Stane Street (Chichester)

There are several Roman Stane Streets - see also Stane Street

Stane Street is the modern name given to an important long Roman road in England that linked London to the Roman town of Noviomagus Reginorum, or Regnentium, later renamed Chichester by the Saxons. and may have been constructed in the first decade of the Roman occupation of Britain (as early as 43-53 AD).

Stane Street shows clearly the engineering principles that the Romans used when building roads. A straight line alignment from London Bridge to Chichester would have required steep crossings of the North Downs, Greensand Ridge and South Downs and so the road was designed to exploit a natural gap in the North Downs cut by the River Mole and to pass to the east of the high ground of Leith Hill before following flatter land in the River Arun valley to Pulborough. The direct survey line was followed only for the northernmost from London to Ewell. At no point does the road lie more than six miles from the direct line from London Bridge to Chichester.

Today the Roman road is easily traceable on modern maps. Much of the route is followed by the A3, A24, A29 and...
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