What became of the Roman road network?

Back in 2007, BBC Radio 4’s Making History programme consulted David Harrison in response to a query from a listener who had noticed that the route of the 13th-century Eleanor Crosses did not follow the great arterial routes of either Watling Street or Ermine Street. Did this indicate that the Roman routes had fallen out of use?

David’s explanation was that by the later Middle Ages, the alignment of arterial roads had often parted ways from the Roman network, as new roads gravitated towards more recent settlements. Major medieval cities such as Bristol and Coventry had not been Roman towns. In addition, with their requirement for directness and the financial backing of an empire, Roman roads often cut through the landscape rather than following its contours; this made them expensive to maintain, with the result that by the time of Eleanor’s death in 1290 they were frequently in a poor state of repair, and may well have been little used. Even between London and St Albans, the medieval road did not follow the Roman, but went via Highgate and Barnet.

You can download the original radio broadcast here:

What happened to the Roman Road network?

Thumbnail image credit: “Eleanor Cross, Hardingstone, Northampton” by Amanda Slater, CC BY-SA 2.0