is by River and Temple Ewell to Lydden, where the modern road branches to the west. Harris, in 1719, saw the Roman road in several places north of Lydden, and the route can then be traced by alignment and parish boundaries to Barham Downs, where Stukeley described it as a high ridge of flint and chalk in use as the common road. Beyond Mile— stone Farm, the modern road bends eastward, and the course of the Roman road, followed by a parish boundary, continues past the ‘Gate’ Inn to Canterbury, where it entered probably on the site of the Riding Gate.
   Dover and Richborough were in communication by a road running almost in a straight line through Pineham, Napchester, Studdal, Betteshanger, Eastry and Woodnesborough. For the most part of the way it is now just a track, followed for long stretches by parish boundaries, but for a mile at Eastry it coincides with the main road. North of Woodnesborough the road disappears (except perhaps for a short stretch near Fleet Farm); possibly it joined the Richborough to Canterbury road near Cooper Street, close to the causeway or bridge that ran between the island of Richborough and the mainland (see p. 35).
  
This causeway carried a road from Richborough to Canterbury, passing eastward of Ickham. Its line cannot definitely be traced, though the road is indicated in the Antonine Itinerary, but it seems likely that the straight stretch of road, west of Littlebourne, from Oldridge Wood past St. Martin’s Church to Canterbury is part of it. There are traces of an earthwork in Fishpoolhill Wood on the south side of the road and close to Oldridge Wood. It has been suggested by Mr. S. E. Winboltthat at Ash the road branches north—east to Cooper Street, meeting the Richborough causeway at Fleet Farm.
   Another road that is now hard to trace ran from Canterbury to Reculver; its course may have been via Fordwich(there is now a footpath from Fordwich to Canterbury that may represent it), where the Stour was crossed, Buckwell, Maypole, and Hillborough to Reculver. It would not have been impossible for the Romans to have constructed a road between Richborough and Reculver, but it would have been an enormous task and scarcely worth the trouble; the only practicable route would have been by way of Chislet, Upstreet, and Grove on the banks of the Wantsum Channel, and then at least three waterways would have had to be negotiated.
   The course of the Stone Street from Lympne to Canterbury, a distance of 16 miles according to the Itinerary, is uncertain for the first part, but its line can be found at Shipway Cross in a footpath to New Inn Green; it then proceeds by Westenhanger Racecourse to the junction of the road to Postling. Here it leaves its straight alignment and bends eastward, apparently to secure an easier gradient up a hill rising to 6oo ft., and more protection from any attack from the high ground to the north. For the next 10 miles it runs in a
   cont'd from page 134b  the only road really entitled to be called Watling Street, doubtless being so designated (or Wading) in the Saxon Age. All other ‘Wading Streets’ have been so named by different generations of antiquaries. The ancient name of the Kentish London Road seems to have been Casincg Street. See F. Haverfield, Chester Arch. Journ. vi, 40, 249, Encyci. Brit.11th. ed. s.v. ‘Wading Street,’ and The Roman occupation of Britain (1924), p. 64. Hist. Mons. Comm. Inventory of Roman London, p. 51.
   
Roman Folkestone, p. 154
  
The present road from Sturry, by Upstreet, Sarre Wall, Sarre, and Monkton, to Ramsgate is sometimes said to be on the line of a Roman road; but such a road, even if it kept to the north bank of the Great Stour as far as Upstreet, would have had to negotiate the Wantsum Channel, a mile and a half wide. It is worth noting, however, that this road was called ‘Dunstret’ in 1414.

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