The A140 is an
'A-class' road in
Norfolk
Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
and
Suffolk
Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
,
East Anglia
East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included.
The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...
, England partly following the route of the Roman
Pye Road
Pye Road is a Roman road running from the capital of the Iceni at Venta Icenorum (Caistor St Edmund near Norwich) to the original Roman provincial capital and legionary base at Camulodunum (Colchester). The road was later extended, connecting it ...
. It runs from the
A14 near
Needham Market
Needham Market is a small town in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, set in the Gipping Valley. Nearby villages include Barking, Suffolk, Barking, Darmsden, Badley and Creeting St Mary. The town is located just east of the A14 road ( ...
to the
A149 south of
Cromer
Cromer ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish on the north coast of the North Norfolk district of the county of Norfolk, England. It is north of Norwich, northwest of North Walsham and east of Sheringham on the North Sea coastline.
The local ...
. It is of
primary status for the entirety of its route. It is approximately 56 miles (90 km) in length.
Route
Ipswich to Diss
The road starts as
dual carriageway from junction 51 with the
A14 road; it then travels north to its junction with the
A1120. It then continues to the Suffolk countryside providing access to the villages of
Little Stonham,
Mendlesham and
Mendlesham Green. It passes through
Brockford Street (where it crosses the
River Dove),
Thwaite,
Stoke Ash,
Thornham Parva,
Yaxley and
Brome where it meets its junction with the
B1077. later it reaches a
roundabout
A roundabout, a rotary and a traffic circle are types of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junct ...
with the
A143 – where it enters Norfolk and becomes dual carriageway – and a second outside
Scole
Scole () is a village on the Norfolk–Suffolk border in England. It is 19 miles south of Norwich and lay on the old Roman road to Venta Icenorum, which was the main road until it was bypassed with a dual carriageway. It covers an area of and ...
links it with the
A1066. This section of road bypasses
Scole
Scole () is a village on the Norfolk–Suffolk border in England. It is 19 miles south of Norwich and lay on the old Roman road to Venta Icenorum, which was the main road until it was bypassed with a dual carriageway. It covers an area of and ...
to the east of
Diss.
Diss to Norwich
The road bypasses
Scole
Scole () is a village on the Norfolk–Suffolk border in England. It is 19 miles south of Norwich and lay on the old Roman road to Venta Icenorum, which was the main road until it was bypassed with a dual carriageway. It covers an area of and ...
and then
Thelveton after which it meets a roundabout marking the end of the dual carriageway. It continues north, bypassing
Dickleburgh, to a junction with the
B1134, a few miles later it enters
Long Stratton,
Stratton Saint Michael,
Upper Tasburgh,
Saxlingham Thorpe,
Newton Flotman and
Swainsthorpe. Shortly after it crosses the
A47 at the Harford Interchange and
River Yare
The River Yare is a river in the English county of Norfolk. In its lower reaches it is one of the principal navigable waterways of The Broads and connects with the rest of the network.
The river rises south of Dereham to the west to the villag ...
. South of Norwich it turns left making up the west portion of the outer ring road. In the ring road it has junctions with the
A11,
B1108,
A1074,
A1067 and other unnumbered roads.
Norwich to Cromer
North of Norwich it passes
Norwich Airport
Norwich Airport is an international airport in Norfolk, England, north of the city of Norwich. In 2023, Norwich Airport was the 25th busiest airport in the UK and busiest in East Anglia.
Norwich Airport has a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA ...
and the
Norwich airport park and ride before reaching the roundabout with the
B1149 which is adjacent to Manor Park, home of the
Norfolk County Cricket Club. It heads north close to
Horsham St Faith and then
Newton St Faith. The road passes through
mixed woodland close to the villages of
Hainford,
Stratton Strawless,
Hevingham and
Marsham. Before reaching the roundabout on the southern outskirts of
Aylsham
Aylsham ( or ) is a historic market town and civil parish on the River Bure in north Norfolk, England, nearly north of Norwich. The river rises near Melton Constable, upstream from Aylsham and continues to Great Yarmouth and the North Sea ...
where it turns east to join the Aylsham by-pass and then pass the
B1354 before crossing the
River Bure and the junction of the
B1145 close to
Banningham
Banningham is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Colby, Norfolk, Colby, in the North Norfolk district, in the England, English county of Norfolk. The village is 2.9 miles north east of Aylsham, 14.7 miles north of Norwich an ...
