The Road: A Story of Romans and Ways to the Past

by Christopher Hadley

Have you ever heard the march of legions on a lonely country road? The Romans built thousands of miles of roads. For two thousand years they have determined the flow of ideas and folktales, where battles were fought and where pilgrims trod. Almost everyone in Britain lives close to a Roman road, if only we knew where to look

In the beginning was Watling Street, the first road scored on the land when the invading Romans arrived on a cold and alien Kentish shore in 41 CE. Temporary campaign roads followed, rolling out west towards Rochester and the first major battle at the Medway. As the Britons fell back to the Thames, the road pursued them to the river’s edge, carrying troops, supplies and military despatches. In the years of fighting that followed, as the legions pushed onwards across what is now England, into Wales and north into Scotland in search of booty, mineral wealth, land and tribute, they left behind a vast road network, linking marching camps and forts, changing the landscape permanently, etching the story of the Roman advance into the face of the land, channelling our lives today.

Christopher Hadley, acclaimed author of Hollow Places, takes us on an epic journey into the past, retracing and searching for an elusive Roman road that sprang from one of the busiest road hubs in Roman Britain. His passage is not always easy. Time and nature have erased many clues; they rotted bridges and raised whole woods across the route. Carters found an easier ford downstream, and people broke up its milestones to mend new ones. Year after year the heavy clay swallowed whole lengths of it; the once mighty road became a bridleway, an overgrown hollow-way, a parched mark in the soil.

Hadley leads us on a hunt to discover, in Hilaire Belloc’s phrase, ‘all that has arisen along the way’. Gathering traces of archaeology, history and landscape, poems, church walls, hag stones and cropmarks; oxlips, killing places, hauntings, immortals and things buried too deep for archaeology, The Road is a mesmerising journey into two thousand years of history only now giving up its secrets.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ancient History, British Literature, Audiobook, Archaeology, Historical

353 pages, Hardcover

Published January 19, 2023

Reviews

[K.J. Charles]

Very highly reviewed, but did very little for me. It's hard to know what the author was going for here: it skips around between legends and landscapes and road building techniques and aerial archaeology and a smattering of history. That doesn't have to be a bad thing--I enjoyed Watling Street: Travels Through Britain and Its Ever-Present Past a lot, but then, that covers the whole of Watling Street rather than an obscure branch line that goes from nowhere to nowhere.

There were some interesting bits but every time the narrative skipped off to something else. I ended up skimming and then DNFing because I couldn't find any sort of throughline to hold on to. Basically I wanted it to do a deeper dive into something, anything. Bit of a disappointment given the raves, but there we are.




Incredibly annoying use of italics.

[Mab · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is deeply lovely. It's not perfect, and there are definitely moments when Hadley loses control of his prose and both he and you get a bit lost. But the attempt to truly and earnestly show the road as it has been throughout all of its history is such an ambitious one that I can forgive him those topples into pretension, because there is so much that is fascinating and beautiful and wonderful, and I think he gets quite close to what he's trying to do.

[Fin · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5-3 stars.

Niche history but enjoyable.

[Jess · Rating 1 out of 5]

These kind of books just aren’t for me but somehow I find myself pulled in again and again, tricked by good reviews or cursed with a gift I feel obligated to try.

There’s no subtle way to describe this kind of book. It’s a meandering journey, journal, essay, something, written with that very specific British wanky-ness that some people just love. Whenever I am exposed to this kind of pretension I feel an immediate disconnection and rejection. Any shared joy I can glean - such as over the use of delightful antiquated words that are doubly delightful for their utter uselessness - feels somewhat unclean.

This kind of energy to a piece of writing, or a ‘posher than the queen’, deliberately obtuse Brian Sewell quote, always reminds me of the infamous tale recounted in Sir Kenneth Dover’s autobiography where, when walking in the Italian hills, he was so overcome with the beauty and poeticism of the moment that he proceeded to masturbate to completion. Sir Dover is the only one afflicted by the deeply self-obsessed British public school old boy mentality, in my opinion, who has ever so honestly and openly recognised it for what it is - wanky sybaritic self-indulgence.

And good for him and anyone who genuinely enjoys 275 pages of a bloke slipping into verse and panegyric over the remains of a road! It’s just not for me.

[milo in the woods · Rating 2 out of 5]

i think the prose escaped the author at times. although this was full of interesting information, it became meandering and difficult to follow fairly quickly. i liked the idea behind this book but it’s execution was not particularly engaging for me.

[Anna Nimmo · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was really interesting. Not gonna lie didn’t take most of it in tho other than if you moved a mile stone you would be punished with death and I found it funny when he said there was a huge selection of pot.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

The passion the author has for his subject shines throughout. I loved the book so much more than I expected, but would probably avoid getting into conversation with him at parties. 😅

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

In picking this book up at a local bookshop, I was reminded of Monty Python’s answer to the question “What did the Roman’s give (or leave) us” – roads.

