The A264 is an east–west road in southern

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

that runs from

Pembury Pembury is a large village in Kent, in the south east of England, with a population of 6,128 at the 2011 census. It lies just to the north-east of Royal Tunbridge Wells. The village centre, including the village green and High Street area is a ...

in west

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

to Five Oaks in

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

History

There have been a number of notable changes in this important east–west route which follows the north Sussex border with Kent and Surrey. Originally the route started in

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly Tunbridge Wells) is a town in Kent, England, southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone ...

, the Pembury to Tunbridge Wells section being originally the A263. West of Tunbridge Wells, instead of following its northerly route to

East Grinstead East Grinstead () is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the northeast corner of the county, bord ...

via Holtye and

Hammerwood Hammerwood is a hamlet in the civil parish of Forest Row in East Sussex, England. Its nearest town is East Grinstead, which lies approximately west from the village. The village is situated on the High Weald, on the East Sussex-West Sussex-Ken ...

, which was the B2110 prior to about 1970, it followed what is now the B2110 through

Groombridge Groombridge is a village of about 1,600 people. It straddles the border between Kent and East Sussex, in England. The nearest large town is Royal Tunbridge Wells, about away by road. The main part of the village ("New Groombridge") lies in t ...

and

Hartfield Hartfield is a village and civil parish in the Wealden district of East Sussex, England. The parish also includes the settlements of Colemans Hatch, Hammerwood and Holtye, all lying on the northern edge of Ashdown Forest. Geography The main ...

Forest Row Forest Row is a village and a large civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. The village is located three miles (5 km) south-east of East Grinstead. In January 2023, it ranked as Britain’s 3rd poshest village. His ...

, and multiplexed with the A22 to East Grinstead (which explains the present discontinuity in the B2110 at Forest Row and East Grinstead, the unexpected sharp right at

Langton Green Langton Green is a village in the borough of Tunbridge Wells, England, lying around two miles west of the town centre along the A264. It is located within the parish of Speldhurst although it has its own church on the village green—the Grade ...

when travelling west, and unexpected left at East Grinstead when travelling east along the A264). Both routes are winding and narrow and both have bridges with single file traffic. West of East Grinstead, it multiplexes with the A22 to

Felbridge __NOTOC__ Felbridge is a village and civil parish in the Tandridge district of Surrey with a playing field within its focal area, narrowly in West Sussex. Felbridge village forms a contiguous settlement with East Grinstead and had 829 homes a ...

. The section from the west of Felbridge as far as Three Bridges has been improved and partially rerouted. For many years there was no junction with the M23, and the route went through both

Crawley Crawley () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a populat ...

and

Horsham Horsham () is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

. In the late 1980s, it was rerouted along the newly constructed Copthorne Link Road to Junction 10 of the M23, and in the early 1990s was multiplexed south along the M23 to Junction 11 at

Pease Pottage Pease Pottage is a village in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. It lies on the southern edge of the Crawley built-up area, in the civil parish of Slaugham. The village has a motorway service station, named after the villag ...

, and along the then newly constructed SW Crawley Bypass. The section west of Crawley was upgraded to dual carriageway, and the route now follows Horsham's Northern Bypass (opened 1989; traffic previously went through the town) to its junction with the

A24 A24 Films LLC, commonly referred to as A24, is an American Privately held company, independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. The studio is based in Manhattan. The company ...

, then multiplexes south with the A24 (West Bypass), now also dual carriageway, to

Broadbridge Heath Broadbridge Heath is a village and civil parish in the Horsham district of West Sussex, England. It is about two miles (3 km) west from the historic centre of Horsham. The population of Broadbridge Heath has increased considerably in the f ...

where instead of going through the village it follows its bypass together with the A281. The old route is followed southwest to Five Oaks and the A29. Thus, very little of the original A264 now carries that identifier.

Route: major settlements and intersections

( A21, A228) *

( A26) *

( A22) * Copthorne ( M23) *

( A23, M23) *

(

, A281) *

(A281) * Five Oaks ( A29)

References

External links

*http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/roadlists/r10/notes.php?number=A264 Roads in Kent Roads in West Sussex {{England-road-stub