A22 road

This article is about the road in England. For other roads named A22, see List of A22 roads.

The A22 is one of the two-digit major roads in the south east of England. Radial, it carries traffic from London to the Eastbourne area of the East Sussex coast, in which town it ends.

A22
A22 near Eastbourne in East Sussex.
Route information
Length	48.3 mi[1] (77.7 km)
Major junctions
South end	A2280 / A2290 in Eastbourne 50.785°N 0.274°E / 50.785; 0.274
Major intersections	A27 near Polegate A26 near Uckfield A272 near Maresfield A264 in East Grinstead M25 in Godstone
North end	A23 / A235 in London (Purley) 51.3375°N 0.1166°W / 51.3375; -0.1166
Location
Country	United Kingdom
Counties	East Sussex, West Sussex, Surrey, Greater London
Primary destinations	Croydon East Grinstead
Road network
Roads in the United Kingdom Motorways A and B road zones

History

Turnpikes

For part of its route the A22 utilises the turnpikes opened in the 18th century:

• 1718: London to East Grinstead section opened as a turnpike
• 1720: above road extended through East Grinstead to Highgate, Forest Row, the entrance to Ashdown Forest

By 1820 the road ran for 34 miles (54 km) from Stones End Street, Borough, London to Wych Cross.

Extension to Westminster Bridge

The road was extended north to Westminster Bridge which was later renamed the A23.

Route

The A22 diverges from the A23 south of London at Purley Cross Junction (south of Purley). It runs over the North Downs into Surrey, crossing the M25 London Orbital Motorway just north of Godstone. This section incorporates the Caterham bypass, which opened in 1939 as one of the earliest such roads in the country, including the Wapses Lodge roundabout at the northern end.^[2] It then travels along the route of an ancient Roman road.

To the south of the M25, the road briefly enters West Sussex at Felbridge, just to the north of East Grinstead, and the A264 between Crawley and Tunbridge Wells merges with the A22 for a short section. The A22 bypasses East Grinstead town centre, running along a disused railway cutting, part of a line which closed as a consequence of the Beeching Report, which cut large numbers of local rail services. Richard Beeching was a local resident, and as a result, some local residents wanted to call this section the "Beeching Cut".^[3] Instead, it was named Beeching Way.

To the south of East Grinstead the A22 crosses into East Sussex, just north of Forest Row. Between Forest Row and Nutley the road crosses the ancient Ashdown Forest. The A22 is the only road through the forest not subject to 40 mph speed limits. The A275 branches south to Lewes at the Wych Cross junction. Both the A272 and the A26 cross the A22 between Nutley and Uckfield. The A26 merges with the A22 for the section round Uckfield. There are bypasses of East Hoathly and Hailsham. There is a junction with the A27, to the north of the end of the A22, in Eastbourne.

Junction list

A22

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
East Sussex	Eastbourne	0.0	0.0	Lottbridge Drove (A2290 south-east) / Cross Levels Way (A2280 south-west) – Town centre, Hampden Park	Southern terminus; north-western terminus of A2290; north-eastern terminus of A2280
	Polegate–Westham boundary	2.1	3.4	A27 east to A259 – Hastings, Bexhill	Southern terminus of A27 concurrency
	Polegate	3.8	6.1	A27 west (Polegate By-Pass) / Hailsham Road (B2247) – Brighton, Newhaven, Lewes, Polegate, Alfriston, Willingdon	Northern terminus of A27 concurrency
	Arlington–Hailsham boundary	5.6	9.0	A295 north-east (South Road) – Hailsham	South-western terminus of A295
	Hellingly	7.5	12.1	A267 north / A271 east – Heathfield, Bexhill, Hor-am, Horsebridge	Southern terminus of A267; western terminus of A271
	Little Horsted–Uckfield boundary	16.0	25.7	A26 south-west / Lewes Road – Lewes, Brighton, Newhaven	Southern terminus of A26 concurrency
	Maresfield–Uckfield boundary	18.9	30.4	A26 north-east / A272 east – Crowborough, Tunbridge Wells, Heathfield, Maresfield, Buxted	Northern terminus of A26 concurrency; southern terminus of A272 concurrency
	Maresfield	19.6	31.5	A272 west / Batts Bridge Road – Haywards Heath, Maresfield, Newick	Northern terminus of A272 concurrency
	Wych Cross	25.7	41.4	A275 south (Lewes Road) – Lewes, Chelwood Gate, Danehill	Northern terminus of A275
West Sussex	East Grinstead	31.6	50.9	A264 east (Moat Road) – Tunbridge Wells	Southern terminus of A264 concurrency
Surrey	Felbridge	32.8	52.8	A264 west (Copthorne Road) to M23 – Crawley, Gatwick Airport	Northern terminus of A264 concurrency
	Godstone	40.9	65.8	A25 (Oxted Road) – Westerham, Redhill, Oxted, Godstone	Godstone signed northbound only
		41.7– 41.9	67.1– 67.4	M25 / B2235 (Godstone Hill) to M23 – Gatwick Airport, Reigate, Sevenoaks, Dartford, Godstone	M25 junction 6
Greater London	Purley	48.0	77.2	A2022 east (Downs Court Road) – Selsdon, Sanderstead	Southern terminus of A2022 concurrency
	48.3	77.7	A23 / A235 north to M25 – Brighton, Gatwick Airport, Central London, Croydon, South Croydon	Northern terminus; southern terminus of A235
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

Gallery

• 
  Godstone bypass
• 
  The A22 in Eastbourne.
• 
  The Caterham Bypass
• 
  At Polegate
• 
  A22 northbound towards Hailsham, East Sussex

See also

• Great Britain road numbering scheme

References

1. "Eastbourne BN23 6PT, UK to Godstone, United Kingdom to Purley CR8 2HA, UK". Google Maps. Alphabet Inc. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
2. "Wapses Lodge Roundabout – A local history article by Ruth Sear". The Caterham and District Independent. 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
3. http://www.bbc.co.uk/wear/content/articles/2008/10/24/wear_beeching_feature.shtml Beeching Cut