Nevertheless, Stane Street continued to be an important trade route until at least the early fourth century, and goods transported along the road included pottery from Rowlands Castle.

The extent to which the Anglo-Saxons used and maintained the route reflects the changes in government and economic activity which took place after the end of Roman rule in Britain. Although Londinium had been abandoned as a city by the fifth century, the sphere of influence of its successor, Lundenwick, was sufficiently large to ensure the retention of the stretch of road between Ewell and Southwark. The emergence of Sussex as a political entity, decreased the importance of the north-south roads leading across the Weald to the former Roman capital and so much of the rest of Stane Street was abandoned. The route between Alfoldean and Pulborough, which connects Billingshurst with two crossing points of the River Arun (and is followed by the A29 today), was probably maintained as a local link. Similarly, the stretch of road to the east of Chichester was a useful route to ascend onto the South Downs (and is followed by the A285 today).

Historiography

Although knowledge of Stane Street appears to have continued from Anglo-Saxon times into the early modern period and beyond (as evidenced by a reference in Britannia by William Camden, first published in 1586), no systematic studies of the route were carried out until the early 20th century. The writer Hilaire Belloc published The Stane Street: A monograph in 1913, in which he attempted to reconstruct the entirety of the route. Since Belloc was not a trained surveyor, his work on the route to the north of Dorking contained significant inaccuracies, which W. A. Grant (a former captain in the Royal Engineers) attempted to address in his critical review, published in 1922. Excavations carried out by the amateur archaeologist S. E. Winbolt, detailed in his book With a spade on Stane Street, first published in 1936, made a significant contribution to our current understanding and formed the basis of the relevant chapter in Ivan Margary's book Roman Ways in the Weald, published in 1948. Margary number 15 is assigned to the road. of Stane Street, including the mansiones at Alfoldean

Notes

References

Bibliography

See also

  • Roman Britain
  • Roman roads in Britain
  • Chichester to Sidlesham Way