A22 road

Last updated

UK road A22.svg
A22
A22 road map.png
A22 road, near Eastbourne.jpg
A22 near Eastbourne in East Sussex.
Route information
Length48.3 mi [1]  (77.7 km)
Major junctions
South endUK road A2280.svgUK road A2290.svg A2280  / A2290 in Eastbourne
50°47′06″N0°16′26″E / 50.785°N 0.274°E / 50.785; 0.274
Major intersectionsUK road A27.svg A27 near Polegate

UK road A26.svg A26 near Uckfield
UK road A272.svg A272 near Maresfield
UK road A264.svg A264 in East Grinstead

Contents

UK-Motorway-M25.svg M25 in Godstone
North endUK road A23.svgUK road A235.svg A23  / A235 in London (Purley)
51°20′15″N0°07′00″W / 51.3375°N 0.1166°W / 51.3375; -0.1166
Location
Country United Kingdom
Counties East Sussex, West Sussex, Surrey, Greater London
Primary
destinations
Croydon
East Grinstead
Road network

The A22 is one of the two-digit major roads in the south east of England. Radial, it carries traffic from London to the Eastbourne area of the East Sussex coast, in which town it ends.

History

Turnpikes

For part of its route the A22 utilises the turnpikes opened in the 18th century:

By 1820 the road ran for 34 miles (54 km) from Stones End Street, Borough, London to Wych Cross.

Extension to Westminster Bridge

The road was extended north to Westminster Bridge which was later renamed the A23.

Route

The A22 diverges from the A23 south of London at Purley Cross Junction (south of Purley). It runs over the North Downs into Surrey, crossing the M25 London Orbital Motorway just north of Godstone. This section incorporates the Caterham bypass, which opened in 1939 as one of the earliest such roads in the country, including the Wapses Lodge roundabout at the northern end. [2] It then travels along the route of an ancient Roman road.

To the south of the M25, the road briefly enters West Sussex at Felbridge, just to the north of East Grinstead, and the A264 between Crawley and Tunbridge Wells merges with the A22 for a short section. The A22 bypasses East Grinstead town centre, running along a disused railway cutting, part of a line which closed as a consequence of the Beeching Report, which cut large numbers of local rail services. Richard Beeching was a local resident, and as a result, some local residents wanted to call this section the "Beeching Cut". [3] Instead, it was named Beeching Way.

To the south of East Grinstead the A22 crosses into East Sussex, just north of Forest Row. Between Forest Row and Nutley the road crosses the ancient Ashdown Forest. The A22 is the only road through the forest not subject to 40 mph speed limits. The A275 branches south to Lewes at the Wych Cross junction. Both the A272 and the A26 cross the A22 between Nutley and Uckfield. The A26 merges with the A22 for the section round Uckfield. There are bypasses of East Hoathly and Hailsham. There is a junction with the A27, to the north of the end of the A22, in Eastbourne.

Junction list

A22

CountyLocationmi [1] kmDestinationsNotes
East Sussex Eastbourne 0.00.0Lottbridge Drove (A2290 south-east) / Cross Levels Way (A2280 south-west) – Town centre, Hampden Park Southern terminus; north-western terminus of A2290; north-eastern terminus of A2280
PolegateWestham boundary2.13.4UK road A27.svgUK road A259.svg A27 east to A259  Hastings, Bexhill Southern terminus of A27 concurrency
Polegate 3.86.1UK road A27.svg A27 west (Polegate By-Pass) / Hailsham Road (B2247) Brighton, Newhaven, Lewes, Polegate, Alfriston, Willingdon Northern terminus of A27 concurrency
ArlingtonHailsham boundary5.69.0UK road A295.svg A295 north-east (South Road) Hailsham South-western terminus of A295
Hellingly 7.512.1UK road A267.svgUK road A271.svg A267 north / A271 east Heathfield, Bexhill, Horam, Horsebridge Southern terminus of A267; western terminus of A271
Little HorstedUckfield boundary16.025.7UK road A26.svg A26 south-west / Lewes Road Lewes, Brighton, Newhaven Southern terminus of A26 concurrency
MaresfieldUckfield boundary18.930.4UK road A26.svgUK road A272.svg A26 north-east / A272 east Crowborough, Tunbridge Wells, Heathfield, Maresfield, Buxted Northern terminus of A26 concurrency; southern terminus of A272 concurrency
Maresfield 19.631.5UK road A272.svg A272 west / Batts Bridge Road Haywards Heath, Maresfield, Newick Northern terminus of A272 concurrency
Wych Cross 25.741.4UK road A275.svg A275 south (Lewes Road) Lewes, Chelwood Gate, Danehill Northern terminus of A275
West Sussex East Grinstead 31.650.9UK road A264.svg A264 east (Moat Road) Tunbridge Wells Southern terminus of A264 concurrency
Surrey Felbridge 32.852.8UK road A264.svgUK-Motorway-M23.svgAircraft Airport ecomo.svg A264 west (Copthorne Road) to M23  Crawley, Gatwick Airport Northern terminus of A264 concurrency
Godstone 40.965.8UK road A25.svg A25 (Oxted Road) Westerham, Redhill, Oxted, Godstone Godstone signed northbound only
41.7–
41.9
67.1–
67.4
UK-Motorway-M25.svgUK-Motorway-M23.svg M25  / B2235 (Godstone Hill) to M23  Gatwick Airport, Reigate, Sevenoaks, Dartford, Godstone M25 junction 6
Greater London Purley 48.077.2UK road A2022.svg A2022 east (Downs Court Road) Selsdon, Sanderstead Southern terminus of A2022 concurrency
48.377.7UK road A23.svgUK road A235.svgUK-Motorway-M25.svg A23  / A235 north to M25  Brighton, Gatwick Airport, Central London, Croydon, South Croydon Northern terminus; southern terminus of A235
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Eastbourne BN23 6PT, UK to Godstone, United Kingdom to Purley CR8 2HA, UK". Google Maps . Alphabet Inc. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  2. "Wapses Lodge Roundabout – A local history article by Ruth Sear". The Caterham and District Independent. 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  3. http://www.bbc.co.uk/wear/content/articles/2008/10/24/wear_beeching_feature.shtml Beeching Cut