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| Fortune of War Roundabout |
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Location: Arterial Road, Laindon Photographer: Bix Year of photo: 24/10/2002 Copyright: Basildon History Online Comments: The roundabout now no longer in use. |
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Location: Arterial Road, Laindon Photographer: Bix Year of photo: 27/11/2002 Copyright: Basildon History Online Comments: |
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Location: Arterial Road, Laindon Photographer: Bix Year of photo: 27/11/2002 Copyright: Basildon History Online Comments: |
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Location: Arterial Road, Laindon Photographer: Unknown Year of photo: c.1950s Copyright: N/A. Comments: |
| Fortune of War Roundabout |
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In 1925 the A127 London - Southend Arterial Road
opened. Initially built as a single carriageway, the new route proved popular and by 1936
the road was dualed to accommodate the increase in motor traffic. The same year saw the introduction
of the Trunk Roads Act of 1936, and the A127, along with the A11 and A12, were the first three
roads to be defined in Essex under the new Act. In 1928, the 'new' Fortune of War Hotel public house opened on the Southend bound side of the Laindon crossroads, and the spur became very popular with charabanc (coach) day trippers stopping off on their way to Southend. Traffic police were often used to direct the flow and for some years an R.A.C. officer stood on duty complete with sentry box and telephone service, until the construction of a roundabout which become known as the 'Fortune of War'. Another feature of the roundabout location for many years has been a cafe. Once known as Enefer's, it later became the Happy Eater and is now a McDonald's. On the London bound carriageway is a BP petrol station. Through the years as Basildon and neighbouring towns developed, the increase in road transport left this stretch of road very congested and, in an attempt to alleviate the congestion traffic lights were installed. This didn't solve the problem. When a new road (Willowfields) and overbridge were built linking each side of the High Road, the roundabout was no longer considered necessary and during 1995 an experimental trial was then implemented, the result of which saw the roundabout closed off and the traffic lights removed. This improved traffic flow but following a spate of accidents, mainly involving lorries overturning, a 20 Mph speed limit was imposed on the A127 on the roundabout's approach. The trial - after more than 10 years - would now appear to be permanent and although the roundabout still remains, its future is uncertain, though calls have been heard locally for its removal. A decision over its future has no doubt been delayed in part, by the consideration and planning involved in re-routing the various cables and pipes believed to lie beneath the former roundabout. In November 1995, a Highways Agency proposed scheme to widen the A127 from the M25 to Rayleigh Weir, was withdrawn from the trunk road programme due to a high level of opposition. This could have lead to a new section of A127 between the Dunton Wayletts junction and A132 Wickford interchange, thus completely by-passing the Fortune of War. For many years an attractive feature of the roundabout was a centrally mounted cast iron signpost. This probably stood no more than 4 feet high and survived well into the 1980s. Text written 2002 with revisions 2002-2007. Copyright © 2002-2007, Basildon History Online. All rights reserved. |
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