A drove road is defined as an ancient roadway along which cattle were driven to market. At the height of their time, between the Middle Ages and the Industrial Revolution, they were, for all practical purposes, the primary route of their time. Cattle drovers steered clear of the settled population; for most of their length, routes ran over isolated ridgeways and kept away from villages, a strategy which had the added benefit of avoiding hefty turnpike fees and delays.
The Original Banbury Lane runs down past Carrdus School, now separated by the A422 dual carriageway, and on past Nethercote taken from Middleton Cheney
Banbury Lane is still often referred to as Blacklocks Hill and this refers to the history of the area and time when this area saw a main route into Oxfordshire from Northamptonshire, before the M40 and A422 dual carriageway were opened in the late 1980’s. Banbury Lane was the main route from Northampton to Banbury and the point where one enters Oxfordshire from Northamptonshire lies within Nethercote today. The road now known as Overthorpe Road was a turnpike road, although this was rerouted slightly for the M40 building, Banbury Lane was simply truncated
Map showing the original Banbury Lane Route with the M40 and A422 Dual Carriageway overlaidThe “No Entry” Markings on Banbury Lane Today Indicate the County Border Between Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire and the road now truncates into a wooded area where it once ran across where now lies M40Wider Verges were characteristic of Drove Roads to allow grazing for cattlePrior to the M40 – Heading along Banbury Lane to the now truncated section
