Watling Street Construction Album at the Centre for Kentish Studies
The CKS has recently been successful with a bid at an auction in Devon for a selection of items relating to the Watling Street Construction. This covers the Dartford Southern By-pass and the Dartford – Strood section of the A2 started in 1921 and opened by the Prince of Wales in 1924.
The main item of the collection is an album with 111 fascinating photographs taken during the construction of the 11 mile road of various sites along the way e.g. Old Toll Gate Inn; Field Cottages from North Clay; Thong Lane Cut; Old Road and Saw Mill Yard, Cobham Woods; Three Crutches looking East. All the photos have a line of description beneath them and most are dated. The photos also show:
- 'The bed of the old Roman road'
- 'Potter’s kilns at Springhead and at Northumberland Bottom'
- 'A Samian vessel and other pottery'
- 'A Roman burial'
- 'A Celtic burial'
With the album there is:
- a linen backed, fold-out map of the length of the road, scale: 2 inches to 1 mile
- an official brochure/programme of events for the opening
- an invitation for E.O. Blunden, who is marked on an official group photo, taken outside the 'Ministry of Transport, Roads Dept. Northern Division'. No address of the location is visible. The album appears to be the Ministry’s official record of the construction.
This collection ties in with a set of glass negatives which were taken by the Rev. Thomas Harrison that is in the collections at CKS. The glass negatives add to the views, including Pepper Hill; Wrotham Road, Gravesend; and images of the Prince of Wales opening the road and inspecting the guards. Together the collections make a good illustrative record of the development of an area.
To make an appointment to view CKS collections, phone 01622 696197. The album is still uncatalogued at present, but anyone who would like to view it should ask to speak to Hilary Streeter or to Debbie Saunders when booking an appointment. They can ensure that the album is available for the visit.