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| HER Number | MWB5939 |
|---|
| Record Type | Monument |
|---|
| Name | A4 Bath Road, Thatcham |
|---|
Summary
A stretch of the London to Bath Road that passes through Thatcham, turnpiked in 1728
Other Statuses and Cross-References
- Berkshire SMR No. (pre 2000): 05052.14.000
Monument Type(s):
- ROAD (Medieval to Early 21st century - 1066 AD to 2050 AD)
Full Description
This stretch of the London to Bath Road, later numbered as the A4, runs westwards from Theale to Newbury through Thatcham.
A probable medieval road, the first Turnpike Trust in Berkshire was in 1714 for seven miles of the Bath Road from Reading to Theale <2>. Rosevear <3> lists the main Turnpike Trusts of the Bath Road in West Berkshire as Speenhamland to Marlborough in 1726 and Speenhamland to Reading in 1728. The Trust expired in 1872.
Various categories of monument survive along the 18th century coaching route such as milestones <4> and water pumps for keeping the dust down, spaced at approximate half mile intervals <5>.
Sources and further reading
| <01> | Roberts, C. 1941. And So To Bath. [Monograph / SWB147351] |
| <02> | Dils, J (ed). 1998. An Historical Atlas of Berkshire. [Monograph / SWB13916] |
| <03> | Rosevear, A. 2008. Turnpike Roads in England. http://www.turnpikes.org.uk. 26/04/2010. [Website / SWB147831]
http://www.turnpikes.org.uk (Accessed 31/12/2021 using Internet Explorer) |
| <04> | The Milestone Society. 2001-Present. Database of Milestones in West Berkshire. [Digital archive / SWB14453]
http://www.msocrepository.co.uk/ (Accessed 09/10/2019) |
| <05> | Phillips, D. 1983. The Great Road to Bath. [Monograph / SWB147800] |
| <06> | Thatcham Vision & Thatcham Historical Society. 2009. Thatcham - an historic town in a changing world. online. [Monograph / SWB147814] |
| <07> | Dils, J and Yates, M (ed). 2012. An Historical Atlas of Berkshire (2nd Edition). [Monograph / SWB148708] |
Related Monuments
| MWB5909 | A4 BATH ROAD - General Record (Monument) |
Associated Excavations and Fieldwork
None recordedIf you have any comments or new information about this record, please email us.
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