Watford Gap

Watford Gap: West Coast Main Line and M1 motorway in parallel

The Watford Gap is a low-lying point between two hills, close to the village of Watford, Northamptonshire. Engineers from Roman times onwards have found it to be an ideal route for connecting the Midlands with the south-east of Britain. In a width of 1,300 ft the A5 road, the West Coast Main Line railway, the M1 motorway and a branch of the Grand Union Canal all traverse the gap in parallel.

Focal point

An easy route between the London and Birmingham areas passes near the small village centre of Watford, Northamptonshire. The gap is 3½ miles north-east of Daventry and two miles west of Long Buckby. In the era of Roman Britain, the Watling Street Roman road utilised the gap. The road here forms the A5, but for national journeys has been superseded by the M1 motorway which also passes through this gap.

Later the road was joined by the Leicester Line of the Grand Union Canal, which passes through the Watford Locks just to the north of the gap.

The historical geographic importance of the area led to many modern communication routes passing through this narrow gap: the coming of the railways brought the London and Birmingham Railway, now known as the West Coast Main Line; the most recent addition, in 1959, was the M1, Britain's first inter-urban motorway, bringing with it Watford Gap services, the first motorway service station.

Division

Geological divide

Topographically the gap is a pass (small cleft) between east and west hill ranges. A tributary of the River Nene rises at Watford and flows east to the Wash, whereas at Kilsby a tributary of the River Leam rises and flows west.

Sociological divide

Isogloss

In linguistics the Watford Gap has become oft-quoted as the point that marks the division of northern and southern dialects. Specifically it is close to the north/south isogloss of the three key hallmarks of Northern English and Southern English: the foot–strut split, bad-lad split and trap-bath split, however traditionally it follows most East Midlands Accents.

'North/South' Divide

Making use of the above linguistic divide, authors, journalists and social commentators have written and spoken of a North/South divide separated by attributes, perceived or real, between two vague opposing entities 'The North' and 'The South', a somewhat controversial dichotomy, often publicly denounced, and not merely by political parties as explained in the articles on those places.

Stagecoach route

Historically, this was a junction of the west Midlands to London or East Anglia stagecoach routes. Its coaching inn, named the Watford Gap, plied the passing trade of the area.

The pub, as well as the route from Cambridge to Coventry, is mentioned as early as 1769. This route ran through Northampton, Duston, Harlestone, past Althorp Park, Brington, Long Buckby, Watford, Watford Gap itself - the map indicating that the coaching inn was on the west side of Watling Street, and then into Kilsby. The route from Watford Gap to Kilsby is now part of the diverted A5 road following construction of the M1 motorway.

The location of the Watford Gap coaching inn is the subject of confusion, with a location on the east side of the Grand Junction Canal (within the confines of the modern service station) being the most frequently cited, near the disused Welton railway station. There is no mention of a Watford Gap pub or any other pub at the suggested location on the 1889 or 1927 or 1952 Ordnance Survey maps of Northamptonshire. The nearest pub was the now-closed Stag's Head Inn in Station Road, Watford. The original location is further north on Watling Street and is shown on the 1889, 1927 and 1952 maps (52°19’26"N, 1°8’33"W).

The canal-side building still stands but, as of 2000, has closed for business and needs renovation. The earlier Watford Gap Inn is also still standing and is in good repair and generally unaltered, with the stabling yards and main structures used as farm buildings. It can be easily viewed from the road: there is a parking lay-by on the southbound side of Watling Street.

Motorway service station

The village is now mainly known for the nearby Watford Gap services on the M1 motorway, which was the first motorway service station in the United Kingdom.

Cultural references

Charles Jennings is reluctantly forced to rethink his preconceptions following the first chapter of Up North: Travels Beyond the Watford Gap with the many ways in which "the North" is socially and geographically as diverse as "the South" as the narrative increasingly finds efforts to depict a North/South divide as contrived.

Roy Harper wrote a song "Watford Gap" in his 1977 album Bullinamingvase. Motorway service areas which have since undergone radical innovations were at the time in the United Kingdom typecast as spartan. The owners of Watford Gap services objected to his first reference to the place being ("Watford Gap, Watford Gap / A plate of grease and a load of crap…"). Harper was advised to drop the track from future UK copies of the album, though it reappeared on a CD reissue and remained on the American LP.

Liverpool F.C.'s 1988 song "Anfield Rap" makes reference to the relatively few players at the time with a northern accent and refers to the gap.

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Watford Gap)

• Location map: 52°18’22"N, 1°7’26"W