The A307 runs from Kingston upon Thames to Cobham, via Surbiton, Long Ditton, Thames Ditton, and Esher. At nearly every point along this route, it is named the Portsmouth Road. At Cobham, the A307 joins the A3, which is generally also known as the Portsmouth Road. Kingston upon Thames, part of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, is an ancient market town where Saxon kings were crowned, and is now a lively suburb of London. ... There are several towns and villages called Cobham, mostly in England. ... Surbiton is a suburban area of London situated in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. ... Ditton was a Saxon settlement in England which, by domesday, was already splitting between the riverside parish at Thames Ditton, and the older area which now forms Long Ditton. ... Thames Ditton is a town in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey. ... Esher is a town in the Surrey borough of Elmbridge in South East England near the River Mole. ... The A3 near Liphook The A3 is a trunk road in Southern England, connecting London to Portsmouth. ...

The A307 Portsmouth Road running through Thames Ditton

History

The A307 follows the route of the old Portsmouth Road. Since the invention of the motorway, the Portsmouth Road has been diverted away from towns and instead routed through countryside. The A3 is a trunk road in Southern England, connecting London to Portsmouth. ...

Robert Clive was one of the first to divert the Portsmouth Road. (He believed it ran too close to his house at Claremont.) Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive of Plassey (September 29, 1725 - November 22, 1774) was the statesman and general who established the empire of British India. ... Claremont is the name of several places in the world: In the United States of America: Claremont, California Claremont, Minnesota Claremont, New Hampshire Claremont, North Carolina Claremont, Oakland/Berkeley, California Claremont, South Dakota In Canada: Claremont, Ontario In Australia: Claremont, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart Claremont, Western Australia Claremont, Queensland...

The Portsmouth Road has a great tradition and history, taken by kings such as Charles II, and by the wealthy such as Arthur Onslow, by admirals, religious leaders and writers such as Samuel Pepys. Rocque's map of Surrey (1768) shows the road (once known as the 'Portsmouth Turnpike-road') running from Kingston and close to Surbeton, through Ditton Marsh, with Thames Ditton slightly to the north, and on towards Esher. Commons, and farms with access tracks, lay on both sides of the road.

The Road and surrounding commons were notoriously dangerous -- there was the serious risk of both footpads (i.e. unmounted robbers) and highwaymen. Tom Waters, Jerry Abershawe, Evan Evans, William Hawke and Thomas Banks were all hanged in the 17th/18th centuries for banditry on the Portsmouth Road. Jerry Abershawe (1773-1795) was a notorious highwayman who terrorised travellers along the road between London and Portsmouth in the late 18th century. ...