Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1906-10-31
A PREHISTORIC ROAD
The OLDEST MEMORIAL or HUMAN
ACTION m ENGLAND.
Slder by Far Than the Romans II
this Ancient ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Highway. which Counts Its Age by
Thousands OF Years

this Ancient wfnchester-Canter
Highway. which Counts Its Age by
Thousands OF Years.
There runs from Winchester To Can
terbury "A prehistoric track which is
probably the oldest memorial OF mems
action I'm England. II Is certainly old
or than the Romans-that is. Il is GER
tainly 1000 years cd. and how much
older IL may be than that we have no
way OF telling. but we do know that
Winchester and Canterbury must have.
been the two great centers OF the ma
tiOnal life In the old barbarian times
before the Romans came, and we may
therefore suppose without too much
temerity that this road Is almost CO.
eval with the existence OF organized
human life in Great Britain
Two years ago I explored this road
thoroughly. The whole distance Is
about 100 miles. and Of that one may
say that antiQuarians had discovered.
before my friends and I understood its
thorough exploration. about three-quar.
tiers. or the remaining quarter some
part was doubtful and the rest I'm.
known, but this unknown part did not
make one continuous stretch. 1t was
pieced in. as IL were. along the length
OF the way, a bit here and n bit there.
Thus one would have ten or fifteen
miles along which the old British road
correspondent with the modern high.
way; then would come perhaps two
miles OF doubtful lane. the history OF
vi fei. -.
noted before one could be certain that
IL was really part Of the old road; then
after that would come. say. half n mile
OF pure waste heath or marsh or for.
est in which nothing but n most care
ful examination. the records Of old
maps. the evidence Of place names. and
so forth. helped one TO Identify the
track ~ the British way: then the
highway would appear again. colncid-
ing with the old trail. and so forth.
long known or obvious bits coming in
between short doubtful or unknown
bits. until after infinite pains we built
up the whole OF the original track with
the doubtful exception OF n few hun.
dred yards
1t may Interest my readers TO know
what causes chiefly preserved this
road and what have tended To its oblit.
Grafton
The causes which preserved IL were
three. In the first place. IL ran for the
main part along the chalk hills which
are known rs the North downs. Just
above the level OF cultivation. and
chalk Is an excellent preventative FOR
road OF this kind. IL takes the I'm.
preston OF passing traffic. the weight
of which makes sort OF platform
along the hillside. II Is not easy TO
cultivate. and people do not build upon
Its heights. Moreover chalk does not
wash away. SO that such n road. once
formed. would remain for centuries.
The second cause which preserved
the road was the system Of turnpike
which was introduced. I think. about
200 years ago and lasted until our own
time. Men naturally tried 10 avoid the
turnpike II they were on horseback or
II they were drovers. and they would
turn OF the good turnpike roads OF the
valley. where they had TO pay AT every
gate. and 90 along the old free road
above the hills
And, thirdly, the pilgrimage TO the
tomb OF st. Thomas at Canterbury.
which sprang up about 200 years ago,
powerfully helped the survival OF the
road. Winchester was beginning 10
fall into decay when this pilgrimage
arose, and Canterbury was no longer
a very important town. but when thou
sands OF men had occasion to 40 from
the west OF England 10 Canterbury on
a pilgrimage Winchester became the
natural meeting place. and the road
from Winchester to Canterbury once
again grew In Importance. Churches
and villages sprang up along II. tradl-
lions and legends began to cling to IL.
and one way and another the memory
OF il was saved for history and for
ourselves.
l have said that there were many
places where the road was almost or
entirely lost. The main cause Of this
was cultivation. AS the population
grew denSer il became necessary to
pillow up the poorer land high up on
the hillside, and rs these old roads
were not metaled In any way the
moment their surface was plowed up
no trace OF the road could possibly re-
main. Another cause was the forma-
ton Of the great parks which rich men
began 10 inclose and 10 wall around
about 100 years ago and later. If a
rich man took fancy TO n bit OF
ground which used TO be common and
through which the old road went he
would put wall round 1t and turn it
into a park and divert the right of
way by n special act of parliament
round his new property. There are
examples of this all along the old road
AS, for instance. at Lord Stanhope's
park at Chevening. at the Leveson-
Covers place at Titsey. at Lord Ger
ards park at Eastwell and many other
places.
The old road would also be lost over
marshy ground, and now and then.
but very rarely. modern buildings
would appear on it. and then. of
course. IL was impossible to track it
out unless one could get record Of
what the ground was like before the
buildings We're erected.-LondOn Black
and White.
Golden silence.
Mother-Noure very fond of your
dolly. aren't you. dear?