Whilst Christopher Hadley’s book makes no mention of this Python skit, ‘The Road’ tells us why the Python crew were correct.

Hadley traces the path of a single Roman road in Britain and uses this trek as a tool for explaining much that is possible to know about all such roads in that country. Along the way we learn about how roads were sited, construction methods, how roads were used by and against (e.g., Boudicca) the Romans. Some of Hadley’s most interesting comments are about ghost roads that no longer exist but which still serve part of their original function - no spoiler.

My main grizzle about this book is the quality of images. (I bought the hardback edition.) Many are too grainy. The layout editor should have made this weakness apparent to the author. Readers would be better served with the images printed on better paper bound into the centre of the book. Whilst a portion of Hadley’s road appears at start of each new section, a fold out version which showed the entire road in a broader situational context would have been useful. I found myself putting the book down and resorting to Google Maps.

For the text content, I rate the book 4 – 5 stars. The graphics I rate as 2 – 3.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting subject and I enjoyed it up to about half way. Then I became overwhelmed with the micro detail of the local landscape and although many of stories and folklore Hadley draws in are compelling, as a reader I ran out of steam! The notes and bibliography are great and I will be following a lot of it up.

[Alex Watson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much like a road itself - there are some interesting bits and then there are some bits where you’re just chugging along and the scenery is pretty pleasant but it’s scrolling past as you go on your way.

[David Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Erudite and fascinating insight into the expertise and experience needed to draw conclusions from sometimes meagre or partial evidence left on (under) the ground of that incredible and useful legacy of Roman occupation, the straight(ish) road.
Drawing on the findings of years of work by dedicated archaeologists, aerial photographers and historians, Hadley travels the length of a spur of Ermine street in the direction of Great Chesterford pondering how and why it was built and the lives of the people who travelled or lived along it. Altogether a wonderful insight.
The shock and awe experienced by the bewildered Britons that the construction of a rapid troop transport system by a supremely organised and skilled group of soldiers can only be imagined. The Roman road still has the power to defy belief in its accuracy, construction and longevity. Nowadays a long straight road is considered boring and dangerous to drive along - we prefer curves to keep us awake - but the excitement of realising we are sometimes travelling a road initially constructed 2,000 years ago along our exact path helps connect us to the generations who have undertaken the same route, marching, riding, droving, walking (or driving) for two millennia.
In Wales, abandonment of all new road construction has been announced by our tin-pot Assembly. Truly the dark ages beckon.

[Andrew Seeger · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful read

A delightful read recording the history of a stretch of Roman Road but also the effect through history to modern times of Roman roads.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/the-road-a-story-of-romans-and-ways-to-the-past-by-christopher-hadley/

Having greatly enjoyed Hadley’s Hollow Places, I was eager to catch up with this story of a single Roman road in Hertfordshire and Essex, running 22 km between the small towns of Braughing and Great Chesterford, and coded RR21b by the great Ivan Margary.

The book has roughly one page for each 70 metres of the actual road (depending whether or not you count the notes). For most of its length, the road has simply disappeared to the unaided eye, though cropmarks do show its presence as a straight line between two points. It appears to have cut directly across hills and valleys.

Hadley meditates on the effect of the road, and on its meaning, and speculates about how long it would have taken to construct – and also to destroy; he reckons that locals simply removed most of the stones from which it was made for building. This is a fairly quiet bit of English countryside, and possibly was at its busiest in Roman times.

The emphasis is on the Roman Empire, and how it affected Britain; and on tracing the records of RR21b in maps and elsewhere; and also on the fauna and flora that currently inhabit the fields through which it runs. It’s a great meditation on history and the countryside. With 340 pages (including notes and acknowledgements) that’s about one page for every 65 metres of the road. The illustrations are lovely, though I wish they had been labelled on each page rather than referenced in the endnotes.

[Lizixer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m a bit of a sucker for “author goes on a slightly obscure quest, tells us some history and mythology and has a few flights of fancy interspersed with some good quotes and poetry” type books so I enjoyed reading this and thinking a bit about what roads mean, their power to shape the future of settlements and who and what travels along them through space and time.

“What did the Romans ever do for us?” Ask an early post Roman settler and they would have had no idea who you were talking about. Temples, villas and settlements and the skills to build them disappeared within a couple of generations. People thought they were living in ruins made by giants. Roads and walls lasted for a while but eventually even they were carted away to build churches, farm buildings and probably other roads.

