21. Communications—Ancient and Modern.
The Ridge Way is one of the oldest roads in England. It enters Berkshire on the chalk downs above Ashbury at a level of 600 feet above the sea, and runs in an easterly direction by Wayland Smith’s Cave and Uffington Castle; thence by Hackpen Hill to Letcombe Castle, along the top of the ridge north of West and East Ilsley. From here, turning to the right across the little valley on Compton Downs, the road probably reached the river Thames at Streatley. This old road is also known as the Icknield Way, and there is another old road named the Port Way, which follows the valley north of the chalk downs, running through Ashbury and Wantage. It is marked on the maps as a Roman road, and probably both roads were in use in Roman times, though the Ridge Way at least is almost certainly of much older date.
The London Road near Sunninghill
The Roman road from Marlborough to Silchester followed much the same line as the modern road from Hungerford to Speen near Newbury, but there does not seem to be any trace of the road from that place to Silchester. The Roman road from Cirencester to Silchester ran by way of Baydon and Wickham, joining the Marlborough road at Speen. There is but little trace of the Roman road from Silchester to Dorchester in Oxfordshire, but the Silchester and London road is fairly well marked, and part of it, as we said in a former chapter, is known as the “Devil’s Highway.”
In the middle ages the roads were exceedingly bad, and even in the seventeenth century they were far from satisfactory. Pepys mentions, in his Diary, June 16th, 1668, that he lost his way driving from Newbury to Reading. This, it will be observed, was in the summer, and one would think on a well-known road.
In the eighteenth century the roads were gradually improved, and towards the end of the century began to be kept in good order for the coaches, which were also rapidly improving.
In the early part of the nineteenth century two mail coach routes ran through Berkshire.
The road from London to Gloucester entered Berkshire at Maidenhead and left the county at Henley. After passing through Oxford it again entered Berkshire, and ran by Cumnor and Fyfield to Faringdon. From that place it ran by Buscot Park and crossed the river Isis at St John’s Bridge near Lechlade.
The London and Bath mail route ran through the county by Maidenhead, Reading, Newbury, and Hungerford.