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A344

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A344
Location Map ( geo)
The final remaining section of A344
Cameraicon.png View gallery (19)
From:  Weyhill (SU313468)
To:  Heytesbury (ST934425)
Distance:  24.5 miles (39.4 km)
Met (1923) A342, B3084, A346, B3085, A3028, A338, B3090, B3086, A360, A36
Now part of:  A303, closed, C506, A360, B390
Primary Destinations
Traditional Counties

Hampshire • Wiltshire

Route outline (key)
A344 Andover - Stonehenge
(became A303 in 1934)
A344 Stonehenge - Airmans Corner,
(closed June 2013)
A344 Airmans Corner - Heytesbury
(now A360/B390)

Introduction

Created in 1922 as part of the direct route between Andover and Warminster avoiding Salisbury, the A344 was shortened twice in the 20th century until its final route was scarcely more than a mile long. The number has now disappeared completely from the maps.

Early History

The A344/A3036 junction at Stonehenge Bottom around 1930

The A344 used roads that pre-date human habitation of Britain, such as the Harroway and the road used to bring the stones to Stonehenge. However, we'll skip forward to classification in 1922.

On classification the A344 ran from the A342 at Weyhill (near Andover) through to Heytesbury, east of Warminster on the A36. In 1934, the A303 was created, taking over the stretch east of Stonehenge. The A360 had became dominant in its merger with the A344 just to the west of Stonehenge by 1956, but the section west of that wasn't downgraded to B390 until the 1970s.

The 1932 route of the A344, compared with a trace of the (much shorter) road 70 years later.

Final Route

The road near Airmans Corner in 2012
The old A344 meeting the A303 in 2012

This was merely a two-mile road cutting off a corner, hardly meriting a three-digit number. It started on the A303 at Stonehenge Bottom and finished at Airmans Corner where it ran into the A360, TOTSOing the latter road. Most of it had a 40mph limit with double yellow lines, which is somewhat out of character for a typical rural road.

The remains of the A344 in 2013

The A344 spent several summers as a dead end, with the road blocked off at both Stonehenge Bottom and the Stonehenge Visitors Centre. On the 24th of June 2013, the road was officially closed between those two points. The rest of the A344 was still referred to as such by Wiltshire Council as late as March 2017, but the road is now listed as C506.




A344
Junctions
Places
Related Pictures
View gallery (19)
A303 - Coppermine - 22844.jpgOld stuff 167.jpgWai12312.jpgPC200009.JPGPC200008.JPG
Other nearby roads
Andover
A303 • A342 • A343 • A3057 • A3093 • B3042 (Hampshire) • B3049 (Bullington Cross - Andover) • B3050 • B3400 • B3402 • B3420 • Harroway • RM4
Stonehenge
Warminster
A300-A399
A300 • A301 • A302 • A303 • A304 • A305 • A306 • A307 • A308 • A309 • A310 • A311 • A312 • A313 • A314 • A315 • A316 • A317 • A318 • A319
A320 • A321 • A322 • A323 • A324 • A325 • A326 • A327 • A328 • A329 • A330 • A331 • A332 • A333 • A334 • A335 • A336 • A337 • A338 • A339
A340 • A341 • A342 • A343 • A344 • A345 • A346 • A347 • A348 • A349 • A350 • A351 • A352 • A353 • A354 • A355 • A356 • A357 • A358 • A359
A360 • A361 • A362 • A363 • A364 • A365 • A366 • A367 • A368 • A369 • A370 • A371 • A372 • A373 • A374 • A375 • A376 • A377 • A378 • A379
A380 • A381 • A382 • A383 • A384 • A385 • A386 • A387 • A388 • A389 • A390 • A391 • A392 • A393 • A394 • A395 • A396 • A397 • A398 • A399
St Peters Way  Motorways: A308(M) • A329(M)  Earlier Itineraries: A303 • A326 • A331 • A333 • A341 • A346 • A355 • A364 • A369 • A374 • A378 • A392 • A397


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