Before the building of the Straight, a few houses were to be seen in this area. An osiary lay at the city side, and this consisted of a swamp where willow trees grew. An expanse of green could be seen as fields stretched for miles around. The tradition that the road was a "Famine Road" may be partly true. Even though the Straight itself was built by 1842, the section as far as Leemount Cross (including Leemount Bridge) may not have been completed until during the famine (1845–50).