A23 | ||||
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Route information | ||||
Length | 51.2 mi [1] (82.4 km) | |||
Major junctions | ||||
South end | A259 in Brighton 50°49′48″N0°08′17″W / 50.830°N 0.138°W | |||
A27 in Brighton A272 in Bolney Contents
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North end | A3 in London (Waterloo) 51°29′53″N0°06′43″W / 51.498°N 0.112°W | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United Kingdom | |||
Counties | East Sussex, West Sussex, Surrey, Greater London | |||
Primary destinations | Croydon Redhill Reigate Gatwick Airport Crawley | |||
Road network | ||||
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The A23 road is a major road in the United Kingdom between London and Brighton, East Sussex, England. It is managed by Transport for London for the section inside the Greater London boundary, Surrey County Council and West Sussex County Council for the section shadowed by the M23 motorway, National Highways (as a trunk road) between the M23 and Patcham, and by Brighton and Hove Council from the A27 to the centre of Brighton.
The road has been a major route for centuries, and seen numerous upgrades, bypasses and diversions.
The A23 begins near Lambeth North tube station. Formerly, it started as Westminster Bridge Road near Waterloo station, but this is now part of the A302. Almost immediately it turns south; the straightness of much of the heading south shows its Roman origins.
The road becomes:
What is now the A23 became an arterial route following the construction of Westminster Bridge in 1750 and the consequent improvement of roads leading to the bridge south of the river by the turnpike trusts. The increase in population of Brighton in the late eighteenth century, which transformed it from a small fishing village to a large seaside resort, enhanced the importance of this road, as did the residence there of George IV, as Prince of Wales, who made Brighton a place of fashion.
When roads were originally classified, the A23 started at Purley Cross. [3] The road north of this section, including Purley Way, which opened to traffic in April 1925, [4] was part of the A22. The current route north to Westminster Bridge dates from April 1935. [5]
The A23 in London has frequently been one of the city's most congested roads. [6] [7] The M23 motorway was originally proposed to run as far north as Streatham, relieving congestion on the route, but the section north of Hooley was never built. At junction 7 of the M23 motorway, signs for the northbound M23 (which terminates a few miles to the north) simply read "Croydon" with no other London destinations marked.
In July 2000, control of the section of road inside the Greater London boundary was transferred from the Highways Agency to Transport for London. [8] This caused delays to a planned relief road of Coulsdon, which had been announced in 1998. The then mayor, Ken Livingstone apologised in 2002 that TfL was unable to construct the relief road due to a lack of funds. [9] The road was eventually completed in 2007, and which under TfL's ownership had acquired a bus lane that suffered ridicule for not having any buses actually running on it. [10]
On 18 March 2010, plans to widen the section between Handcross and Warninglid in West Sussex to three lanes, removing an accident prone bend, were given the go ahead. Work started in autumn 2011 [11] [12] and the scheme was completed and opened in October 2014, with a better-than-expected improvement to safety. [13]
The 53-mile (85 km) road from London to Brighton forms the basis of the route of the annual London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. This is featured in the film Genevieve':, although most of the rural motoring scenes were shot in Buckinghamshire. The A23 is also used for various other London to Brighton events, although in many cases part of the route diverges to parallel roads to reduce congestion or add variety.
