B3049 (Bullington Cross - Andover)

This article is about the original B3049 in Hampshire, which ran between Bullington Cross and Andover and is now mostly part of the A303.
For the current road with this number, also in Hampshire, see B3049.

The abandoned former B3049 near Andover

All that remained of the B3049 post-1933

The B3049 is described in the 1922 Road Lists as Bullington Cross - Andover, meaning the road ran west from the A34 to the A30 on the eastern side of Andover. The road was extended to the B3379 at Micheldever when that road was classified in the late 1920s, and then beyond to Micheldever Station.

In 1933, the A303 was created, taking over the road west of the A30, which (at the same time) had been rerouted onto the B3379. This left the small stub from the A30/A303 junction to the station, which lasted until the early 1970s, when it was downgraded.

The westernmost section of the ex-B3049 has now been declassified and partly closed to traffic following the construction of the Andover bypass. However, the street name Micheldever Road hints at its history.

The B3049 has the distinction of being the first road in the country ever used by a motor car, albeit some years before the road was classified! In 1895, The Hon Evelyn Ellis received delivery of a car at Micheldever station and drove it home to Datchet in Buckinghamshire. At the time, the speed limit was 4mph and all self-propelled vehicles had to be preceded by a man with a red flag. Ellis ignored both laws; the following year the speed limit was doubled and red flags became unnecessary.