Standedge
Standedge () is a moorland escarpment in the Pennine Hills of northern England between Marsden, West Yorkshire and Diggle, Greater Manchester. Standedge has been a major moorland crossing point since Roman times and possibly earlier. From east to west, Standedge is crossed by five generations of road crossing, the earliest a Roman road from York to Chester and the latest the A62 road. The Huddersfield Narrow Canal and the railway line from Leeds to Manchester pass underground in the Standedge Tunnels. The Pennine Way long-distance footpath passes through Standedge in a north–south direction along the Pennines. Much of  Standedge is in the National Trust's Marsden Moor Estate. Administratively, Standedge is split between Kirklees and Oldham. Surface crossings. The earliest known crossing of Standedge is the Roman road connecting the Roman forts at Slack and Castleshaw, on the way from York to Chester. The road is believed to have been built in AD 80. Its course was identified in 1969 to the north-east of Castleshaw fort, climbing Standedge Ridge by means of a graded terraceway. It was originally more than 22 feet (6.7 m) wide but has been considerably eroded. After the Roman road fell into disuse , travel across the moors was restricted to tracks, used by packhorses. One crossed from Marsden to Rochdale. Narrow and packhorse bridges can be found in several places on the moors, including the "Close Gate Bridge" near Marsden. The first metalled road between Huddersfield to Manchester was built in 1760. It was followed by another road, known locally as "the coach road", built by John Metcalf (Blind Jack of Knaresborough) in 1791. It crossed the Pennine ridge south of the present Standedge cutting. In 1839 the coach road was replaced by a new turnpike road, the "Wakefield and Austerlands Toll Road