Why is Halfway called Halfway?

[Grahame]

Was Clowne a more important town in the past than Chesterfield?

This may be what you are wanting.

 

"During the Roman period Clowne was the site of a fort guarding an important road, which ran North to South,"

 

http://www.geocities.com/whitehead12002/apottedhistoryofclowne.html

 

The question is what was the road, where did it start, what was the destination, and what route did it take?

[stockaid]

Oh my goodness! Such a simple question turned into such a long thread, so many debates and even name-calling arguements!! ha ha!

 

It's obviously half way to somewhere, most likely between Rotherham & Chesterfield from what I gather.

 

Now there's this place I know called Midway....

 

 

Nice one, does this mean that half- wits come from !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

[Grahame]

The Roman Road called Ryknild Street started near Cirencester to Birmingham, Derby, Chesterfield and finishes at Templeborough. See here (Road number eighteen) I'm not sure what the Roman Road through Clowne was called.

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/grahamkirkby/RomanRoad.jpg

 

If you place a ruler on a map between Chesterfield and Templeborough it goes through Ridgway in Sheffield not far from Halfway.

 

We know Halfway was on a Stage Coach route and I’m wondering if it followed roughly the line of the Roman Road, perhaps parallel to it, you can see at 18ee where the road veers to the right which would bring it close to Halfway. Anyway that’s immaterial because we know Halfway was a staging post for coaches and this is what we are looking at.

 

Now I’m wondering if Halfway was halfway on the journey between Rotherham (Templeborough) and either Chesterfield, Bolsover or Clowne and onto Watling Street?

 

What do you think?

 

KenH and mgdl both said halfway was between Rotherham and Chesterfield and they may have a point.

[Greybeard]

The Roman Road through Clown is Ryknild Street. It starts near Cirencester to Birmingham, Derby, Chesterfield and finishes at Templeborough. See here.

 

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/grahamkirkby/RomanRoad.jpg

 

What do you think?

 

Page 278 of Margary's 'Roman Roads' ?

[Grahame]

Page 278 of Margary's 'Roman Roads' ?

Got that wrong didn't I. I have just realised and changed it before I read your post Greybeard.

 

I don't have Margary's 'Roman Roads' my map is a photocopy from a book in the library. So what is the road through Clowne called Greybeard please, what route does it take, and is it relevant to this discussion?

 

More importantly what can you say about Halfway please?

 

Thanks.

[Plain Talker]

The Roman Road through Clown is Ryknild Street. It starts near Cirencester to Birmingham, Derby, Chesterfield and finishes at Templeborough. See here.

 

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i7.../RomanRoad.jpg

 

What do you think?

 

I think the road marked on that diagram as "18b/18a"etc is the line of the A38...

 

I used to live on another roman road, Watling Street, (the A5) near enough to Silverstone to hear the engines during the races!

[Grahame]

Thanks to this site, we know that Ryknield Street went past the Pit at Eckington, past Eckington Parish Church, to Halfway, through to Beighton Railway Station, and on to Templeborough.

http://goblin-online.net/genealogy/bedgreave/bedgreave_history.html

 

This map shows the route:

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/grahamkirkby/OSMapHalfwaycroppedenhancedroute.jpg

 

And this map shows the route from Rotherham to Chesterfield with Stagecoaches stopping at Halfway and I presume the Coaching Inn would have been at the crosroads?

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/grahamkirkby/DadsMapHalfwaycroppedenhancedroute.jpg

[Greybeard]

Got that wrong didn't I. I have just realised and changed it before I read your post Greybeard.

 

I don't have Margary's 'Roman Roads' my map is a photocopy from a book in the library. So what is the road through Clowne called Greybeard please, what route does it take, and is it relevant to this discussion?

 

More importantly what can you say about Halfway please?

 

Thanks.

 

No - you got it right. It is Ryknild Street. But the map is definitely from Margary's book, I have it in front of me At the time of publication (1973) the line of that section of the Roman road hadn't been very thoroughly investigated.

 

As you say the B6053 could have been an old coaching road but never apparently turnpiked, and Halfway is approximately the mid-point between Rotherham and Chesterfield.

[Grahame]

No - you got it right. It is Ryknild Street. But the map is definitely from Margary's book, I have it in front of me At the time of publication (1973) the line of that section of the Roman road hadn't been very thoroughly investigated.

 

As you say the B6053 could have been an old coaching road but never apparently turnpiked, and Halfway is approximately the mid-point between Rotherham and Chesterfield.

Thanks Greybeard. I can't remember the name of the book I copied the map from along with a few other pages, and that was a long time ago when I did that. I wish I had your collection of books.

 

So it seems as though those who suggested it was the Rotherham/Chesterfield road were right? Nice one.