A1123

Route

The A1123 is a cross-country A-road in Huntingdonshire and Cambridgeshire, providing a shorter but slower alternative to the A14 further south.

Hartford - Soham

The road starts on the A141 at the eastern end of the Huntingdon northern bypass. It heads east along a winding road, passing to the north of the centres of Houghton and then St Ives; the latter road is actually built-up. At the far side of St Ives we meet the A1096 eastern bypass at a roundabout. We then bypass Needingworth before going through Bluntisham and Earith, where we cross the Old and New Bedford Rivers.

The road then heads slightly more northerly and climbs onto a hill, presumably this was formerly an island in the Fens. We reach the village of Haddenham and have to give way at a staggered crossroads. To the left is the A1421 and the road to the right is unclassified. We continue ahead to run through Wilburton before descending to return to the flat Fens and a roundabout on the A10.

Stretham

The road then runs through Stretham and crosses the River Great Ouse, the Cambridge to Ely railway line (at a level crossing), and the River Cam. It detours to the south via Wicken before going over the Ely to Ipswich railway line. Less than a mile further on the road ends at a roundabout at the southern end of the A142 Soham bypass.

History

Haddenham in 1956 showing the A1123 spur

The history of the A1123 is somewhat involved.

In 1922 the A1123 number did not exist. The road from Hartford to Stretham was numbered B1085 whilst the rest was unclassified. A few years later, the Haddenham to Stretham section was upgraded to Class I status as the A1072, which continued north of Haddenham to end on the A142 at Witcham Toll. Then by the 1930s the Stretham to Soham road was classified as an extension of the B1085, albeit needing a multiplex along the A1072.

In 1935 the entire A1072 was renumbered A1123, as was the section of B1085 westwards to Hartford, thus meaning that all three classified roads out of Haddenham were numbered A1123. In the 1960s the road was extended east along more of the B1085 to Soham.

Later still it was decided that the A1123 didn't need a spur and the road from Haddenham to Witcham Toll was renumbered A1421, giving the A1123 its current route.