B4451

Route

Deppers Bridge

The B4451 is a largely rural B-road in east Warwickshire.

The road starts at a traffic light controlled junction with the B4100 near Gaydon and heads northeast. Within a kilometre it crosses the M40 motorway at Junction 12, then continues by way of Bishop's Itchington to a junction with the B4452 by the site of Southam Road and Harbury railway station (3.5 km southwest of Southam and 1.5 km east of Harbury), closed in 1964. Here the B4451 turns sharp right to cross the Chiltern Main Line by means of a weight-restricted bridge. After regaining its northeasterly route the road terminates at a roundabout junction with the A452 after passing through an industrial estate on the southwestern edge of the small town of Southam.

History

The longer B4451 in 1932

The B4451 number came into existence in the mid-1920s when a previously unclassified road was given Class II status. Originally the road started on the A429 in Halford. It headed northeastwards, with a short multiplex along the A422 at Pillerton Priors, before continuing via Kineton to reach its present route at Gaydon. This section was reclassified to become C31 (Warwickshire) following the opening of the M40 in 1991.

Upgrading of M40 J12 in the 2010s moved the western end of the B4451 slightly further away from Gaydon.