Editing Icknield Way

{{Short description|Ancient trackway, one of the "Four Highways" of medieval England}}
{{about|the ancient trackway in southern and eastern England|the modern trail which partially follows the old route|Icknield Way Path|the Roman road in central and northern England|Icknield Street}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}

[[File:Icknield Way near Lewknor in Oxfordshire looking towards Shirburn Hill.jpg|thumb|300px|Icknield Way near [[Lewknor]] in [[Oxfordshire]]]]
[[File:Icknield Way, Lewknor.jpg|thumb|300px|The same view of the Icknield Way near Lewknor from 2005 before the byway was restricted to exclude motor vehicles]]

The '''Icknield Way''' is an [[ancient trackway]] in southern and eastern England that runs from [[Norfolk]] to [[Wiltshire]]. It follows the [[chalk]] [[escarpment]] that includes the [[Berkshire Downs]] and [[Chiltern Hills]].

==Background==
It is generally said to be, within [[Great Britain]], one of the oldest roads the route of which can still be traced, being one of the few long-distance trackways to have existed before the [[Roman Britain|Romans]] occupied the country. However, this has been disputed, and the evidence for its being a prehistoric route has been questioned.<ref name="Har"/><ref name="Mat"/><ref name="Bra"/><ref name="Rhi"/>

The name is Celto-British in derivation, and may be named after the [[Iceni tribe]]. They may have established this route to permit trade with other parts of the country from their base in [[East Anglia]]. It has also been suggested that the road has older prehistoric origins. The name is also said to have been initially used for the part to the west and south (i.e. south of the [[River Thames]]) but now refers usually to the track or traces north of the Thames.

From ancient times, at least as early as the [[Iron Age]] period (before the Roman invasion of 43 AD) and through early medieval times, it stretched from [[Berkshire]] through [[Oxfordshire]] and crossed the [[River Thames]] at [[Cholsey]], near [[Wallingford, Oxfordshire|Wallingford]].

==Early documentary evidence==
The earliest mentions of the Icknield Way are in [[Anglo-Saxon]] [[charter]]s from the year 903 onwards. The oldest surviving copies were made in the 12th and 13th centuries, and these use the spellings {{lang|ang|Ic(c)enhilde weġ}}, {{lang|ang|Icenhylte}}, {{lang|ang|Icenilde weġ}}, {{lang|ang|Ycenilde weġ}} and {{lang|ang|Icenhilde weġ}}. The charters refer to locations at [[Wanborough, Wiltshire|Wanborough]], [[Hardwell Castle|Hardwell]] in [[Uffington, Oxfordshire|Uffington]], [[West Lockinge|Lockinge]], [[Harwell, Oxfordshire|Harwell]], [[Blewbury]] and [[Princes Risborough|Risborough]], which span a distance of {{convert|40|mile|abbr=out}} from [[Wiltshire]] to [[Buckinghamshire]].<ref name="Maw"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Thomas |first1=Edward Jr. |title=The Icknield Way |date=1916 |publisher=Constable & Company Ltd. |location=London |isbn=978-1447471929 |page=51 }}</ref>

==The "Four Highways" of medieval England==
The Icknield Way was one of four highways that appear in the literature of the 1130s. [[Henry of Huntingdon]] wrote that the [[Ermine Street]], [[Fosse Way]], [[Watling Street]] and Icknield Way had been constructed by royal authority. The ''[[Leges Edwardi Confessoris]]'' gave royal protection to travellers on these roads, and the Icknield Way was said to extend across the width of the kingdom. [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]] elaborated the story by saying that [[Belinus]] had improved the four roads so that it was clear that they were the protected highways.<ref name="Har"/>

Around 1250, the Four Highways were shown by [[Matthew Paris]] on a diagrammatic map of Britain called ''Scema Britannie''. The Icknield Way is depicted by a straight line from [[Salisbury]] (i.e., [[Old Sarum]]) to [[Bury St Edmunds]] which intersects the other three roads near [[Dunstable]].<ref name="Par"/>

===Icknield Street===
In the fourteenth century, [[Ranulf Higdon]] described a different route for the Icknield Way: from [[Winchester]] to [[Tynemouth]] by way of [[Birmingham]], [[Lichfield]], [[Derby]], [[Chesterfield, Derbyshire|Chesterfield]] and [[York]].<ref name="Har"/> This route includes the Roman road running from [[Bourton-on-the-Water]] to [[Templeborough]] near [[Rotherham]], which is now called ''[[Icknield Street]]'' (or ''Ryknild Street'') to distinguish it from the ''Icknield Way''.

