Remembering the old A2

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Glenn A
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Re: Remembering the old A2

Post by Glenn A »

ScottB5411 wrote: Thu Dec 06, 2018 02:59
Owain wrote: Sun Dec 02, 2018 06:39
Steven wrote: Tue Nov 27, 2018 13:23

Somewhere between brain and keyboard I lost the additional "until the Victorian period" when referring to the Royal Peculiar which would have made the posr make more sense! There's been no proposals since the Royal Peculiar was abolished as far as I know.
Might the fact that St Peter's is a Catholic church have anything to do with it? Most of our historic cathedral cities have Protestant cathedrals. Catholic cathedrals were all built much later, and did not necessarily give their location city status until later still.

Lancaster, for example, has a 19th-century Catholic cathedral, but the town did not gain city status until 1937. Arundel's Catholic church did not gain cathedral status until 1965, and as far as I'm aware Arundel still does not have city status.

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Re. the A2, there is quite a good description of it in one of the James Bond novels. It's either Moonraker (set in Kent), Goldfinger, or On Her Majesty's Secret Service (in which Bond drives to Switzerland).
The novel you're thinking about is Moonraker, the A2 is very well described in the book. Those that have not read the novel may not realise that the book and the film are a very different beast.
Goldfinger makes mention of Bond using the A2 to get to Dover, and his choice of roads in France. Interesting at a time when driving in Europe was rare and cars weren't very reliable.
Moonraker, the film, is largely set in California, Italy and Brazil and only has the usual Bond at the Foreign Office scene set in Britain.
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Berk
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Re: Remembering the old A2

Post by Berk »

This is all true. I’ve spent an enjoyable afternoon reading about it.

Strange the disconnect between several of Fleming’s books (Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker) - and their big-screen adaptations. Though it does appear Fleming himself requested only the title of Moonraker be used, everything else was a blank canvas.

Has made me hopeful there could be another Bond rerun over Cheistmas. They’re better than Carry On’s!! :D
Glenn A
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Re: Remembering the old A2

Post by Glenn A »

Berk wrote: Sun Dec 09, 2018 18:59 This is all true. I’ve spent an enjoyable afternoon reading about it.

Strange the disconnect between several of Fleming’s books (Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker) - and their big-screen adaptations. Though it does appear Fleming himself requested only the title of Moonraker be used, everything else was a blank canvas.

Has made me hopeful there could be another Bond rerun over Cheistmas. They’re better than Carry On’s!! :D
Yes, Carry Ons just haven't aged well, although I do like Carry On At Your Convenience simply because it features one of the earliest Morris Marinas on a J plate.
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brombeer
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Re: Remembering the old A2

Post by brombeer »

Hope you won’t mind me bringing this old thread to live for a question not entirely related to the previous posts. But felt better than a new thread ...

I’ve been looking at the beginning of the A2 at Borough Tube Station in London, and how signs there show A2 in parentheses - which suggests that you’re turning off from the A3 onto the A2198 (Long Lane) and only then make it onto A2 (Great Dover Road). Now this could be a simple instance of silly signposting, but I was wondering whether there might be more of a history to it. I found 1920s maps showing a five-way intersection here. Current situation is that they’ve moved the beginning of Long Lane to the East of St George The Martyr, but could there in the interim period have been a situation where traffic heading from London Bridge to Dover would first turn left onto Long Lane / the A2198, then immediately right into Great Dover Street / the A2? So that what we’re seeing on signs actually reflects an old situation?
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KeithW
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Re: Remembering the old A2

Post by KeithW »

You could do worse than looking at the wiki
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A2_road_(England)

If you want really old routes try the turnpike roads map
http://www.turnpikes.org.uk/map%20Kent%20turnpikes.jpg
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Steven
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Re: Remembering the old A2

Post by Steven »

KeithW wrote: Mon Jan 24, 2022 21:39 You could do worse than looking at the wiki
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A2_road_(England)

If you want really old routes try the turnpike roads map
http://www.turnpikes.org.uk/map%20Kent%20turnpikes.jpg
Or of course, there's A2 on the SABRE Wiki (as opposed to somewhere I wouldn't trust at all, and there's the 1922 Ministry of Transport Road Maps including the special sheets of London which are the original source as far as the route of any road number, including the A2, is concerned.
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From the SABRE Wiki: A2 :


The A2 has always been a busy road. Going from London to Dover, it largely follows the historic Watling Street from London to Dover via Canterbury, although it has had many upgrades over the years. Some sections are now D4M while one, the M2 now makes a section of the A2 non-primary.


[[Image:The A2 at Ospringe in 1969 - Geograph - 1731095.jpg|left|thumb|The A2 at Ospringe, just south west of

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