County | Location | mi [1] | km | Destinations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
East Sussex | Brighton | 0.0 | 0.0 | A259 (Marine Parade / Grand Junction Road) / Maderia Drive – Rottingdean | Southern terminus |
0.7 | 1.1 | Lewes Road (A270 east) to A27 – Lewes | Western terminus of A270 | ||
0.8 | 1.3 | A270 west (Fleet Street) – Hove | Information signed northbound only; northern terminus of A270 concurrency | ||
1.1 | 1.8 | A270 west (Old Shoreham Road) – Hove | |||
3.8– 4.2 | 6.1– 6.8 | A27 – Worthing, Lewes | |||
West Sussex | Pyecombe | 5.5 | 8.9 | Begin freeway | |
5.5– 6.3 | 8.9– 10.1 | A273 north to A281 – Hassocks, Pyecombe, Henfield, Newtimber | To A281, Henfield, and Newtimber signed southbound only; southern terminus of A273 | ||
6.7 | 10.8 | A281 north-west – Henfield | No southbound exit; south-eastern terminus of A281 | ||
Newtimber | 7.1– 7.3 | 11.4– 11.7 | Private access | ||
7.6 | 12.2 | Private access | Southbound exit and entrance only | ||
Newtimber–Hurstpierpoint and Sayers Common boundary | 8.0– 8.2 | 12.9– 13.2 | B2117 to B2118 – Hurstpierpoint, Albourne, Sayers Common, Hickstead | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | |
Hurstpierpoint and Sayers Common | 10.8 | 17.4 | B2118 – Hurstpierpoint, Albourne, Henfield, Sayers Common | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | |
Twineham–Bolney boundary | 11.3– 12.3 | 18.2– 19.8 | A2300 east – Burgess Hill, Goddards Green, Twineham, Hickstead Village | Goddards Green signed northbound only; western terminus of A2300 | |
Bolney | 12.7– 13.2 | 20.4– 21.2 | A272 to A2300 – Petersfield, Haywards Heath, Cuckfield, Burgess Hill, Bolney, Ansty, Cowfold | To A2300, Cuckfield, Burgess Hill, and Bolney signed northbound only | |
14.0 | 22.5 | Bolney | Southbound exit only | ||
14.1– 14.8 | 22.7– 23.8 | Services | Northbound exit and entrance | ||
Ansty and Staplefield | 15.1– 15.4 | 24.3– 24.8 | B2115 to B2114 – Warninglid, Slaugham, Cuckfield, Staplefield | ||
Slaugham | 17.2– 17.5 | 27.7– 28.2 | B2110 – Handcross, Lower Beeding | No southbound exit | |
18.9 | 30.4 | B2114 to B2110 – Handcross | Southbound exit only | ||
Crawley | 19.7– 20.0 | 31.7– 32.2 | M23 north / A264 / B2114 to M25 – Horsham, Broadfield, Pease Pottage, London | To M25, London, Gatwick, and East Grinstead signed southbound only; southern terminus of M23 | |
20.0 | 32.2 | End freeway | |||
20.9 | 33.6 | A2004 north-east (Southgate Avenue) – Town centre, Southgate, Tilgate | South-western terminus of A2004 | ||
21.5 | 34.6 | A2220 (Horsham Road) to A264 – Town centre, Horsham, Southgate, West Green, Broadfield, Bewbush, Faygate | |||
23.4 | 37.7 | A2011 east / A2219 south / Langley Drive to A264 / M23 – Town centre, East Grinstead, London, Langley Green, Northgate, Pound Hill, Three Bridges | Western terminus of A2011; northern terminus of A2219 | ||
26.8 | 43.1 | M23 – East Grinstead | Southbound exit only | ||
26.9– 27.1 | 43.3– 43.6 | Gatwick Airport to M23 | Northbound exit and entrance | ||
Surrey | Charlwood | 27.4 | 44.1 | A217 north / Povey Cross Road – London, Reigate, Charlwood | Southern terminus of A217 |
Salfords and Sidlow | 30.5 | 49.1 | A2044 north-west (Woodhatch Road) to A217 – Woodhatch, Reigate | Information signed northbound only; south-eastern terminus of A2044 | |
Redhill | 32.6– 33.0 | 52.5– 53.1 | A25 west – Reigate | Part of A25 concurrency | |
32.8 | 52.8 | A25 east (Station Road) – Godstone | Part of A25 concurrency | ||
33.8 | 54.4 | A242 south-west (Gatton Park Road) to A25 – Reigate, Dorking | North-eastern terminus of A242 | ||
Reigate and Banstead | 36.1 | 58.1 | M23 south to M25 – Gatwick Airport, Brighton, Heathrow Airport, Dartford | Southbound exit and northbound entrance; northern terminus of M23 | |
Greater London | Croydon | 38.3 | 61.6 | A237 north (Brighton Road) to B2030 – Sutton, Coulsdon, Old Coulsdon, Caterham | Only A237 and Coulsdon signed southbound; southern terminus of A237 |
38.9 | 62.6 | Caterham, Old Coulsdon | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
