Earlier that day, I was able to see a stretch of the old route, though not walk along it, further south at a place called Bretford. This is where the Fosse Way crosses the A428, which is the direct road between Coventry and Rugby, in Warwickshire – the village is about halfway between the two.
The main line of the Fosse way is very clear: pencil straight, north-north-east, through the Warwickshire countryside, with few villages or landmarks towards the junction with Watling Street at High Cross, and then to Leicester. In Bretford, however, the modern road bears left for a few hundred yards, and then right before resuming the straight course. This is because Bretford marks the junction not just with the other road, but with the River Avon. The Romans stuck with the direct route and forded the river – Bretford means “plank ford”, suggesting a plank bridge, or post to mark the place to cross. When the bridge was built, some time in the 13th century, it must have made sense to put it a few yards west of the ford, thereby inserting the dog leg into the road, which remains to this day.
The bridge is listed, and still single-track so controlled by traffic lights. For no reason I could make out, there is a raised concrete walkway along one side, which is best described as functional.
It did however enable me to climb up the railing to try to see the course of the old road, now on private land. It’s hard to see from that side, frankly, but from the other side, there is a very clear holloway emerging between trees, on the right of the picture.
Having been quite a busy place in the 13th century, Bretford never recovered from the impact of the Black Death, and has been a small village ever since. I want to do more work on the Fosse Way – why did it take this course, what happened to it when the Romans left, what happened to other places along the route and what influenced that? It’s much less clear than for Watling Street or other major Roman roads. I’ll be grateful for comments or insights.