The Road
Hilaire Belloc
Read by LibriVox Volunteers
"We are arrived at a chief turning-point in the history of the English highway. New instruments of locomotion, a greater volume of traffic, a greater weight in loads, and vastly increased rapidity in road travel have between them brought us to an issue: either some very considerable and immediate change in the character of the Road, or a serious and increasing handicap in our rivalry with other nations through the strain and expense of an out-worn system.
"The moment therefore calls for some examination of the Road, its theory and history. That need has prompted me to write this essay; but I must say at the outset that I approach my task with no expert qualification. My only equipment for the general sketch I intend is historical reading and the experience acquired in the writing of certain monographs upon the topography of the Road in the past. I can do no more than suggest lines of thought which, if they lead to practice, need a detailed science I do not possess. ...
"We have had (as I shall develop in more detail) five great moments ... in the history of the English road system: the moment when the British trackway was superseded by the Roman military road; the moment when the latter declined in the Dark Ages; the moment when the mediaeval system of local roads grew up on the basis of the old Roman trunk roads and around them; the moment when this in its turn declined in the later sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; and the re-casting of the road system by the turnpikes of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. To-day the sixth great change is upon us.
"It is incumbent upon us then to-day to get ourselves clear upon the theory and the history of the Road, and I propose in this essay to take them in two sections: first, the Road in general; next, that special institution the English Road." - From the introduction
Listeners are encouraged to access the online text of this book at Project Gutenberg in order to view the excellent maps and diagrams that enrich the text. (4 hr 22 min)
Chapters
Introductory Material | 8:21 | Read by Devorah Allen |
Part 1: The Road in General. Chapter 1: The Origin of Roads | 12:31 | Read by Sarah Rothwell |
Chapter 2: The Crossing of Marsh and Water | 22:31 | Read by Sarah Rothwell |
Chapter 3: Passability | 16:18 | Read by Sarah Rothwell |
Chapter 4: The Obstacle of Vegetation | 12:56 | Read by Anita Hibbard |
Chapter 5: Political Influences | 9:58 | Read by Sarah Rothwell |
Chapter 6: The Reaction of the Road | 24:02 | Read by Beeswaxcandle |
Part 2: The English Road. Chapter 7: The Road in History | 11:20 | Read by LaBouna |
Chapter 8: The "Blindness" of English Roads | 22:07 | Read by Sagar Patke |
Chapter 9: Five Stages | 13:25 | Read by Beau Wood |
Chapter 10: The Trackways | 18:41 | Read by Sarah Rothwell |
Chapter 11: The Making of the Roman Road | 16:14 | Read by thirstyfish |
Chapter 12: The Dark Ages | 40:07 | Read by Nigel Kerr |
Chapter 13: Wheeled Traffic and the Modern Road | 18:24 | Read by LaBouna |
Chapter 14: The Future | 16:00 | Read by czandra |