A264 road
Encyclopedia
The A264 is an east-west road in southern England
that runs from Pembury
in west Kent
to Five Oaks
in West Sussex
.
There have been a number of notable changes in this important east-west route which follows the north Sussex border with Kent and Surrey.
Originally the route started in Tunbridge Wells, the Pembury to Tunbridge Wells section being originally the A263. West of Tunbridge Wells, instead of following its northerly route to East Grinstead via Holtye which was the B2110 prior to about 1970, it followed what is now the B2110 through Groombridge and Hartfield to Forest Row and multiplexed with the A22 to East Grinstead (which explains the present discontinuity in the B2110 at Forest Row and East Grinstead, the unexpected sharp right at Langton Green when travelling west and unexpected left at East Grinstead when travelling east along the A264). Both routes are winding and narrow and both have bridges with single file traffic.
West of East Grinstead, it multiplexes with the A22 to Felbridge. The section from the west of Felbridge as far as Three Bridges has been improved and partially rerouted. For many years there was no junction with the M23 and the route went through both Crawley and Horsham. In the late 1980s, it was rerouted along the newly constructed Copthorne Link Road to Junction 10 of the M23, and in the early 1990s was multiplexed south along the M23 to Junction 11 at Pease Pottage, and along the newly constructed SW Crawley Bypass. The section west of Crawley was upgraded to dual carriageway, and the route now follows the North Horsham Bypass (about 1990) to its junction with the A24, then multiplexes south with the A24, now also dual carriageway to Broadbridge Heath where instead of going through the village it follows its bypass together with the A281. The old route is followed south west to Five Oaks and the A29. Thus, very little of the original A264 now carries that identifier.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
that runs from Pembury
Pembury
Pembury is a large village in Kent, in the south east of England, with a population of around 6,000. It lies just to the north-east of Tunbridge Wells.The village centre, including the village green and High Street area is a conservation area.-History:...
in west Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
to Five Oaks
Five Oaks
Five Oaks is a hamlet in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It lies about 1.7 miles north of Billingshurst on the roman road of Stane Street at the junction with the Western end of the A264....
in West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
.
There have been a number of notable changes in this important east-west route which follows the north Sussex border with Kent and Surrey.
Originally the route started in Tunbridge Wells, the Pembury to Tunbridge Wells section being originally the A263. West of Tunbridge Wells, instead of following its northerly route to East Grinstead via Holtye which was the B2110 prior to about 1970, it followed what is now the B2110 through Groombridge and Hartfield to Forest Row and multiplexed with the A22 to East Grinstead (which explains the present discontinuity in the B2110 at Forest Row and East Grinstead, the unexpected sharp right at Langton Green when travelling west and unexpected left at East Grinstead when travelling east along the A264). Both routes are winding and narrow and both have bridges with single file traffic.
West of East Grinstead, it multiplexes with the A22 to Felbridge. The section from the west of Felbridge as far as Three Bridges has been improved and partially rerouted. For many years there was no junction with the M23 and the route went through both Crawley and Horsham. In the late 1980s, it was rerouted along the newly constructed Copthorne Link Road to Junction 10 of the M23, and in the early 1990s was multiplexed south along the M23 to Junction 11 at Pease Pottage, and along the newly constructed SW Crawley Bypass. The section west of Crawley was upgraded to dual carriageway, and the route now follows the North Horsham Bypass (about 1990) to its junction with the A24, then multiplexes south with the A24, now also dual carriageway to Broadbridge Heath where instead of going through the village it follows its bypass together with the A281. The old route is followed south west to Five Oaks and the A29. Thus, very little of the original A264 now carries that identifier.
Route: major settlements and intersections
- PemburyPemburyPembury is a large village in Kent, in the south east of England, with a population of around 6,000. It lies just to the north-east of Tunbridge Wells.The village centre, including the village green and High Street area is a conservation area.-History:...
(A21, A228A228 roadThe A228 road is an important transport artery in Kent, England. It begins at the Isle of Grain and runs in a south-westerly direction to connect eventually with the A21 trunk road at Pembury. It serves existing communities and new and proposed housing developments and commercial enterprises...
) - Tunbridge WellsRoyal Tunbridge WellsRoyal Tunbridge Wells is a town in west Kent, England, about south-east of central London by road, by rail. The town is close to the border of the county of East Sussex...
(A26A26 roadFor the road in Northern Ireland see A26 road The A26 road is one of the three cross-country two-digit numbered roads in the southeast of England, the others being the A25 road and A27 road. It carries traffic from Maidstone in Kent in a generally south-westerly direction to Tunbridge Wells and...
) - East GrinsteadEast GrinsteadEast Grinstead is a town and civil parish in the northeastern corner of Mid Sussex, West Sussex in England near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders. It lies south of London, north northeast of Brighton, and east northeast of the county town of Chichester...
(A22A22 roadThe A22 is one of the two-digit major roads in the south east of England. It carries traffic from London to Eastbourne on the East Sussex coast...
) - CopthorneCopthorne, West SussexCopthorne is a village in the Mid Sussex district of West Sussex, England. It lies close to Gatwick Airport, south of London, north of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Nearby towns include Crawley to the southwest and East Grinstead to the east...
(M23M23 motorwayThe M23 motorway is a motorway in England. The motorway runs from south of Hooley in Surrey, where it splits from the A23, to Pease Pottage, south of Crawley in West Sussex where it rejoins the A23. The northern end of the motorway starts at junction 7 on what is effectively a spur north from...
) - CrawleyCrawleyCrawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...
(A23A23 roadThe A23 road is a major road in the United Kingdom between London and Brighton, East Sussex. It became an arterial route following the construction of Westminster Bridge in 1750 and the consequent improvement of roads leading to the bridge south of the river by the Turnpike Trusts...
, M23) - HorshamHorshamHorsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...
(A24A24 road (Great Britain)The A24 is a major road in England. It runs south from Clapham in southwest London through Morden before entering Surrey and heading through Ewell, Epsom, Ashtead, Leatherhead and Dorking...
, A281A281 roadThe A281 is a northwest-southeast road in southern England that passes through the countryside between Guildford, Surrey and Pyecombe, West Sussex near Brighton.-Route :*Guildford *Shalford *Bramley...
) - Broadbridge HeathBroadbridge Heath-Notable residents:The poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, was born at Field Place, which stands about a mile to the north of the village.The bestselling novelist Georgette Heyer lived at the Swan Ken, Broadbridge Heath, for several months in 1931....
(A281) - Five OaksFive OaksFive Oaks is a hamlet in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It lies about 1.7 miles north of Billingshurst on the roman road of Stane Street at the junction with the Western end of the A264....
(A29A29 roadThe A29 is a major road in England. It runs for approximately 34 miles from Capel, south of Dorking, leaving the A24, running through Billingshurst and Pulborough, crossing the South Downs at Bury Hill and passing Fontwell Park Racecourse before terminating on the B2166 on Bognor Regis sea...
)
External links
- http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/roadlists/r10/notes.php?number=A264