Chapter I: Front Matter

THE HOLYHEAD ROAD

THE HOLYHEAD ROAD:/ THE MAIL-COACH ROAD TO DUBLIN

By CHARLES G. HARPER

Author of “_The Brighton Road_,” “_The Portsmouth Road_,” “_The Dover
Road_,” “_The Bath Road_,” “_The Exeter Road_,” “_The Great North
Road_,” and “_The Norwich Road_”

_Illustrated by the Author, and from Old-Time Prints and Pictures_

_Vol. I. LONDON TO BIRMINGHAM_

LONDON: CHAPMAN & HALL
LTD. 1902

[_All rights reserved_]

------------------------------------------------------------------------

_“The olden days of travelling, now to return no more, in which distance could not be vanquished without toil_”—_those are the days mourned by Ruskin, who had little better acquaintance with them than afforded by his childish journeys, when his father, a prosperous wine-merchant, travelled the country in a carriage with a certain degree of style. Regrets are, under such circumstances, easily to be understood, just as were those of the old coach-proprietors, innkeepers, coachmen, postboys, and all who depended upon road-travel for their existence; but few among travellers who lived in the days when the change was made from road to rail had feelings of that kind, else railways would not have proved so immediately successful. It has been left for a later era to discover the charm and rosy glamour of old road-faring days, a charm not greatly insisted upon in the literature of those times, which, instead of being rich in praise of the road, is fruitful in accounts of the miseries of travel. Pepys, on the Portsmouth Road in 1668, fearful of losing his way at night, as had often happened to him before; Thoresby, in 1714 and later years, on the Great North Road, thanking God that he had reached home safely; Horace Walpole, on the Brighton Road in 1749, finding the roads almost impassable, therefore, and reasonably enough, “a great damper of curiosity”; Arthur Young for years exhausting the vocabulary of abuse on roads in general; and Jeffrey in 1831, at Grantham, looking dismally forward to being snowed up at Alconbury Hill—these are a few instances, among many, which go to prove, if proof were necessary, that travelling was regarded then as a wholly unmitigated evil._

_But, quite apart from such considerations, there is a charm clinging about the bygone and the out-of-date wholly lacking in things contemporary. The Romans who constructed and travelled along their roads could not find in them the interest we discover, and the old posting-houses and inns frequented by our grandfathers must have seemed to them as matter-of-fact as we now think our own railway hotels. It is, indeed, just_ BECAUSE _the old roads and the wayside inns are superseded by the rail and the modern hotel, and because they are altogether removed from the everyday vulgarity of use and competition, that they have assumed their romantic aspect, together with that which now surrounds the slow and inconvenient coaches and the harmful unnecessary highwayman, long since become genuine antiques and puppets for the historical novelist to play with._

_The_ HOLYHEAD ROAD, _in its long course towards the Irish Sea, holds much of this old romance, and not a little of a newer sort. Cities whose history goes back to the era of the Saxons who first gave this highway the name of “Watling Street,” lie along these many miles; and other cities and towns there are whose fame and fortunes are of entirely modern growth. Some have decayed, more have sprung into vigorous life, and, in answer to the demand that arose, a hundred years ago, for improved roads, the old highway itself was remodelled, in the days that are already become distant._

_But better than the cities and towns and villages along these two hundred and sixty miles is the scenery, ranging from the quiet pastoral beauties of the Home Counties to the rocks and torrents, the mountains and valleys of North Wales. This road and its story are a very epitome of our island’s scenery and history. History of the larger sort—that tells of the setting up and the putting down of Kings and Princes—has marched in footprints of blood down the road, and left a trail of fire and ashes; but it may well be thought, with one who has written the history of the English people, that the doings of such are not all the story: that the village church, the mill by the riverside, the drowsy old town, “the tolls of the market-place, the brasses of its burghers in the church, the names of its streets, the lingering memory of its guilds, the mace of its mayor, tell us more of the past of England than the spire of Sarum or the martyrdom of Canterbury.”_

CHARLES G. HARPER.

