The A23 road, in its original form, was a major road running between London to Brighton, England. 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 Houses of Parliament and the clock tower containing Big Ben Part of the London skyline viewed from the South Bank London (see Wiktionary:London for the name in other languages) is the capital of the United Kingdom and England. ... Brighton on the southern Sussex coast is one of the largest and most famous seaside resorts in England. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the British Isles Languages English (de facto) Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st... The Roman Forum was the central area around which ancient Rome developed. ... Londinium may refer to: An ancient Roman name for London (see History of London) Londinium (movie) A song by Catatonia A fictional planet in the TV show Firefly, (see moons and planets in Firefly) Londinivm, a free MMORPG. Londinium (album), an album by the band Archive This is a disambiguation... Chichester is a small city in the south of England, in the county of West Sussex, with a population of about 25,000. ... // Events January 4 — The Netherlands, Britain & France sign Triple Alliance February 26-March 6 What is now the northeastern United States was paralyzed by a series of blizzards that buried the region. ... A high-speed toll booth on SR 417 near Orlando, Florida A toll gate on the Sayama bypass (Saitama prefectural road 397) in Japan A toll gate on the Dom Pedro I Highway near the city of Itatiba, Brazil A toll road, turnpike or tollpike is a road on which... Buffalo soldiers guard a Concord style stagecoach somewhere in the American West, ca. ... Bypass may refer to: bypass (road) - a road or highway that bypasses a built-up area. ... Croydon is a major suburban town and commercial centre situated 9. ... The M23 motorway is a major road in England. ... Grid reference: TQ298596 Coulsdon is a place in the London Borough of Croydon on the Brighton Road (A23). ... Map sources for Crawley at grid reference TQ2736 Crawley is a town and local government district in West Sussex, England. ...

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 Victorian Eleanor Cross at Charing Cross The name Charing Cross, now given to a district of central London in the City of Westminster, comes from the original hamlet of Charing, where King Edward I placed a memorial to his wife, Eleanor of Castile. ... A 1948 poster showing the main concourse. ...

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.

A3 can refer to: A3, a paper size defined by ISO 216. ... Brixton Hill is the name given to a 1km section of road between Brixton and Streatham, which forms part of the traditional main route south (A23)from London and Brighton. ... Streatham High Road is part of the main A23 road from London to Brighton and passes through the centre of Streatham, creating what is locally believed to be the longest high street in the whole of the United Kingdom. ... Norbury is a place in the London Borough of Croydon, on the border with the London Borough of Lambeth and the London Borough of Merton. ... Thornton Heath is a place in the London Borough of Croydon. ... Croydon is a major suburban town and commercial centre situated 9. ... Purley Way is a section of the A23 trunk road in Croydon, London and has given its name to the out-of-town shopping area alongside it with a catchment area covering most of South London. ... IKEA is a Swedish home furnishings retailer. ... The control tower of Croydon Airport in 1939, with the BOAC de Havilland DH 91 Albatross Fortuna alongside Croydon Airport was an airport in South London which straddled the boundary of what are now the London Borough of Croydon and the London Borough of Sutton. ... Purley is the name of more than one place. ... Brighton Road is a major road running through Croydon, southwest London, England. ... Grid reference: TQ298596 Coulsdon is a place in the London Borough of Croydon on the Brighton Road (A23). ... The North Downs in England are a ridge of chalk hills that stretch about 100 mi (160 km) from Hampshire through Surrey and Kent. ... Grid reference: TQ287564 Hooley is a small village in the Borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England. ... Surrey is a county in southern England, part of the South East England region and one of the Home Counties. ... Merstham is a village in the Reigate and Banstead borough of Surrey, England and is part of the London commuter belt. ... Redhill is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead, Surrey, England and is part of the London commuter belt. ... Salfords is a village in the Borough of Reigate and Banstead, Surrey, UK. It lies approximately 3 miles south of Redhill on the A23 London to Brighton road. ... Horley is a town on the border between Surrey, UK, and West Sussex, UK. It is situated between Reigate, Redhill and Gatwick. ... West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex (with Brighton and Hove), Hampshire and Surrey. ... Gatwick Airport (IATA Airport Code: LGW, ICAO Airport Code: EGKK) is Londons second airport and the second largest airport in the UK after Heathrow. ... This early German Autobahn uses a dual carriageway design. ... Map sources for Crawley at grid reference TQ2736 Crawley is a town and local government district in West Sussex, England. ... A beltway (American English), ring road or orbital motorway (British English) is a circumferential highway found around or within many cities. ... Pease Pottage is a small village just outside Crawley, in West Sussex. ... West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex (with Brighton and Hove), Hampshire and Surrey. ... Near Beachy Head The South Downs is one of the two areas of chalk downland in southern England. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

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

The A3 near Liphook The A3 is a trunk road in Southern England, connecting London to Portsmouth. ... The A205 or South Circular Road is a roughly semicircular trunk road that joins west London to east London via south London. ... The A232 is a road in South London, England, which connects the the A24 in Ewell with the Orpington bypass. ... The M25 motorway looking south between junctions 14 and 15, near Heathrow Airport. ... The A25 is a major road in England, after which the M25 motorway is numbered. ... The A272 is a British road which runs from Winchester in the west to Poundford in the east. ... The A27 near Southwick The A27 is a major road in England. ...

See also

Great Britain road numbering scheme Great Britain has many ancient roads and trackways dating back not only to the Roman occupation of southern Britain but to much earlier times, including the oldest engineered road to be discovered anywhere in the world: the Sweet Track dating from the 3800s BC. With the advent of the motor...

External links

• Coulsdon relief road scheme.