==Route==
[[File:Spencer Gore Icknield Way 1912.jpg|thumb|[[Spencer Gore (artist)|Spencer Gore]]: "Icknield Way", 1912. Used as the cover picture of "The Icknield Way Path – A Walkers' Guide" published by the Icknield Way Association in 2012]]
In many places the track consists or consisted of several routes, particularly as it passes along the line of the [[escarpment]] of the [[Chilterns]], probably because of the seasonal usage, and possibly the amount of traffic especially of herds or flocks of livestock.

To the west the track can be detected below the escarpments of the [[Berkshire Downs]]. Near [[Wantage]], the route along the ridge of the Downs is known as ''[[The Ridgeway]]'', and the name ''Icknield Way'' is applied to a parallel lowland route above the [[spring line]] at the northern edge of the chalk.<ref name="IWM"/> Between [[Lewknor]] and [[Ivinghoe]] there are two parallel courses known as the ''Lower Icknield Way'' and the ''Upper Icknield Way''.<ref name="Tho"/> In [[Cambridgeshire]], ''Street Way'' (Ashwell Street), ''Ditch Way'' and others have been put forward as variant routes, possibly for use in summer or winter.<ref name="Har"/><ref>{{Citation|title=How England's Oldest Road Was Nearly Lost Forever|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dYc0Ouxhx0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/3dYc0Ouxhx0| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|language=en|access-date=2020-06-08}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Many modern roads follow the Icknield Way, such as the B489 from [[Aston Clinton]] to Dunstable and the [[A505]] from [[Baldock]] to [[Royston, Hertfordshire|Royston]]. In some places, especially from the east of [[Luton]] in Bedfordshire to [[Ickleford]] (so named from the Way crossing a stream) near [[Hitchin]] in Hertfordshire, the route is followed by minor roads, and is not distinguishable at all in many places, except by landscape features such as [[tumulus|barrows]] and mounds which line the route, and indentation presumably from ancient and frequent use. It could be described as a belt studded with archaeological sites found at irregular intervals.

The Icknield Way used to form part of the boundary between Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire, and at one time [[Royston, Hertfordshire|Royston]] was cut in two by this boundary. Royston is where the Icknield Way crosses [[Ermine Street]].

In the south-west some writers take the Way to [[Exeter]], while others only take it as far as Salisbury. To the north-east, [[Icklingham]], Suffolk, and [[Caistor St. Edmund|Caistor-by-Norwich]], [[Great Yarmouth|Yarmouth]] and [[Hunstanton]], Norfolk, have all been proposed as the destination.<ref name="Har"/> In support of the western route, a road at [[Dersingham]] near Hunstanton was named ''Ykenildestrethe'' and ''Ikelynge Street'' in the 13th century.<ref name="Cla"/>

==Modern paths==
{{main|Wessex Ridgeway|The Ridgeway|Icknield Way Path|Peddars Way}}

Modern [[long-distance footpaths]] have been created from [[Lyme Regis]] on the [[Dorset]] coast to [[Holme-next-the-Sea]] on the [[Norfolk]] coast, following the general line of the Icknield Way.

The [[Arthur Hobhouse|Hobhouse Committee]] report of 1947 suggested the creation of a path between [[Seaton Bay]] and the Chiltern ridge, and in 1956 [[Tom Stephenson (activist)|Tom Stephenson]] proposed a longer route to [[Cambridge]]. A route through Norfolk was discussed in the 1960s.<ref name="Qui 16 100"/><ref name="Jen"/>

The first section to be officially designated as a Long-Distance Footpath (as [[National Trails]] were then known) was that from [[Overton Hill]] to [[Ivinghoe Beacon]], and it was declared open as the ''[[The Ridgeway|Ridgeway]]'' in 1973. The [[Peddars Way]], from [[Knettishall Heath]] to Holme-next-the-Sea, forms part of the ''Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path National Trail'', which was opened as a Long Distance Route in 1986. Between the Ridgeway and Peddars Way, parts of the original line of the Icknield Way had been covered in tarmac or built over, so a route was devised that avoids walking on roads. In 1992, this was designated by the [[Countryside Commission]] as a Regional Route called the ''[[Icknield Way Path]]''. The ''[[Wessex Ridgeway]]'' from Lyme Regis to [[Marlborough, Wiltshire|Marlborough]] was declared open by Dorset County Council in 1994.<ref name="Qui 16 100"/><ref name="Jen"/>

