John Dunn

The Oxford to Cambridge Arc


Bedford to Cambridge





The Old Forge at the fork in the road at Willington would have been around when Cary passed by





John Cary's route from his 1815 New Itinerary


Cary’s route followed Ogilby as far as Willington. Thereafter it was much affected by the new turnpikes that had come into being by the time of Cary’s New Itinerary.



Cary chose a left turn at the highly significant fork in the road at Willington to cross the ‘Ouse R.’ (River Great Ouse) at Barford Bridge. The right fork, Ogilby’s Gamlingay route, was never turnpiked.

Cary followed the Barford Turnpike (1772) through Great Barford to just beyond Roxton where the route joined the still current route of the Great North Road (A1) at what is now the Black Cat Roundabout.

The Black Cat Roundabout takes its name from the garage and car repair workshop which opened in the 1920s at the junction called the Black Cat Garage. In later years the garage was converted to a nightclub and then a restaurant, before becoming derelict for many years. In the 1980s, the current large covered petrol station was opened on the site.

Cary followed the stretch of Great North Road maintained as the Biggleswade to Alconbury Hill Turnpike (1725) passing through ‘Wybaston’ (Wyboston) on what is now the A1, then keeping to the Great North Road (modern B1428), he passed through Eaton Socon, which was eventually by-passed by the modern A1 in 1971.

After crossing over the Duloe Brook on George Bridge, Cary’s route turned right off the Great North Road to ‘Maltman’s Green’.



1884 Ordnance Survey

Cary noted Maltman’s Green as the last landmark before reaching the river crossing at St Neots Bridge. On the 1884 map detailed above, it is the triangular piece of land faced by the Barley Mow pub. The Barley Mow is still in business and the green is still discernible amidst the urban development today.

Cary crossed the ‘Ouse R.’ (Great River Ouse) once more by the bridge at St Neots. In 1180 it was referred to as High Bridge. The bridge was still in its timber form in the 16th Century. It is not clear when work began on the stone bridge, but it was definitely in progress by 1609. Being repaired and altered throughout its history, a major widening took place to the stone bridge in 1885. This stone bridge was demolished in 1963 without detailed recording when it was relpaced by a concrete structure. In 1985 another by-pass was opened enabling traffic from the A1 to travel to Cambridge without passing through either Eaton Socon or St Neots.

From St Neots, Cary followed the St Neots to Cambridge Turnpike (1772) which is now the A428.

His next noted landmark was ‘Upper Wintringham’, a manor house and moats with origins dating back to the 12th C. The building still stands alongside the main road.

From ‘Upper Wintringham’ Cary travelled to ‘Welde’, which is marked on the modern OS Map as Weald Farm and the lost village of Weald. It can be seen on the 1887 OS Map that Cary’s route will have travelled directly to ‘Welde’, before turning north briefly along the course of an old Roman road, before continuing eastwards again towards Cambridge. Weald Farm and the Roman road were by-passed by road alterations completed between 1936 and 1956.



1887 ordnance Survey

On the 1960 1 inch OS map, the course of the old road is still visible.




It can be seen on the current OS map below that the old Weald route is now lost to history. However, the next landmark noted by Cary till stands and is detailed on the modern OS map as ‘White Hall’.



Still standing close to the A428, the 18th century White Hall is two storeys, of red brick with hipped tiled roofs.

White Hall

The route continued through Eltisley. A bypass to the north of the village was built in 1972.

Cary’s itinerary finished abruptly at this point with one last instruction simply stating ‘Cambridge’, without further reference to any other landmarks along the way, over a distance of 12 miles. Most surprisingly, there is no mention of the cross roads known then and now as Caxton Gibbet where the Roman Ermine Street (modern A1198) crossed the St Neots to Cambridge Turnpike.

19th century painting of a toll house near Dunstable on the road to Kensworth, of a style similar to Wintringham (see below) Supplement to Cary's 1815 journey from Bedford to Cambridge Toll Gates that Cary would have encountered The Barford Turnpike 1772 carried Cary from Bedford to the Great North Roadand St Neots and on this he would have encountered the following two gates. 1 The Willington Gate OS Map reference TL 10423 49309 This was just after Dog Farm at the junction with the road to Cople on the current A603. The toll house still stands. The Tollgate, 1 Bedford Road, Cople in 1962 The Tollgate, 1 Bedford Road, Cople in 2010 At the time Cary passed by Dog Farm was also an inn. As an echo of its past services to hospitality the same building now becomes a ‘Pop Up’ restaurant each month. 2 The Roxton Gate OS Map reference TL 145 539 This was on the approach to Roxton village via the now unclassified road (formerly the A428) after the ancient Barford Bridge and shortly before joining the Great North Road. Cary would have encountered three turnpike gates as he travelled from the Great North Road to Cambridge via The St Neots to Cambridge Turnpike (1772) 1 The Wintringham Hall Gate OS Map reference TL 21900 59914 Toll Gate Cottage still stands opposite the Wintringham Hall entrance on the A428 (previously A45). The Toll Gate Cottage, Wintringham, near St Neots 2 The Eltisley Gate OS Map reference TL 2726 5986 Formerly on the main road to Cambridge A428 (previously A45), which ran through the centre of the village, now the site of the old turnpike gate is on the unclassified road in the by-passed village, at the junction with the much-truncated St Ives Road. 3 The Coton Gate OS Map reference TL 413 594 On the current A1303 (previously A45), at the crossroads with the villages of Coton and Madingley. © John Dunn.