The History of the A3 London to Portsmouth road at Hindhead, from coach road to a tunnel. Part 1

Early history By the 17th century, the historic Portsmouth Road bore great strategic significance as the road link between the capital city and what became the settled main port of the Royal Navy, as well as a non-military port like nearby Chichester — a petition was passed by Her Majesty for the expansion of the bench of justices of the town of Guildford along its route, in consideration of the importance of the Portsmouth Road, in 1603. Many of the other towns and villages that the road passed through gained income and, in the case of towns, a market advantage as a result — principally in the history of Kingston upon Thames, Godalming and Petersfield. The modern A3 follows the general route of the Portsmouth Road, but it bypasses many of the towns and villages along the way, leaving the various stretches of the old route for local traffic — for instance, the A307, its original course through Kingston-upon-Thames and Esher, retains its name, Portsmouth Road. The road was once the haunt of highwaymen such as Jerry Abershawe, who in the 18th Century terrorised the area around Kingston and led a gang based at the Bald Faced Stag Inn on the Portsmouth Road. Another particularly dangerous location was in the vicinity of the wooded crest skirting the Devil's Punch Bowl, Hindhead, about 8 miles (13 km) south-west of Guildford. #vlogger #youtuber #walking #friends #coachroad #hindhead #road #traffic #devilspunchbowl #coaches #highway #hindheadtunnel #A3 #gopro #scottholmesmusic.com #bensoundsmusic.com Music: https://www.bensound.com/free-music-f... License code: D2ESFVLE8TG17MPJ Royalty Free Music: Bensound.com License code: JYPJPZBGMWNIWAS8 Music by: Bensound License code: WUNFBOAJNGKZIFNG