Brockley Hill
| Brockley Hill | |
|---|---|
 View of Brockley Hill |
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 Brockley Hill
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| Brockley Hill shown within Greater London | |
| OS grid reference | TQ174940 |
| London borough | |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | HARROW |
| Postcode district | HA7 |
| Dialling code | 020 |
| EU Parliament | London |
| London Assembly | |
Brockley Hill, Stanmore, on the outskirts of North London, England, rises to 136 metres (446 ft) above sea level. The road leading over it is also named Brockley Hill. The area is associated with the archaeological site called Sulloniacis. Its most prominent building is the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital.
In its present form the name dates from the 16th century; the earlier form was Brokhole(s): 'badger-holes', from the old English and Celtic word Brock. The sandy soil of the hill-top is more attractive to burrowing animals like badgers, than the heavy London clay of the surrounding areas.
Brockley Hill is the eastern arm of a long hill centred on Stanmore. The top of the hill is capped with "Stanmore Gravel", which is the remnant of a layer of gravel laid down by a river system pre-dating the Thames. Under the gravel are layers of sand, silt and clay about 15 metres thick known as the Claygate Beds. Below this is London Clay about 70 metres thick. This arrangement is typical of hills bounding the Thames Valley.
The A5 Trunk road runs across the summit of Brockley Hill using the same alignment of the highway (also known as Watling Street) built by the Romans in the 1st century AD. The southerly approach climbs to a height of 70 m (230 ft) in a distance of 1,400 m (0.87 mi) from the junction of Spur Road, Edgware. The area might be the location of Sulloniacis, a way point for the Cursus publicus (Roman Imperial mail service). A smaller Roman road is supposed to have branched off from the top of Brockley Hill in the direction of Watford, King's Langley, Berkhampstead, and Tring, however, there is no evidence of this route according to studies of the parish boundaries. On the northerly descent, the highway drops 30 m (98 ft) to Elstree Hill Roundabout over 600 m (0.37 mi). Although both sections of Roman road approaching Brockley Hill are straight, a direct course across the summit was abandoned in favour of a double-bend alignment. This was employed to alleviate ascent of the hill because of the steepness in the terrain.
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Wikipedia