Cannards Grave

Lying to the south of Shepton Mallet in Somerset, this is where the A37, A361 and A371 meet, multiplex and diverge once more. The junction consists of two roundabouts and one give-way junction.

Starting at the northern roundabout, the A371 joins the A37/A361 multiplex. For a time in the 1990's, some maps showed Fosse Lane as the A361, but it is now unclassified once more. Heading south from the roundabout, all 3 routes multiplex along Whitstone Road, although congestion is none the worse for that. We pass the Cannard's Grave Inn, where 2 minor roads - the former A371 from Shepton and A37 to Yeovil meet on the left to form a very sharp crossroads. These two routes are now either blocked up or one-way to minimise traffic conflicts.

At the southern roundabout, we lose the A371 once more, with the A36/A371 multiplex continuing westwards for about 200m before splitting - this is the give way with the A37 taking priority as it turns southwards.

History

Cannard's Grave in 1959

The junction is at least an improvement on what was there when these routes were first classified. At that time, the main junction was outside the Cannard's Grave Inn, where the A37 and A371 multiplex approached down Cannard's Grave Road from the town, and Fosse Lane provided a link to the A361. To the south, the A37 and A371 then split, the former taking Church Lane, and the latter the modern road. This was changed fairly early on when the A37's southern approach was diverted along its present route to meet the A371 just south of the Inn.

The A361 would originally have passed through the town centre, taking the B3136 west to rejoin its modern route near Pilton.