Page:Surrey Archaeological Collections Volume 1.djvu/132

 NOTES.

The military road between Staines and Silchester is one of the most remarkable memorials of the Roman power in Britain; it extended from London to Bath, and coincided with a portion of the Port-way from Norwich to Exeter. From Silchester, the ancient "Calleva Attrebatum," situated at the intersection of several great roads, which have been frequently traversed by the Roman armies during their occupation of this country, the line now surveyed proceeds eastward through Strathfieldsaye (the seat of the Duke of Wellington) in a right line along what is called the Park Lane, which is scarcely passable in the winter season. The precise spot at which it crossed the Blackwater river is uncertain, the line being interrupted by cultivated ground as far as Westcourt House (the residence of Mr. St. John), built, according to tradition, upon the road itself, whose direction is here marked by the avenue to the mansion. Some faint traces of the road again exist on the ground northward of Finchampstead church; but on the eastern side of the heights its course is discovered extending in an unbroken line along a level country from thence to Easthampstead Plain, and bearing the fanciful name of the "Devil's Highway." The ascent of the road to this commanding plateau can be distinctly observed by a deep fosse on one side; but the rectilinear direction, which had been hitherto preserved, appears now to have been changed, in order to avoid a deep and marshy ravine, and the road bends northward, so as to pass by the head of the ravine, and afterwards regains its former direction, and thus crosses the plain. This part of the road runs through Wickham Bushes, which have long been remarkable for the quantity of antique pottery from time to time discovered there; it is also in the immediate vicinity of the strong intrenchment usually called "Cæsar's Camp," which crowns the summit of a height projecting from the plateau, and is strengthened on the side of the latter by a double parapet and ditch.

The road descends from the plain on the eastern side, and proceeds towards Bagshot. At Duke's Hill, near this town, it forms an angle of about 25 degrees with the produced line of its original direction, passes through a plantation, in which it can with difficulty be traced; its existence here is, however, well known to the people of the country. At about a mile from Duke's Hill the road crosses a marsh, where, having been raised to a considerable height, it is in some parts very distinct. From this marsh it runs through a garden in the occupation of Mr. Hammond, and the substratum, which consists of excellent gravel, having been removed for the purpose of repairing the modern roads in the neighbourhood, the outline presents a remarkable appearance: from