Nobody, until the antiquarians of the 18th century really cared about what the Romans had built, or wanted to preserve it. Now,over fifteen hundred years we are beginning to see, using our technology, just what was here. We are trying to imagine based on contemporary writing and the fragments discovered what Romano-British life was like. We try to stick their pottery back together, revive their skills and even trace their lost roads across fields and through hedges. We live in an old country and traces of the ancient world are literally everywhere. Hadley wants to find them and he wants you to find them as well. Maybe we could all do with popping into our local museums and connecting with this deep past.

[Tom Minney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful journey in many directions, both as you walk with the author towards the north-east between Puckeridge/ Braughing in East Hertfordshire to Great Chesterford in Essex, and backwards into history 2,000 years or more, to the Romans who built the road, before them the Britons who may have first used it and many of the people who used or maintained it since the Romans.
Author Christopher Hadley writes beautifully about landscape, nature, myth and history as well as deep insights into the work of cartographers who make different generations of Ordnance Survey maps and many historians. Walking with him over some 18 miles, his lively and beautiful writing brings to life many souls who used the road before and the histories, livelihoods and character of local places, some still villages and towns, others abandoned. He provides a frame of reference for deeper understanding of the Roman empire and what came after, not only here but across Britain.
He explains how fast a neglected road disappears and hides its secrets as well as the modern tools for finding them - inspiring his readers to look at their own countryside with new vision for its messages and history.

[Mark Knowles · Rating 5 out of 5]

This birthday gift is one of my reading highlights of the year: I absolutely devoured it. Kudos to Hadley's agent. A bad elevator pitch might have been something like, 'So I have an author who's written a book about a walk along a minor Roman road and a few interesting tales that arise en route. And, er, that's it. Any questions?'

Obviously, there's more to it than this but suffice it to say that it's a brilliantly researched, lyrical, nostalgic, sometimes humorous and sometimes whimsical, social history and travelogue, with a little bit of Robert MacFarlane and Paddy Leigh Fermor thrown in. I was gutted when I finished it.

I admit that my pitch barely sounds any better but, well, I'm glad Hadley made it, his agent touted it and William Collins accepted it. It's brilliant!

[Tag Bogo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots to love about this . The Search For evidence of a Roman Road . What happened to this Road from Braughing to Great chesterford . The book is a history of what befell all Roman Roads , about The History of improvements in Archaeology, About the legions of Amateurs who contributed to the discover of our Past , he brings to bear science , poetry , Art to BRING TO LIFE THIS Road the Majority of which is lost. one gripe some times in the mass of facts evidence and imaginings We lose sight of the Road , The Road overgrown with details and digressions . Gripe aside this is an intriguing investigation , a subject I will follow

[Julian Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely fascinating. We all think we know about Roman roads because they are straight, but this book shows there is far more to them than that.

Weaving in culture and local history, plus countryside insights, this is a thoroughly enjoyable and engrossing read.

All history should be written like this.

[Gavin Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. A bit lyrical in places but excellent once it got going, and without that lyricism it might have been dry. Full of fascinating history and really evocative. Maybe it helps that i live in Puckeridge and can go and stand in the field and imagine the road but i think i would have enjoyed it anyway

[Catriona · Rating 2 out of 5]

This just wasn't the book for me. A book about a Roman road sounded like it would be right up my street (boom, boom), but I couldn't get into this at all. So much of the writing talked about the lack of road - all the reasons why the road no longer exists - and, in different hands, a book about the memory of a road could have been fascinating. As it was, I just found it rather dull. A shame.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Patchy…some bits were lovely and very interesting but meandered around a lot. One bit made me laugh when an archeologist /historian described how it take him decades to rekindle interest in Roman Britain after being dragged around Roman remains in uk. I remember as a kid endlessly going to Vindolanda…freezing, cold and seeing some stones on the grass… and that was it!

[Henry Fosdike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Essentially a history of Roman roads with a splash of discovery thrown in. Thought there'd be more to it, but there are some interesting historical asides here and there, even if, for some reason, I felt it'd be a lot more focused on the attempt to follow a forgotten Roman road than it was.

[Mary Arkless · Rating 4 out of 5]

Borrowed from the library. I'm the first one to have borrowed this book.

This is a very informative book, and I like the things Hadley has to say. For some reason, it just didn't completely click for me. This isn't a criticism. I'd give it 4.5 stars.

[Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Juliet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who would have thought that Roman roads could be so interesting. This is a charming book and was a joy to read

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Abandoned at about 25%

[Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this is one of those books that extends its subject to fill the required amount of pages with an infinite amount of microscopic details. Like the road it could have been a lot shorter.

[Gerard de Bruin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5* It's very strange book indeed. Sometimes it's poetry takes you in but at other moments there are too many words to say a little.

[Budd Margolis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obtuse subject but well convered. Roman roads were vital and Britain had 10,000 miles of them.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb - fascinating, well written and engaging.

Education made a pleasure.