The A414 is a major

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

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 ...

, which connects the towns of

Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England. It is located north-west of London; nearby towns and cities include Watford, St Albans and Berkhamsted. The population at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 cens ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

and

Maldon Maldon (, locally ) is a town and civil parish on the Blackwater Estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon District and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It is known for Maldon Sea Salt which is prod ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. The road commences at the A41, at a junction west of Hemel, and travels through the town to junction 8 of the

M1 motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) motorway, A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the count ...

at Buncefield. From there, it runs parallel to the M1 until junction 7, heading south of

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

and east through Hatfield and

Hertford Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census. The town grew around a Ford (crossing), ford on ...

. The road then crosses the A10 and into Essex; it travels through

Harlow Harlow is a town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a Planned community, new town in 1947, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire, and occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the ...

Chipping Ongar Chipping Ongar () is a market town and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ongar, in the Epping Forest District of the county of Essex, England. It is located east of Epping, southeast of Harlow and northwest of Brentwood. In 2020 ...

and

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...

, before terminating at Maldon.

History

The section between the M1 and the Park Street roundabout junction south of St Albans was formerly classified as the M10 motorway. This was downgraded to A road status on 1 May 2009, following the completion of the M1 widening between junctions 7 and 8 of the M1. Between the (former) M10 Junction 1 at Park Street, and the A1 junction, the A414 is named the North Orbital Road which reflects the planners' intent to build an outer orbital road around

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The ''North Orbital Road'' route was never completed, the planners opting to build the M25 orbital motorway instead. The A414 route has always connected Hemel Hempstead and Maldon, but over the years it has changed so much that it is almost completely new. The original route from Hemel Hempstead to St Albans followed the course of what is now the A4147, then from St Albans to Hatfield on the course of what are now the A1057 and B6426. The villages of Cole Green,

Birch Green A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 to ...

, and Staines Green were bypassed in the 1990s by a new dual carriageway that linked into the 1970s

Hertingfordbury Hertingfordbury is a small village in Hertfordshire, England, close to the county town of Hertford. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. Hertingfordbury is also the name of a neighbouring civil parish, which does not contain the villa ...

bypass. On the other side of Hertford, the A414 took what is now the A119 Ware Road, and then diverged along the course of the current B1502 and B181 from Hertford to

Stanstead Abbotts Stanstead Abbotts (alternatively Stanstead Abbots) is a village and civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire, Hertfordshire, England; it lies on the county boundary with Essex. At the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 1,983 ...

. Between November 2009 and April 2011 the section between junction 7 of the M11 and Southern Way in Harlow was widened from three to four lanes and the Southern way roundabout completely remodelled. Most of the Essex section (between the Talbot at Tylers Green and

Writtle Writtle is a village and civil parish west of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It has a traditional village green complete with duck pond and a Norman church, and was once described as "one of the loveliest villages in England, with a ravishing va ...

) was originally the A122. The original A414 road bypassed Harlow to the north, travelling through

High Wych High Wych is a village and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. The village is located a little over one mile south-west of the town of Sawbridgeworth, and around three miles north-east of Harlow in the nei ...

on what is now an unclassified road, and travelling through

Sawbridgeworth Sawbridgeworth (traditionally or , now also ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, close to the border with Essex. It is east of Hertford and north of Epping, Essex, Epping. It is the northernmo ...

to meet what is now the A1060 at

Hatfield Heath Hatfield Heath is a village, civil parish, and an Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, and at its west is close to the border with Hertfordshire. In close proximity ar ...

, which it followed through to Chelmsford. In Chelmsford itself, the road numbers have been subject to change several times over the last three or four decades, with the A12, A130 and A414 having been rerouted many times over that period.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:4-0414 Roads in England Transport in Harlow Transport in Epping Forest District Transport in the City of Chelmsford Roads in Essex Roads in Hertfordshire