A136

The much longer route of the A136 in 1932

The A136 is a very short road in Essex, although at one time it was much longer.

The road originally started on the A133 at Little Clacton and ran along the Essex coastline via Thorpe-le-Soken and the Oakleys up to Harwich, where it ended on the A135 (now B1352) to the west of Dovercourt.

When the A135 was removed in 1936, the A604 took over most of that road's route into Harwich. However, it turned off up the ex-A1019 to Parkeston, so the A136 was extended along the remainder of the A135 into Harwich itself. When the A604 ceased to exist, the A136 took over its final section to Parkeston, whilst the remainder of the road east of Colchester became the A120.

Because of the abundance of 90-degree bends, the road was not recommended for general use - with most traffic using the A604 (now A120) from Colchester instead. The road existed in full until at least the 1970s but the section outside of Harwich is now the B1414. The ex-A135 into Harwich was downgraded in the 1990s following the construction of the current A120, just leaving the Parkeston spur as A136. However, maps are undecided as to the exact route of the A136. Some even claiming it to be part of the A120 whereas others allocate the A136 number to the old road (ex-A1019) into Parkeston (signposted as "Parkeston village only"), or the new bypass (signposted to the port but not given a number)? According to Essex County Council, it is the latter, which is more logical.

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