A23 road
The
A23 road, in its original form, was a major road running between
London to
Brighton,
United Kingdom. Much of the route follows that of the
Roman road laid between
Londinium and
Chichester; from
1717, when the
Turnpike Trust was set up, this was one of the major routes out of London for the
stagecoaches. Today the original A23 has been
bypassed round
Croydon; and by the
M23 motorway for the section of its route between
Coulsdon and
Crawley.
The route
Main roads running from the centre of London are always deemed to start from
Charing Cross, although the A23 itself begins as
Westminster Bridge Road near
Waterloo station. Almost immediately it turns south; the straightness of much of the heading south belies its Roman origins.
The road becomes
*
Kennington Road: 1 mile (1.6km) in length; near Kennington Park it joins the
A3 (
Kennington Park Road), but soon bears south again, becoming in turn over the next five miles (8km):
*
Brixton Road*
Brixton Hill*
Streatham Hill*
Streatham High Road* at
Norbury the continuing road becomes
London Road; after 1.25 miles (2km), at
*
Thornton Heath the
Croydon Bypass,
Thornton Road and then
Purley Way (known for its superstores, particularly
IKEA, and for
Croydon Airport) takes the place of the original road through Croydon, which is now the A235, rejoining the "new" A23 at
Purley (near the
Purley War Memorial Hospital[
1]), now named
Brighton Road.
* continuing south through
Coulsdon [1], over the
North Downs to
Hooley. the start of the M23 motorway
**
here is now Surrey* through the built-up areas of
Merstham;
Redhill,
Salfords and skirting
Horley**
here is now West Sussex* making an end-on connection with the M23 spur for
Gatwick Airport the A23 becomes
dual carriageway as it is diverted round the Airport; it continues as such to Brighton.
*
Crawley Ring Road: the original road was through the town
*
Pease Pottage, the southern junction with the M23
* through relatively rural countryside of
West Sussex the road runs into Brighton over the
South Downs[1] The Coulsdon relief road, planned for completion in
2006, will bypass the town centre of Coulsdon.
Major roads intersected by the route
*
A3 and A202 at Kennington
*
A205 South Circular Road at Streatham Hill
*A214 at Streatham
*
A232 at Waddon
*
M25 close to Junction 7 (no southbound access)
*
A25 at Redhill
*
A264 at
Crawley*
A272 at Bolney
*
A27 Brighton Bypass at Mill Road Roundabout
Great Britain road numbering scheme*
Coulsdon relief road scheme.
*
SABRE page on the A23