[[Charles Thurstan Shaw]], archaeologist and long-distance walker, founded the Icknield Way Association which campaigned to reopen the entire Icknield Way as a long-distance path in 1984, the same year he produced the first walker's guide to the route.<ref>(31 Mar 2013). [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/9964085/Professor-Thurstan-Shaw.html Professor Thurstan Shaw – Obituary]. The Daily Telegraph.</ref><ref>[http://cambridgeramblers.org/2013/04/30/cantab73-april-2013/ CANTAB RAMBLER73 April 2013 – Thurstan Shaw, 1914 – 2013]. cambridgeramblers.org</ref>

The combination of the Wessex Ridgeway, Ridgeway, Icknield Way and Peddars Way, together with the Cranborne Droves Way and Sarsen Way, is promoted as a family of routes called the ''Great Chalk Way''.<ref>[http://greatchalkway.org.uk/ Great Chalk Way], Friends of the Ridgeway and the Icknield Way Association.</ref> The author Ray Quinlan calls a similar route the ''[[Greater Ridgeway]]'', with a length of approximately {{convert|584|km|mi}} from Lyme Regis to Hunstanton.<ref name="Qui"/>

Parts of the Ridgeway National Trail and the [[Icknield Way Path]] are only usable as a footpath, so the ''Icknield Way Path Riders Route'' or ''[http://www.IcknieldWayTrail.org.uk Icknield Way Trail]'' have been created for horseriders and cyclists. The route runs from [[Bledlow]] to [[Roudham Heath]], where it joins the ''[http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/peddars-way-and-norfolk-coast-path/information Peddars Way Riders Route]''.<ref name="LDW"/><ref name="BCC"/>

==Artists and writers on the Way==

The Icknield Way has inspired a number of writers and artists. [[Spencer Gore (artist)|Spencer Gore]], the founder of the [[Camden Town Group]] of artists, painted the route in 1912 while staying with his friend [[Harold Gilman]] at Letchworth. His work, influenced by [[Cézanne]], [[Van Gogh]] and [[Gauguin]], is acknowledged as one of the pioneering works of British [[Modernism]].<ref>[https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-icknield-way/kQHFwhKPeDfa0g?hl=en Google Arts & Culture – The Icknield Way]. From the collection of Art Gallery of New South Wales.</ref><ref>[[Bernard Smith (art historian)|Smith, Bernard]] (2002). [https://books.google.com/books?id=bJECv_GH-RsC&pg=PA449 ''A Pavane for Another Time'']. {{ISBN|9781876832667}}. Macmillan Education AU. p. 449</ref> One of the best known literary travellers of the Icknield Way is the poet [[Edward Thomas (poet)|Edward Thomas]], who walked the path in 1911 and published his account in 1913. Thomas was interested in ancient roads and inspired by [[Hilaire Belloc]]'s ''Old Road'' and other travel memoirs published by [[Constable & Robinson|Constable]] written by R. Hippisley Cox, Harold J. E. Peake and others. Although the book takes the form of a single 10-day journey, Thomas wrote the book in stages over the course of a year. He was often joined by his brother Julian, both rising at 5 am or 6 am to walk {{Convert|30–40|mi|km|abbr=on}} a day. Although more interested in poetic description, his publisher directed him to give more concrete details of his route, thus the book is closer to being a guidebook than Thomas' earlier, more poetic, travel books.<ref>Moorcroft Wilson, Jean (2015). [https://books.google.com/books?id=1QK2CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA227 ''Edward Thomas: from Adlestrop to Arras: A Biography''] Bloomsbury. {{ISBN|9781408187142}}. pp. 227–229.</ref> Inspired by Thomas's journey, contemporary British nature writer [[Robert Macfarlane (writer)|Robert MacFarlane]] begins his book of walking ancient paths, ''The Old Ways'', by walking the Icknield Way, "hoping to summon him [Thomas] by walking where he had walked".<ref>MacFarlane, Robert (2012). [https://books.google.com/books?id=goRITzlvKQQC&dq=OLD%20WAYs&pg=PT47 ''The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot'']. Penguin. {{ISBN|9780241143810}}. p. 47.</ref> [[George R. R. Martin]] used the "Four Highways" as the model for the Kingsway in his ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' novels.<ref>Higgs, John (2017). [https://books.google.com/books?id=GRtGDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT47 ''Watling Street: Travels Through Britain and Its Ever-Present Past'']. Hachette UK. {{ISBN|9781474603492}}. p. 47.</ref> The first episode of the 2016–17 documentary series ''[[Britain's Ancient Tracks with Tony Robinson]]'' was about the Icknield Way and included drone views of the trail.

