. The Old Road . nthe valleys; for that escarpment is steep, and drains off wellinto the valley of the Severn. When one has once recognised the importance of thesefive radiating lines of hills and of their point of convergence,one wUl next see that of the five, one in particular must havehad an especial value perhaps in the very earliest times, andcertainly in all the centuries just preceding the historic period,during which Britain, from similarities in religion, language,and blood, was closely connected with the Continent. Thepassage westward from the Straits of Dover to the Hampshirecentres
. The Old Road . nthe valleys; for that escarpment is steep, and drains off wellinto the valley of the Severn. When one has once recognised the importance of thesefive radiating lines of hills and of their point of convergence,one wUl next see that of the five, one in particular must havehad an especial value perhaps in the very earliest times, andcertainly in all the centuries just preceding the historic period,during which Britain, from similarities in religion, language,and blood, was closely connected with the Continent. Thepassage westward from the Straits of Dover to the Hampshirecentres must have been by far the most important line oftraffic. We know that it has been so continuously in historictimes, and it is easy to prove that long before the opening ofour national history with the E,oman invasions, some east-to-west road must have been the leading road of England. Few of the following considerations are new, but all are tothe purpose: 1. The Straits of Dover are the natural entry into the 12. w W M E-i&O ►JD M THE OLD ROAD country. The nature of that entry, and its very great effectupon the development of our island, I will discuss later inconnection with the town of Canterbury. How far the Straitsmay have a rival lower down the Channel I will discuss inconnection with the town of Winchester. For the present,the main point is that in the earliest times, whoever camein and out of the country came in and out most easily by theonly harbours whence the further shore is visible. 2. When the Straits had been crossed and England entered,whither would the principal road lead ? The conformation ofKent forced it westward, for the Thames estuary forbade anorthern, the only alternative, route. One track of great importance did indeed go north andwest, crossing near London. It was later known as the WatlingStreet; it was the artery which drained the Midlands; itbecame the connection with sacred Anglesey, ultimately thenorthern door into Ireland. But no northern road
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