40.5 | 65.2 | A22 south (Godstone Road) / A235 north (Brighton Road) / A2022 east – East Grinstead, Kenley, Sanderstead, South Croydon | Direct access to A235 and South Croydon northbound only; southern terminus of A2022 concurrency; northern terminus of A22; southern terminus of A235 | ||
40.6 | 65.3 | A2022 west (Foxley Lane) – Banstead, Woodcote | Northbound access only; northern terminus of A2022 concurrency | ||
42.5– 42.7 | 68.4– 68.7 | A232 east / B271 (Stafford Road) / B275 (Denning Avenue) – Croydon, Wallington, South Croydon | A232 and Croydon signed northbound only; southern terminus of A232 concurrency | ||
42.7 | 68.7 | A232 west (Croydon Road) – Sutton, Wallington | Information signed northbound only; northern terminus of A232 concurrency | ||
44.0 | 70.8 | A236 (Mitcham Road) / Canterbury Road – Croydon, Wimbledon, Mitcham | |||
44.7 | 71.9 | A235 south (London Road) to B266 – Croydon, Selhurst, Thornton Heath | Northern terminus of A235 | ||
Lambeth | 46.9 | 75.5 | A214 east (Streatham Common North) – Crystal Palace, Norwood | Southern terminus of A214 concurrency | |
47.2 | 76.0 | A214 west / B242 south-west – Clapham Junction, Wimbledon, Tooting, Balham | Northern terminus of A214; information signed northbound only | ||
47.3 | 76.1 | A216 south-west to A214 – Mitcham, Wimbledon, Sutton | Information signed southbound only; north-eastern terminus of A216 | ||
48.5 | 78.1 | A205 (South Circular) / A24 / A3 / A21 / A20 / A2 – Clapham Junction, Lewisham, Bromley, Tulse Hill | |||
49.5– 49.7 | 79.7– 80.0 | A204 south (Effra Road) – Herne Hill | No access from A23 north to A204 south; northern terminus of A204 | ||
49.7 | 80.0 | A2217 (Acre Lane / Coldharbour Lane) – Camberwell Green | No access from A23 south to A2217 | ||
49.9 | 80.3 | A203 north-west – West End of London, Vauxhall, Stockwell | No access from A23 south to A203; south-eastern terminus of A203 | ||
51.1 | 82.2 | A202 west – West End of London A202 east to A2 / A20 – Peckham, Camberwell Green | No access from A23 north to A202 east, or from A23 south to A202 west | ||
51.2 | 82.4 | A3 north – City of London | Northern terminus; no access from A23 north to A3 south | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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Coulsdon is a town in south London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon. Coulsdon was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey that included the settlements of Purley and Kenley. It was merged with Sanderstead in 1915 to form the Coulsdon and Purley Urban District and has formed part of Greater London since 1965.
Purley is an area of the London Borough of Croydon in London, England, 11.7 miles (18.8 km) south of Charing Cross, with a history going back at least 800 years. It was originally granted as an estate from holdings at Sanderstead and until as a district of Surrey and then, with neighbouring Coulsdon, as an urban district that became an electoral ward of the London Borough of Croydon, becoming part of the ceremonial county of London, in 1965. In 2018 the Purley ward was divided into two: Purley and Woodcote, and Purley Oaks and Riddlesdown.
Reigate and Banstead is a local government district with borough status in Surrey, England. Its council is based in Reigate and the borough also includes the towns of Banstead, Horley and Redhill. Parts of the borough are within the Surrey Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Northern parts of the borough, including Banstead, lie inside the M25 motorway which encircles London.
The M23 is a motorway in the United Kingdom, running from the south of Hooley in Surrey, where it splits from the A23, to Pease Pottage, south of Crawley in West Sussex where it rejoins the A23. The northern end of the motorway starts on what is effectively a 2-mile (3.2 km) spur north of junction 7 of the M25 motorway. From Hooley it runs for 17 miles (27 km) past Redhill, Gatwick Airport and Crawley. A spur runs from junction 9 to Gatwick Airport.
Pease Pottage is a village in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. It lies on the southern edge of the Crawley built-up area, in the civil parish of Slaugham.
