History
The historic Portsmouth Road once had great strategic significance as the major link between the capital city and one of its major sea ports. Many of the towns and villages that it passed through gained income and prestige as a result — such as Kingston upon Thames, Esher, Guildford, Godalming, Haslemere and Petersfield. The modern A3 follows the general route of the Portsmouth Road, but bypasses many of the towns and villages along the way, leaving the various stretches of the old Portsmouth Road for local traffic — for instance, the A307 which passes through Kingston-upon-Thames and Esher, is also known as the Portsmouth Road. For some of its length, the road follows a similar line to the Portsmouth Direct Line railway, although one of the major exceptions is that the A3 does not go through or closely bypass Havant.
A programme of road improvements starting in the 1920s transformed the road so that is now predominantly a two or three lane dual carriageway, bypassing the town centres, with a section of motorway, the A3(M), just before the road reaches the A27 at Havant. The construction of the Kingston and Guildford bypasses in the 1920s and 1930s made use of temporary narrow gauge railways to move the construction materials. The Esher bypass, between Hook and the M25, is three lanes with a good hard shoulder, and thus almost motorway standard; from the M25 to Guildford also has three lanes.
The Kingston By-pass had been proposed in 1912 but with the advent of World War I plans were shelved. By the early 1920s, traffic in Kingston town centre had increased by over 160% in 10 years and the decision was taken to revive the plans. Work finally started in 1924 on what was to become one of the first arterial roads in Britain. It was opened by the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Stanley Baldwin MP, on 28 October 1927. It ran for 8.5 miles (13.7 km) from the Robin Hood Gate of Richmond Park to the outskirts of Esher. The opening ceremony concluded with refreshments for 800 guests in marquees near what is now the Merton fly-over. The Merton flyover takes the Merton Spur 1 mile (1.6 km), finishing close to Wimbledon Chase railway station.
The construction of the Kingston By-pass immediately attracted developers wishing to build houses where access was already provided. The 1935 Ribbon Development Act came too late to prevent this building, which is especially notable where the A3 winds through Tolworth and New Malden.
The road was once the haunt of highwaymen. For example, the legendary Jerry Abershawe terrorised the area around Kingston and led a gang based at the Bald Faced Stag Inn on the Portsmouth Road. Another particularly dangerous location was in the vicinity of the Devil's Punch Bowl, Hindhead, about 8 miles (13 km) south-west of Guildford.
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