==See also==
* [[Roman Britain]]
* [[Roman roads in Britain]]
* [[Neolithic Age]]

==References==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name="BCC">Buckinghamshire County Council, [http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/Ridgeway/uploads/The%20Icknield%20Way.pdf The Icknield Way] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607202954/http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/Ridgeway/uploads/The%20Icknield%20Way.pdf |date=7 June 2011 }}.</ref>
<ref name="Bra">R. Bradley, [https://oxfordarchaeology.com/images/pdfs/Solent_Thames/Resource_assessment/Neolithic_and_EBA.pdf ''Solent Thames Research Assessment – the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age''], 2008.</ref>
<ref name="Cla">W. G. Clarke ''In Breckland Wilds'', Heffer, Cambridge; 2nd edition, 1937; p. 67.</ref>
<ref name="Har">S. Harrison, "The Icknield Way: some queries", ''The Archaeological Journal'', 160, 1–22, 2003.</ref>
<ref name="IWM">[[Icknield Way Morris Men]], [https://www.icknieldwaymorrismen.org.uk/the-vale-2/prehistory/prehistory-ancient-paths Prehistory – Ancient Paths].</ref>
<ref name="Jen">S. Jennett, ''The Ridgeway Path'', HMSO for Countryside Commission (Long-Distance Footpath Guide 6), 1976, {{ISBN|0-11-700743-9}}.</ref>
<ref name="LDW">Long Distance Walkers Association, [http://www.ldwa.org.uk/ldp/members/show_path.php?path_name=Icknield+Way+Trail Icknield Way Trail].</ref>
<ref name="Mat">K. Matthews, ''[http://www.north-herts.gov.uk/wilbury_walk.pdf Circular Walk (Wilbury Hill, Ickleford, Cadwell, Wilbury Hill)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513203607/http://www.north-herts.gov.uk/wilbury_walk.pdf |date=13 May 2008 }}''.</ref>
<ref name="Maw">A. Mawer and F. M. Stenton, ''The Place-names of Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire'', English Place-name Society 3, 1926, {{ISBN|0-904889-47-5}}, pp. 4–5.</ref>
<ref name="Par">[[Cotton library|Cotton]] Nero D.i, f186v. The map is discussed on pages 62–63 of O. Roucoux, ''The Roman Watling Street: from London to High Cross'', Dunstable Museum Trust, 1984, {{ISBN|0-9508406-2-9}}.</ref>
<ref name="Qui">R. Quinlan, ''The Greater Ridgeway: A Walk along the Ancient Route from Lyme Regis to Hunstanton'', Cicerone, 2003, {{ISBN|1-85284-346-2}}.</ref>
<ref name="Qui 16 100">Quinlan, ''The Greater Ridgeway'', pp. 16, 100.</ref>
<ref name="Rhi">Rhiannon, ''[http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/post/68722/miscellaneous/icknield_way.html The Icknield Way: Miscellaneous]'', 2008.</ref>
<ref name="Tho">E. Thomas, [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008882065 ''The Icknield Way''], Constable, 1916.</ref>
}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Icknield Way Path}}
* [https://www.icknieldwaypath.co.uk/index.html Icknield Way Association] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519133732/http://www.icknieldwaypath.co.uk/index.html |date=19 May 2021 }}

[[Category:Roman roads in England]]
[[Category:Stone Age Britain]]
[[Category:Ancient trackways in England]]
[[Category:Footpaths in Cambridgeshire]]
[[Category:Footpaths in Bedfordshire]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Norfolk]]
[[Category:Archaeology of Norfolk]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Cambridgeshire]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Hertfordshire]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Bedfordshire]]
[[Category:Dunstable]]
[[Category:Geography of Buckinghamshire]]
[[Category:Footpaths in Norfolk]]
[[Category:History of Norfolk]]
[[Category:History of Cambridgeshire]]
[[Category:History of Hertfordshire]]
[[Category:History of Bedfordshire]]
[[Category:History of Buckinghamshire]]
[[Category:Footpaths in Hertfordshire]]
[[Category:Footpaths in Buckinghamshire]]