PETERSHAM,
SURREY,
_April 1902_.

LIST _of_ ILLUSTRATIONS

SEPARATE PLATES

PAGE

THE “WONDER,” LONDON AND SHREWSBURY COACH. (_From a
Print after J. Pollard_) _Frontispiece_

SKETCH-MAP OF THE HOLYHEAD ROAD AND THE WATLING
STREET xix

YARD OF THE “BULL AND MOUTH,” ST. MARTIN’S-LE-GRAND.
(_From an old Print_) 13

“TALLY-HO” AND “INDEPENDENT TALLY-HO,” LONDON AND
BIRMINGHAM COACHES, NEARING LONDON, 1828. (_From a
Print after J. Pollard_) 25

THE “ANGEL,” ISLINGTON. MAIL COACHES AND
ILLUMINATIONS ON NIGHT OF THE KING’S BIRTHDAY,
1812. (_From a Print after J. Pollard_) 41

HIGHGATE ARCHWAY AND THE TURNPIKE GATE, 1823. (_From
an Old Print_) 45

HIGHGATE ARCHWAY: MAIL COACH NEARING LONDON. (_From
a Print after J. Pollard_) 51

THE “WOODMAN,” FINCHLEY, 1834: COVENTRY AND
BIRMINGHAM COACH PASSING. (_From a Print after J.
Pollard_) 55

HIGHGATE VILLAGE, 1826. (_From an Old Print_) 59

THE OLD ROAD, BARNET 67

THE OLD ROAD, RIDGE HILL 99

THE GREAT SNOWSTORM, DEC. 26TH, 1836. THE LIVERPOOL
MAIL PASSING TWO LADIES SNOWED UP ON RIDGE HILL IN
THEIR CHARIOT, WITHOUT HORSES, THE POSTBOY HAVING
RIDDEN TO ST. ALBANS FOR FRESH ONES. (_From a
Print after J. Pollard_) 103

ST. ALBANS CATHEDRAL 109

ST. PETER’S STREET AND TOWN HALL, ST. ALBANS, 1826.
(_From an Old Print_) 117

DUNSTABLE DOWNS 147

THE “WHITE HORSE,” HOCKLIFFE 153

THE GREAT SNOWSTORM, DEC. 26TH, 1836. THE BIRMINGHAM
MAIL FAST IN THE SNOW, WITH LITTLE CHANCE OF A
SPEEDY RELEASE: THE GUARD PROCEEDING TO LONDON
WITH THE LETTER-BAGS. (_From a Print after J.
Pollard_) 159

