A508 road

The A508 is a north-south A-class road in central England, forming the route from Market Harborough in Leicestershire, via Northampton, to Old Stratford in Northamptonshire, just outside Milton Keynes.

A508
A508 in Grafton Regis
Major junctions
North end	A4304 in Market Harborough 52.4782°N 0.9136°W / 52.4782; -0.9136 (A508 road (northern end))
Major intersections	A14 (J2) A5076 A5199 A5095 A428 A4500 A5123 A45 M1 (J15)
South end	Old Stratford A5 / A422 52.0665°N 0.8699°W / 52.0665; -0.8699 (A508 road (southern end))
Location
Country	United Kingdom
Primary destinations	Market Harborough Northampton Milton Keynes
Road network
Roads in the United Kingdom Motorways A and B road zones
← A507 → A509

Major settlements

The major settlements along the route are Market Harborough, Great Oxendon, Kelmarsh, Maidwell, Hanging Houghton, Brixworth, Pitsford, Boughton, Northampton, Roade, Grafton Regis, Yardley Gobion, before finishing outside Old Stratford.^{[citation needed]}

Route

Market Harborough

Market Harborough town centre

The road starts in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, at the junction of the A4304 St Mary's Road and Clarence Road. It begins as Kettering Road, crosses the River Welland, and continues as Springfield Street, Northampton Road and Harborough Road, before crossing the county boundary into Northamptonshire.^{[citation needed]}

Great Oxendon to Boughton

A508 in Great Oxenden

The A508 is named Harborough Road until it becomes Harborough Road North at a roundabout in the village of Boughton. The first village in Northamptonshire is Great Oxendon, where the road passes St Helen's Church.^[1] The road then passes Kelmarsh Hall and Kelmarsh village. South of Kelmarsh it intersects with the A14 road, a dual carriageway trunk road, at a grade-separated junction.^{[citation needed]}

A508 entering Maidwell

South of the A14, the road continues through Maidwell^{[citation needed]} and Lamport, where it is served by X7 and 77 buses to Northampton.^[2]

History

The route of the A508 follows a long-established route from Northampton to Market Harborough, crossing medieval bridges, or their replacements, at Pitsford and Great Oxendon.^[3]

References

1. Historic England. "Church of St Helen (1367480)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
2. "X7 Bus Route & Timetable: Northampton - Market Harborough" (PDF). Stagecoach. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
3. Burton, Philip; Evans, Martin Marix; Westaway, M. (22 January 2002). Naseby-June 1645: English Civil War. Pen and Sword. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-85052-871-8. the direct route to Market Harborough (now A508) crossed the medieval bridges at Pitsford and Great Oxendon

52.2675°N 0.9001°W / 52.2675; -0.9001 (A508 road)