A442 road

A442
A442
	The A442 passing through Telford as Queensway.
Route information
Length	56.2 mi (90.4 km)
Major junctions
South end	Droitwich
	A38; A449; A451; A448; A456; A458; A53
North end	Hodnet
Location
Country	United Kingdom
Primary; destinations	Kidderminster; Bridgnorth; Telford
Road network
	Roads in the United Kingdom; Motorways; A and B road zones;

The A442 is a main road which passes through the counties of Worcestershire and Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England.

Route

From Droitwich in Worcestershire it runs towards Kidderminster where it meets the A449 from Worcester. This section of road used to be the B4192 until the late 1970s when it was upgraded to A road status.

At Kidderminster, it starts again and then runs north-north-west into Shropshire, via Bridgnorth and Telford (where it crosses the M54 motorway). Through Telford it is known as Queensway, and the Eastern Primary (EP). It ends where it meets the A53 just outside the village of Hodnet. Before the A53 bypass around the village was built, the A442 continued through Hodnet and joined the A41 near Darliston, south of Whitchurch. This section of road however has now been downgraded: most of it is declassified, but part has been reclassified as part of B5065.

History

From Droitwich to Low Hill (south of Kidderminster) the road is probably ancient, as it is referred to in the Saxon charter for Whitlinge (in Hartlebury) dated AD 980 as a stræte.^[1] This road was maintained by a Droitwich turnpike trust established in 1755.^[2]

North of Kidderminster it was a 'way' in the Saxon bounds^{[clarification needed]} of Wolverley before being joined by the great street at Shatterford. At Shatterford, the Prior of Worcester was authorised to assart (i.e. to clear) 100 acres (0.40 km²) of wood and heath "for the greater security of persons going through the said pass". From Shatterford the old course of the road goes through Romsley and Allum Bridge, to rejoin the present road at Quatt. The old survives as lane and tracks. The present road began life as a new turnpike built in the late 1820s by the Kidderminster turnpike trust, which had been responsible for the road as far as Quatford since 1760. Bridgnorth only became the northern end of the road in 1821.^[3]^[4] The trust remained responsible for the road until 1873.^[5]

North of Bridgnorth, the road formed part of the Stafford and Newport turnpikes. The Trust was established in 1763,^[6] becoming their third district, when their Act was renewed in 1783. Beyond Sutton Cross in Sutton Maddock the turnpike continued through Shifnal to Woodcote, where it joined another turnpike (now the A41 road).^[7] This continuation is now classified as the B4379 and the A4169 road.

The stretch immediately beyond Sutton Cross was part of the Madeley turnpike district, going to the Bucks Head on Watling Street. This was turnpiked in 1764, continuing southeast to the New Inn on Rudge Heath, but that stretch of road was evidently not improved until the 1960s, when it was upgraded to become the B4176. The northern terminus was altered in 1827 when the road from Balls Hill in Dawley to Bucks Head was discontinued in favour of an alternative route to Watling Street.^[8]^[9]^[10] The course of the road was altered again when a new major road was built to take traffic through the built-up area of Telford New Town in the 1970s. Some of the old routes have completely disappeared.

The next section of the old route is from Watling Street to the smithy at Crudgington. The first part of this is now the A5223 road, but the new course of A442 then rejoins the old one. This was turnpiked in 1725 with the Shrewsbury to Crackley Bank section of Watling Street.^[11]^[12]

Further sections of the road are also former turnpikes.

References

^ King 2006, pp. 90–91.
^ Durham and Tyne Bridge Road Act 1753 (26 Geo. 2. c. 48)
^ King 2006, pp. 95–98.
^ Statutes 33 Geo. 2. c. 50 and 1 & 2 Geo. 4. c. 91.
^ Trinder 1996, p. 255.
^ Statute 3 Geo. 3. c. 59.
^ Statute 6 Geo. 4. c. 8.
^ King 2006, p. 90.
^ Trinder 1996, p. 256.
^ Salop Roads (No. 2) Act 1764 (4 Geo. 3. c. 81) and Statute 7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 15.
^ Trinder 1996, p. 252.
^ Shropshire Roads Act 1725 (12 Geo. 1. c. 9)

Bibliography

King, Peter W. (2006). "Some Roads out of North Worcestershire". Transactions of Worcestershire Archaeological Society. 3rd. 20: 87–102.
Trinder, B. (1996). Industrial Archaeology of Shropshire.

52°35′11″N 2°23′50″W / 52.58636°N 2.39726°W / 52.58636; -2.39726

[FOOTNOTEKing200690–91-1] King 2006, pp. 90–91.

[2] Durham and Tyne Bridge Road Act 1753 (26 Geo. 2. c. 48)

[FOOTNOTEKing200695–98-3] King 2006, pp. 95–98.

[4] Statutes 33 Geo. 2. c. 50 and 1 & 2 Geo. 4. c. 91.

[FOOTNOTETrinder1996255-5] Trinder 1996, p. 255.

[6] Statute 3 Geo. 3. c. 59.

[7] Statute 6 Geo. 4. c. 8.

[FOOTNOTEKing200690-8] King 2006, p. 90.

[FOOTNOTETrinder1996256-9] Trinder 1996, p. 256.

[10] Salop Roads (No. 2) Act 1764 (4 Geo. 3. c. 81) and Statute 7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 15.

[FOOTNOTETrinder1996252-11] Trinder 1996, p. 252.

[12] Shropshire Roads Act 1725 (12 Geo. 1. c. 9)

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v t e A roads in Zone 4 of the Great Britain road numbering scheme
	A4 A40 A41 A42 A43 A44 A45 A46 A47 A48 A49
	A400 A403 A404 A405 A406 A412 A413 A414 A415 A417 A418 A419 A420 A421 A422 A423 A426 A427 A428 A429 A431 A432 A433 A441 A442 A444 A445 A446 A448 A449 A452 A453 A454 A456 A458 A461 A465 A466 A468 A469 A470 A473 A474 A475 A476 A477 A478 A479 A482 A483 A485 A486 A487 A489 A490 A491 A493 A494 A496 A498 A499
	A4005 A4006 A4008 A4010 A4018 A4032 A4042 A4050 A4053 A4054 A4055 A4059 A4060 A4061 A4063 A4069 A4074 A4076 A4080 A4085 A4086 A4103 A4107 A4109 A4110 A4113 A4117 A4118 A4119 A4123 A4130 A4133 A4135 A4136 A4138 A4142 A4144 A4146 A4148 A4150 A4155 A4160 A4161 A4174 A4200 A4202 A4204 A4214 A4216 A4221 A4226 A4230 A4232 A4234 A4240 A4241 A4260 A4361 A4400 A4536 A4540
List of A roads in Zone 4 List of B roads in Zone 4