A238

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A238

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From:

Colliers Wood (TQ266702)

To:

Norbiton (TQ190695)

Length:

5.1 miles (8.2 km)

Meets:

A3, A237

Highways Authorities

Kingston upon Thames • Merton

Traditional Counties

Surrey

Route outline (key)

A238

Colliers Wood - Norbiton

Route

Colliers Wood - Norbiton

Nelson Hospital,Kingston Rd

The A238 starts at Colliers Wood underground station, at a junction with the A24. Between here and South Wimbledon they run parallel – the A238 is following the original course of the A24, whilst the new A24 follows the line of the old Merton Abbey railway line.

History
Lesson

Merton had a priory by the River Wandle until Henry VIII's Reformation, when the priory church it was largely demolished to provide building materials for nearby Nonsuch Palace. Many of the other buildings are still there, known (inaccurately) as Merton Abbey.

Not being on the Tube map, Merton is now rather less well-known than its younger neighbours Wimbledon and Morden, but it has given its name to the London borough containing all three. It has also given its name to the comedian Paul Merton – real name Paul Martin – who grew up there.

After about half a mile, we reach South Wimbledon, tube station where the A219 crosses the A238. Originally both these roads started here – the other two legs of the junction being the original line of the A24, with which we now part company as itTOTSOs left on to what is now part of the A219. The A238 goes straight on along a road encouragingly named after our destination. Shortly we arrive at Merton Park, where there is a level crossing for Croydon Tramlink’s Wimbledon branch. Further on, we reach Wimbledon Chase, where the straight ahead route is the A298, and we have to TOTSO to the right to continue to Kingston. Shortly afterwards, we have to bear round to the left to avoid the very low bridge over Lower Downs Road, and run parallel with the main London to Southampton railway line to Raynes Park, where another TOTSO to the right takes us under the railway line and left into Coombe Lane.

Coombe Lane is very wide, but has cycle lanes added so that the road space usable by motor vehicles is narrowed to dissuade people from speeding. This is important because traffic coming off the A3, which is now close by, often takes time to adjust to urban speeds. The A3 junction is interesting because it is three-quarters of a cloverleaf – traffic from Kingston to the A3 southbound being the only move that requires a right turn. Ironically, this is the busiest move because it is the one move that cannot be made at the next junction north on the A3.

We progress up the hill (now known as Coombe Lane West), passing the site of a Tudor conduit, that fed water from a local spring here to Hampton Court Palace, about three miles away. We follow its approximate line down the hill past the hospital to Norbiton station. Like nearby Surbiton, setting for "The Good Life", Norbiton has its own place in sitcom – it was the station from which jaded middle manager Reginald Perrin did his commuting in "The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perri" – "eleven minutes late: escaped puma at Chessington". The railway crosses the road here by a low bridge. The dip in the road makes its height difficult to judge (especially to foreign drivers not familiar with imperial units), and the skew angle means that lorries that do hit it tend to fall over to the right – not good news if you are coming the other way at the time.

A couple of hundred yards further on the road ends at a junction with the A308 London Road. Unlike the entrance to the ASDA store just down the road, which is traffic light controlled, this is a simple uncontrolled T-junction.

Original Author(s): Tim Lidbetter