Welcome to the history of the old roads and ways of west Leicestershire and south Derbyshire. The site is being built at the moment but over the coming months it is hoped that it will provide the most comprehensive history of these roads up to the coming of the turnpikes.
In the meantime if you wish to view my previous historical research - The History of the Mease Valley up to 1300 AD then please do so. In time it is hoped that the two sites can be merged - this is some way in the future.
Old Roads and Ways of west Leicestershire and south Derbyshire – what does this mean?
There are three elements to address when answering this question. The first element is old. The cut off point for the research project is 1760. Anything before this date falls into the remit of the project. 1760 was chosen because it makes the high point of turnpike construction which significantly altered the road transport system in England.
The second element to address is what does Roads and Ways mean? A road is a means of communication between two points. The most simple road is between two settlements. As society became more complex then roads started to reach beyond neighbouring settlements to provide recognised routes that travellers could take to get to points beyond their local communities. These are the roads that the research project is aimed at. A way is just another name for a road and they are interchangeable for example a salt road may also be called a salt way.
The third element is the geographical area that the research is interested in – just what is meant by west Leicestershire and south Derbyshire? All research needs to have boundaries and they are usually artificial in some sense or another. This project is no exception. The general boundaries are:
- The River Trent and Tame in the west;
- The River Anker in the south;
- The Fen Lane from the River Anker until it reaches the boundaries of the old Leicester forest;
- The parishes of Enderby, Whetstone and Blaby to the east
- The old A50 route from Leicester to Coalville;
- A conjectural line from Coalville to Breedon on the Hill and then back to the River Trent.
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With this geographical area there are thousands of kilometres of roads that may well fit the description of a road or way. However, there are in fact, only a small, but important, number of roads that fit the description. They are:
- The Salt Way;
- The Sweptsone Way;
- The Ashby – Leicester Road;
- The Roman Roads;
- The Coal Roads and
- The Derby to Coventry Road.
For each of these old roads the research project is trying to establish:
- A defined route;
- A chronology;
- What types of traffic/goods were transported along the roads;
- What significant events took place along the routes.
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