Which is Sheffield's Longest Straight Road?

[HeadingNorth 11]

As for Sheffield, without going off to study the street map, the longest one I can think of offhand is the road parallel to the M1 running off Wincobank roundabout - that might be the Blackburn Road that someone mentioned earlier.

 

There are still some bits of Sheffield I don't know well, so I'm not going to make any claims about it.

[Anarchon 10]

Not a Sheffield road but I always thought one of the longest straight roads in the UK is the Foss Way? Although I could be wrong.

 

That's right. The Romans certainly knew how to build straight roads in Britain. The Fosse Way links Exeter with Lincoln and is around 182 miles long. The straightest bits are found between Cirencester and Leicester and between Leicester and Newark on Trent. Other examples include the A2 between Canterbury and London (Watling Street), the A5 between London and Wroxeter (also Watling Street), the A15 between Lincoln and Scunthorpe (Ermine Street) and the A1 between Boroughbridge and Catterick (Dere Street).

 

Back to the OP, in terms of straight roads in Sheffield, I think Ringinglow Road is certainly the favourite. Other contenders would include Carlisle Street (Brightside), parts of the A6135 (Birely Moor Road) and parts of Loxley Road heading out towards Bradfield.

[Anarchon 10]

There are Roman remains in Wincobank, HN, and Ringinglow Road is quite definitely a Roman road, originally.

 

Sheffield itself wasn't necessarily Roman, but the Romans settled at Templeborough and Chesterfield, so it would not be a huge stretch of the imagination to think there would be a road, connecting the settlements.

 

Wincobank hill fort is late Iron Age in date (500BC), so predates the Roman invasion of Britain. My understanding is that Ringinglow Road is of a much later date (probably post 17th C) as evidenced by the turnpike toll booth opposite the Norfolk Arms pub. There definately was a Roman road that connected the small fort at Brough (between Hope and Bradwell) with the larger Roman fort at Templeborough. However, there is a lot of speculation as to which course the road took heading out from Brough and into Sheffield. Some think it came across Stanage Edge and passed by Redmires, skirted the Hillsborough Golf Club and down to the Don valley from Walkley / Crosspool. Parts of Cricket Inn road have also been mooted as being Roman in origin. The Roman road coming up from Chesterfield to Templeborough isn't clearly defined.

[Jeffrey Shaw 90]

Redmires Road, surely?

[Rampent 10]

Wincobank hill fort is late Iron Age in date (500BC), so predates the Roman invasion of Britain. My understanding is that Ringinglow Road is of a much later date (probably post 17th C) as evidenced by the turnpike toll booth opposite the Norfolk Arms pub. There definately was a Roman road that connected the small fort at Brough (between Hope and Bradwell) with the larger Roman fort at Templeborough. However, there is a lot of speculation as to which course the road took heading out from Brough and into Sheffield. Some think it came across Stanage Edge and passed by Redmires, skirted the Hillsborough Golf Club and down to the Don valley from Walkley / Crosspool. Parts of Cricket Inn road have also been mooted as being Roman in origin. The Roman road coming up from Chesterfield to Templeborough isn't clearly defined.

 

So there might be a 'hidden' straight road? Could we dig it up?

[algy 11]

My understanding is that Ringinglow Road is of a much later date (probably post 17th C) as evidenced by the turnpike toll booth opposite the Norfolk Arms pub.

 

That's right. Opened 1758 as the turnpike road from Sheffield to Sparrowpit, splitting at Ringinglow with one road going to Sparrowpit via Hathersage and the other over Houndkirk Road to Buxton via Grindleford.

[Tyranna 10]

Carlisle Street? At least must be the longest such road in town.

[2101 10]

Abbeydale Road? Near enough a straight road to Totley

[TheGuy 10]

Its probably not the longest, but there is a very long straight road that runs parralel with wooley wood bottom(I cant be bothered to find out what its called).

 

I've raced many a new car down it in my dafter days.

[jxxxxm 10]

well glad you lot got back to the Sheffield straight mile going back to my school days and the new magna centre, they tell you all about the Roman's in the area Templeborough and there is a connection to Bradfield via the forts and wincobank not what you call the straightest road or in sheffield at the end but living in Rotherham the best road is the Bampton straight mile more than a mile really and it is staight bet my false teeth on it. no houses as such and no dog poo to trip up on.

Edited March 11, 2012 by jxxxxm

[HeadingNorth 11]

Its probably not the longest, but there is a very long straight road that runs parralel with wooley wood bottom(I cant be bothered to find out what its called.)

 

That's the one I mentioned earlier - and it is indeed Blackburn Road, so it was mentioned by others before me.

 

I've never measured it, but it sure seems an awful long way now that it's a 30mph speed limit.

[TrashyBlonde 10]

Looks like Abbeydale road has it according to this map

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e2/Sheffield_outline_map_with_UK.svg/2000px-Sheffield_outline_map_with_UK.svg.png