. From here it heads in a northerly direction close to the villages of
Erpingham and
Alby with Thwaite, passing through
Roughton where it meets the
B1436 and then merging with the
A149 road.
History
The A140 formed part of a Roman road, known later as
Pye Road
Pye Road is a Roman road running from the capital of the Iceni at Venta Icenorum (Caistor St Edmund near Norwich) to the original Roman provincial capital and legionary base at Camulodunum (Colchester). The road was later extended, connecting it ...
which ran from
Camulodunum
Camulodunum ( ; ), the Roman Empire, Ancient Roman name for what is now Colchester in Essex, was an important Castra, castrum and city in Roman Britain, and the first capital of the province. A temporary "wikt:strapline, strapline" in the 1960s ...
(
Colchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''.
Colchester occupies the ...
) to
Venta Icenorum
Venta Icenorum (, literally "marketplace of the Iceni") was the civitas or capital of the Iceni tribe, located at modern-day Caistor St Edmund in the English county of Norfolk. The Iceni inhabited the flatlands and marshes of that county and ...
(near
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...
).
The southern section from the junction with the A14 to
Scole
Scole () is a village on the Norfolk–Suffolk border in England. It is 19 miles south of Norwich and lay on the old Roman road to Venta Icenorum, which was the main road until it was bypassed with a dual carriageway. It covers an area of and ...
once formed part of Suffolk's first
turnpike trust
Turnpike trusts were bodies set up by individual Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, Acts of Parliament, with powers to collect road toll road, tolls for maintaining the principal roads in Kingdom of Great Britain, Britain from the 17th ...
in which ran from Ipswich to Scole (and also from Claydon to
Stowmarket
Stowmarket ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England,OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket
Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton A2 edition. Publishing Date:2008. o ...
and
Haughley). The trust was either established in 1741 (or in 1711). A turnpike trust was established from Scole Bridge to Norwich by act of parliament much later in 1826. Most turnpikes in Suffolk were removed in the 1870s. The 1826 Act was not however officially repealed until 2008 by the
Statute Law (Repeals) Act 2008.
In 1986 the government's
Roads for Prosperity White Paper
A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. Since the 199 ...
proposed the dualling of the entire Suffolk stretch of the A140 from its junction with the
A14 (then the
A45) and
Scole
Scole () is a village on the Norfolk–Suffolk border in England. It is 19 miles south of Norwich and lay on the old Roman road to Venta Icenorum, which was the main road until it was bypassed with a dual carriageway. It covers an area of and ...
. This proposal was never pursued.
Between 1997 and 2003 (78 months) there were 9 fatalities, 36 serious and 147 slight injuries on the road and as a result in 2004 a temporary 50 mph speed limit was introduced on the Suffolk section and permanent 30 mph through the villages of
Earl Stonham and
Brockford and 40 mph through
Brome. The 30 mph zones had 40 mph 'buffers' either side. Between 2006 and 2008 Suffolk County Council removed a number of 40 mph buffers to "improve compliance and understanding" and extended some 30 mph zones slightly at the same time.
In February 2016, Nicholas Churchill, a disgruntled middle aged construction worker stole his employer's mining truck and drove for about 50 km on this highway and other roads. During this time, he drove into various structures and police vehicles. He finally stopped the truck in Brandon where he was arrested.
Proposed developments
Long Stratton bypass
A long-standing development proposal for the A140 is a bypass for the village of
Long Stratton. In 2002
Norfolk County Council
Norfolk County Council is the upper-tier Local government in England, local authority for Norfolk, England. Below it there are seven second-tier district councils: Breckland District, Breckland, Broadland, Borough of Great Yarmouth, Great Yarmo ...
held a public consultation which resulted in a preferred route being selected in 2003, which bypassed to the east of the village. A planning application for the scheme was submitted in 2004 and the application was approved in February 2005.
[
] However, changes in the way road schemes are funded meant that no central government funding was approved. Since then Norfolk County Council has been unable to secure further funding for the scheme.
[
]
External links
SABRE Roads by 10 – A140
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1-0140
Roads in England
Transport in Norfolk
Roads in Suffolk