Brixton Hill is the name given to a two-thirds of a mile (1 km) section of road between Brixton and Streatham Hill in south London, England.
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.
The A27 is a major road in England. It runs from its junction with the A36 at Whiteparish in the county of Wiltshire, follows the south coast of Hampshire and West Sussex, and terminates at Pevensey in East Sussex.
Purley railway station is in the London Borough of Croydon on the Brighton Main Line, 13 miles 29 chains (21.50 km) measured from London Bridge, in Travelcard Zone 6. It is a junction, with branches to Caterham and Tattenham Corner.
The Brighton Main Line is a railway line in southern England linking London to Brighton. It starts at two termini in the capital, London Victoria and London Bridge, and the branches from each meet at East Croydon, from where the route continues southwards via Gatwick Airport to the coast. The line serves the suburbs of South London, as well as the towns of Redhill, Horley, Crawley, Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill.
Coulsdon North is a closed railway station that served Coulsdon, Croydon, England, on the Brighton Main Line.
Hooley is a village in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England. Within its small grid of streets is the 13th-century church of Chipstead which has been, since time immemorial, its ecclesiastical parish. Hooley is connected via paths and the A23 road to the larger community of Coulsdon, to the north, in the London Borough of Croydon.
The London Ringways were a series of four ring roads planned in the 1960s to circle London at various distances from the city centre. They were part of a comprehensive scheme developed by the Greater London Council (GLC) to alleviate traffic congestion on the city's road system by providing high-speed motorway-standard roads within the capital, linking a series of radial roads taking traffic into and out of the city.
South Cross Route (SCR) was the designation for the southern section of Ringway 1, the innermost circuit of the London Ringways network, a complex and comprehensive plan for a network of high speed roads circling and radiating out from central London designed to manage and control the flow of traffic within the capital.
The A264 is an east–west road in southern England that runs from Pembury in west Kent to Five Oaks in West Sussex.
London Buses route 109 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Croydon and Brixton station, it is operated by Transport UK London Bus.
Handcross is a village in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. It lies on the A23 road 4.2 miles south of Crawley. At the 2011 Census the population fell within the civil parish of Slaugham.
Netherne-on-the-Hill is a village in Surrey, England, occupying a plateau once home to Netherne Hospital. The village is across a narrow valley from Hooley in north of the borough of Reigate and Banstead; through the valley runs the Hooley Tunnel cutting and A23, the only road from which the village can be accessed, from two designated side roads; a few metres south of the southern T-junction, the road divides into two grades: the A23 to Redhill, 3 miles (4.8 km) south, and the M23 motorway which has a junction with the M25 motorway within Merstham's boundaries, the former village of the hilltop land. The post town, Coulsdon in Greater London is centred 1.8 miles (2.9 km) due north.
The London to Brighton Way, also called the London to Portslade Way, is a Roman road between Stane Street at Kennington Park and Brighton in Sussex. The road passes through Streatham and Croydon, then through the Caterham Valley gap in the North Downs. It passes through Godstone and Felbridge, then follows an almost straight line through Ardingly, Haywards Heath, Burgess Hill and Hassocks to the South Downs at Clayton. At Hassocks it crosses the Sussex Greensand Way at a large Roman cemetery. It climbs the South Downs escarpment, crossing the ridgeway and connecting with other local tracks. South of Pyecombe the route is uncertain, and may have continued to Brighton or to Portslade.
St Mary's Church is an Anglican church in the village of Slaugham in Mid Sussex, one of seven local government districts in the English county of West Sussex. The 12th- and 13th-century church, restored in the Victorian era, serves a large rural area of the Sussex Weald, covering three villages as well as the ancient settlement of Slaugham. It also controlled the church in the market town of Crawley—now one of the area's largest towns—for the first few centuries of its existence. A locally important family built a private chapel in the church in the 17th century, and a series of memorials to deceased family members are considered to be excellent examples of their type. English Heritage has listed the building at Grade II* for its architectural and historical importance.
That monitoring exercise was carried out in the very heart of Streatham, at St. Leonard's junction, on the A23 London to Brighton road, one of London's busiest and most congested thoroughfares