STONY STRATFORD 173

DAVENTRY MARKET-PLACE 235

DUNCHURCH 255

FORD’S HOSPITAL 275

THE OLD “KING’S HEAD,” COVENTRY. (_From a Print
after Rowlandson_) 295

COVENTRY, FROM WINDMILL HILL. (_After J. M. W.
Turner, R.A._) 299

THE LIVERPOOL MAIL, 1836. (From a Print after J.
Pollard) 309

ILLUSTRATIONS IN TEXT

Vignette: Ogilby’s Dimensurator _Title Page_

Preface vii

List of Illustrations xi

The Holyhead Road: Ogilby’s Survey 1

Clark’s Steam Carriage, 1832. (_From an Old Print_) 33

The New Highgate Archway 48

James Ripley, Ostler of the “Red Lion” 76

Hadley Green: Winter 80

South Minims 92

London Colney 101

Entrance to St. Albans 105

Market-place, St. Albans 114

The “George” 120

The “Fighting Cocks” 123

St. Michael’s 129

Mad Tom in Bedlam 132

Mad Tom at Liberty 133

Redbourne Church 134

Redbourne 135

Dunstable Priory Church 144

Little Brickhill 165

Yard of the “George” 166

Queen’s Oak 176

Market-place, Stony Stratford 181

The “Blue Ball” 183

Lilbourne 206

Cross-in-hand 209

High Cross Monument 210

The Watling Street, near Hammerwich 219

The “Four Crosses,” near Hatherton 222

Boscobel and the “Royal Oak” 227

Town Seal, Daventry 238

Braunston Hill 239

Braunston 240

Ashby St. Ledgers 243

The “Four Crosses,” Willoughby (Demolished 1898) 245

Lord John Scott’s Statue 257

Dunsmore Avenue 260

Knightlow Cross 264

The Three Spires 269

Peeping Tom 273

The “Old Ordinary” 285

The old “Bull’s Head,” Meriden 304

Meriden Cross 306

THE HOLYHEAD ROAD

LONDON TO BIRMINGHAM

MILES
London (General Post Office) to—
Islington (the “Angel”) 1¼
Highgate Archway 4¼
East End, Finchley 5¾
Brown’s Wells, Finchley Common (“Green Man”) 7
North Finchley: “Tally-ho Corner” 7½
Whetstone 9¼
Greenhill Cross 10¼
Barnet 11¼
South Mimms 14½
Ridge Hill 16
London Colney
(Cross River Colne.) 17½
St. Albans (“Peahen”) 20¾
Redbourne 25
Friar’s Wash 27½
Markyate 29
Dunstable 33½
Hockliffe 37½
Sheep Lane 41
Little Brickhill 45
Fenny Stratford
(Cross River Ousel.) 48
Stony Stratford 52¼
Old Stratford
(Cross River Ouse.) 52¾
Potterspury 55
Havencote Houses 59
Towcester (“Pomfret Arms”)
(Cross River Towe.) 60¼
Foster’s Booth
(Cross River Nen.) 64
Weedon Beck
(Watling Street branches off from Holyhead Road.) 68
Dodford 68¾
Daventry 72½
Braunston 75¾
Willoughby 77
Dunchurch 80¼
Ryton-on-Dunsmore
(Cross River Avon.) 84½
Willenhall
(Cross River Sow.) 88¾
Coventry (“King’s Head”) 91¼
Allesley 93¾
Meriden 97
Stonebridge
(Cross River Tame.) 100
Bickenhill 101½
Elmdon 102¼
Wells Green 104
Yardley 105¼
Hay Mills 106¼
Small Heath 106¾
Bordesley 108
Deritend 108½
Birmingham (General Post Office) 109¼

THE WATLING STREET, FROM WEEDON BECK TO OAKENGATES AND KETLEY

MILES
Weedon Beck to—
Watford Gap 5½
Crick Railway Station 9
Lilbourne 12½
Catthorpe Five Houses 12¾
Cave’s Inn 14¼
Gibbet
(Cross River Swift.) 15
Cross-in-Hand 17¼
Willey Railway-crossing 18
Wibtoft 20
High Cross 21
Smockington 22
Caldecote 30
Witherley
(Cross River Anker.) 31½
Mancetter 32
Atherstone 32½
Baddesley Ensor 36
Dordon 36½
Stony Delph 39
Wilnecote
(Cross River Tame.) 39½
Fazeley 40¼
Hints 42¾
Weeford 44½
(Cross-road, Lichfield to Coleshill) 44¾
(Cross-road, Lichfield to Birmingham) 46¼
Wall 47¼
Muckley Corner 48¼
Hammerwich 49½
Brownhills 51
Wyrley Bank 54¾
“Four Crosses,” Hatherton 57
Gailey Railway Station (L. & N. W. R.)
(Cross River Penk.) 59¾
Horsebrook and Stretton 61½
Ivetsey Bank (“Bradford Arms”) 65
Weston-under-Lizard 67
Crackley Bank 69½
St. George’s (Pain’s Lane Chapel) 72½
Oakengates 73¾
Ketley Railway Station 75¼

[Click anywhere on map for high resolution image.]

SKETCH MAP OF THE HOLYHEAD ROAD, SHOWING ALSO THE ROMAN WATLING STREET
FROM DOVER AND THE ROMAN STATIONS ON THE WAY.

HOLYHEAD ROAD ━━━━━━━━ WATLING STREET ────────
TELFORD’S NEW ROAD THROUGH ANGLESEY ╸╸╸╸╸╸╸╸
]