Itinerarium curiosum (centuria I) : $b or, an account of the antiquities, and remarkable curiosities in nature or art, observed in travels through Great BritainStukeley, William
History
Itinerarium curiosum (centuria I) : $b or, an account of the antiquities, and remarkable curiosities in nature or art, observed in travels through Great Britain
Stukeley, William
Great Britain -- Antiquities -- Early works to 1800; Great Britain -- Description and travel -- Early works to 1800
Hence the road goes through Edgworth; and so at Paddington, by Tyburn,
it crosses the other Roman road, called now Oxford-street, which was
originally continued to Old-street, going north of London one way;
the other way it proceeds by the back side of Kensington, and through
an unfrequented path, till it falls into the present great road to
Brentford, Stanes, &c. and it is a Roman road all the way, going pretty
nearly east and west: therefore our Watling-street must cross it with
an oblique angle; and by observation I found it to be about forty-five
degrees. Higden takes notice the Watling-street ran to the west of
Westminster, over the Thames, so through the middle of Kent: from
Tyburn I judge it goes over part of Hyde-park,[105] and by May-fair,
through St. James’s park, to the street by Old Palace-yard called the
Wool-staple, to the Thames. Here has been an old gate; one part of
the arch is still left, but not Roman. On the opposite side of the
river is Stane-gate ferry, which is the continuation of this street to
Canterbury, and so to the three famous sea-ports, _Rutupiæ_, _Dubris_,
and _Lemanis_. This Oxford road was originally carried north of London,
in order to pass into Essex, because London then was not considerable;
but in a little time became well nigh lost; and Holborn was struck
out from it, as conducting travellers thither, directly entering the
city at Newgate, originally called Chamberlain’s gate, and so to
Londonstone, the _lapis milliaris_ from which distances are reckoned:
and hence the reason why the name of Watling-street is still preserved
in the city, though the real Watling-street goes through no part of it,
but through Southwark; or, if we please, we may call this a vicinal
branch of the Watling-street.
[Illustration: 57 +Londinivm+ Augusta
_7. Nov. 1722._
Illustrissimo Comiti Penbrokiæ Moecenati Eximio Sacra Tabula.
_Stukeley delin._]
[Sidenote: +Londinium.+]
[Sidenote: TAB. LVII.]
According to method I should speak of _Londinium_ here: but because
the great deal that may be said thereupon will make a discourse by
itself, we content ourselves at present with giving the plan of it,
as we suppose it might appear in the times of the Romans; and so
continuing our tour into Kent, will finish the whole continuation of
the Watling-street with what few memoirs I could pick up at that time.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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