The A4538 connects the A38 some 6.5 km north-east of the River Severn crossing in Worcester city centre to the junction of the A44 and A422 6 km east of the city. Its southern half, from the point at which it meets the A4440, the A449, and the M5 at junction 6 of that motorway has primary-route status.
The A4538 - known throughout its current length as Pershore Lane - corresponds to the Martin Hussingtree to Spetchley section of the original B4084 road to Evesham and was upgraded to its present status following the opening of the M5 from junction 4 to junction 8 in 1962.
The A4538 number and classification were later - at some time in the early 1990s - extended to cover the whole of the former route of the former B4084 to Evesham, although in 2004 the Spetchley roundabout to Evesham section has been renumbered once again and now forms a part of the A44.
