1922 ending of A4

[jon81]

Just wondering why the A4 originally stopped at Bath rather than Bristol. The A39 also stopped abruptly near Glastonbury - was a proposed section that never materialised, such as taking the A4 south of Bristol towards Weston? It seems that most of the F99 routes led to the coast, or linked to routes that did.

[Isleworth1961]

I believe it's just because the route A4 was allocated to most of the 'Bath Road' from London to Bath, but also utilising the planned new Great West Road instead of the old road through Brentford and Hounslow (Bath, long, long before road numbering, was a more important road destination west of London than was Bristol). It probably seemed easier at the time, hence the extension to Bristol soon after.

[jon81]

From the MOT maps the A4 just stopped 20-odd miles inland - it could have been because it was previously known as the Bath Road, but all the other F9 routes led to the coast (Dover, Portsmouth, Holyhead, Carlisle, Gourock, Inverness). In fact, there seems to have been a pattern for nearly all the original F99 routes to lead towards the coast (exporting goods to ports? ), this maybe explains why there was no original F99 route from Birmingham to Manchester. Also any ideas why the A39 originally stopped on the A361?

[WHBM]

In 1922 there were no lorries capable of trunk haulage to the ports. All such freight was on the railway.

[KeithW]

In 1922 there were no lorries capable of trunk haulage to the ports. All such freight was on the railway.

There were in fact a fair number of trucks on the roads many being war surplus 20/25 HP Crossleys which were sold off cheaply. In 1920 Scammel had launched its 7.5 ton articulated vehicle fitted with pneumatic tyres and a low axle weight it was allowed to move at 12 mph. Most of these lorries and vans were in fact owned and operated by the railway companies and operated out of goods depots serving the local area. The classic machine for such operations was the Scammel mechanical horse, later replaced with the Scarab. This was a 3 wheeled articulated vehicle that could turn in a very short radius making it ideal for narrow roads and goods yards designed for horse drawn traffic. They survived in production well into the 1960's. They could be seen buzzing around Middlesbrough docks and the BR goods terminal when I was growing up.

This monopoly was largely broken when the 1923 grouping occurred. This was due to the governments continued imposition of the 'common carriers' policy , which obliged railway companies to carry any cargo offered to it at a nationally agreed charge, which was often well below a rate necessary to make the operation profitable. The new road transport operators faced no such cap and with lower overheads and a large number of ex War Department trucks available started to make real inroads on the railway goods business.

As to why the A4 ended at Bath the reason is I suspect largely historical. Bath was one of the favourite resorts of the British establishment and the historic road was made famous in the 18th century. Outside of London it was THE place to see and be seen. By 1920 of course Bath had lost out to the seaside resorts such as Brighton and Bognor but the road to the West was still referred to as the Bath Road. Bristol had declined in importance in the late 19th and early 20th century with most of the trade moving downstream to Avonmouth which had excellent rail access but the road access was very poor. As I recall the A4 was only extended to Avonmouth after the completion of the Portway in 1926. This and the new aviation industries were major factors in the regeneration of Bristol which grew rapidly between 1920 and 1939 in which period 15,000 houses were built by the council alone.

[Andy P]

As I recall the A4 was only extended to Avonmouth after the completion of the Portway in 1926.

I'm fairly sure that the Portway was opened as the A36, and the A4 did not take over the route from Bath to Avonmouth until 1935.

I can't throw any more light on the original question of why the A4 originally ended in Bath rather than Bristol. It does seem odd, given the role of the F9 in forming zone boundaries, and as Bristol was much the larger and arguably more important city even after a period of relative decline - its population in 1921 was 368,000.

[Ritchie333]

The A4 originally ended at the junction of George Street (ahead being the A431) and Milsom Street (the A367), where the main Post Office building was. Since road numbers were originally just a set of classification documents, with no real expectation they would have practical use for navigation, I suspect the historical connection as a postal route was why it was there, although possibly it just happened to be the nearest road junction to the centre of Bath. The 4-zone more-or less follows what ended up being the A4 in later years (which can be worked out by several 4-zone B roads that start on the A36 and then cross the River Avon).

[vlad]

In fact, there seems to have been a pattern for nearly all the original F99 routes to lead towards the coast (exporting goods to ports? )

I don't really think that's the case. For every A37 (connecting the ports of Weymouth and Bristol) you'd have an A53 (connecting Shrewsbury to Buxton and so remaining resolutely inland). Roads would have served important places, whether inland or on the coast. It seems that more roads end on the coast than elsewhere for the simple reason once you've got to the coast you can't go any further. Where would the A23 go after Brighton?

Also any ideas why the A39 originally stopped on the A361?

Why not?

It could be that Taunton to Glastonbury was the more frequented route than Bridgwater to Glastonbury. Alternatively, given that the A39 had come in from west Cornwall it was felt it was long enough already and it was only allowed across the A38 as the road east of Bridgwater was too short to be numbered A372. Or perhaps the man who determined the route of the A361 was very influential.

Harder to explain is why the A43 conceded the final section to Oxford to the A423. Misprint?

[chaseracer]

<reaches for 1824 copy of Paterson's Roads...>