Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle is the northerly “bookend” of the Great North Road as St Paul’s Cathedral is in the south. Not strictly on the road but both...
The Battle of Barnet
The Battle of Barnet may sound like a dispute between commuters on the Northern Line but in fact took place in 1471 and some 3,000 people died. It was one of the...
York Minster
York Minster history spans two millennia and provides direct linkage from Roman times to the present. Its history parallels that of the Great North Road...
The Eleanor Crosses
The Eleanor Crosses constructed in the 1290s to commemorate the passing of the queen were prominent landmarks alongside the Great North Road at Grantham...
Whittlesea Mere
Until the 1850s Whittlesea Mere was one of the largest lakes in England. It had long been a rich source of fish and wildfowl – and by the 18th century it was also attracting...
The Angel Inn, Grantham
The Angel Inn traces its roots back to a hostel built in 1203 by the Knights Templar; this was a military/religious order which supported those fighting the Crusades or...
The George, Stamford
The George at Stamford vies with the Angel at Grantham as the country’s oldest surviving coaching inn. Its distinctive wooden arch over the Great North Road...
Lindisfarne
The Holy Island of Lindisfarne lies 4 miles from the Great North Road between Berwick and Newcastle. The Northumberland coast is magnificent, and Lindisfarne is...
Buckden Palace
Buckden Palace sits directly alongside the Great North Road. In medieval times it straddled the road in Buckden with the Bishop’s Palace and Little Park to...
Medieval Transport
Knowledge of medieval transport is decidedly patchy. There are precious few maps before that of Ogilby in the 17th century so we have to piece together the picture from...
St Paul’s Cathedral
Saint Paul's Cathedral is not “on” the Great North Road – more one of its “bookends”. However, whether you define the London end of the road...
Danelaw
Danelaw arose from a peace deal in the late 9th century between King Alfred and Viking invaders. It placed half of England under Danish law and.....
King Harold
Perhaps the most famous return trip along the Great North Road was that of Harold in 1066. Faced with both Scandinavian and French challenges to his newly.....
Sawtry Abbey
The site of Sawtry Abbey is squeezed between the Great North Road and the east coast mainline railway. Not far away you can find Monks Wood and Abbots.....