Scotch Corner

Scotch Corner is a junction of the A1(M) and A66 trunk roads near Richmond in North Yorkshire, England. It has been described as "the modern gateway to Cumbria, the North East and Scotland",[1] and is a primary destination signed from as far away as the M6 motorway, 50 miles away. The junction's name is derived from the fact that it is the point of divergence for traffic coming from London, the East Midlands and Yorkshire wishing to continue either to Edinburgh and eastern Scotland (along the A1(M)) or to Glasgow and western Scotland (by taking the A66).

This article is about the A1(M)–A66 junction. For the junction in London, see Scotch Corner (Knightsbridge).

Scotch Corner
Location
Middleton Tyas, North Yorkshire
Coordinates54.4426°N 1.6690°W / 54.4426; -1.6690
Roads at
junction
Construction
TypeRoundabout interchange
Maintained byHighways England

Geography

The A1(M) leads north towards North East England and Scotland, and south towards London. The A66 leads north west towards Penrith and the M6 motorway. There are also three other exits from the junction: the A6055 road north and south, with the southbound side leading to the A6108 towards the Yorkshire Dales and Richmond. The third exit is towards Middleton Tyas and Croft-on-Tees and is a minor road which also provides access to the services.

Etymology and history
The Scotch Corner Hotel

The name originated from being the junction where the north–south Roman road known as "Dere Street", which crossed the River Tees at Piercebridge, met the Roman road which went west through Bowes and Brough.[2] It is where travellers to eastern Scotland (now via A1(M) and/or A68) are separated from travellers to western Scotland (now via A66 and M6/ A74(M)/M74).

The Romans were responsible for building the first roads to meet at this point and the site of the original junction is just a few hundred yards away from the modern day intersection. In AD 71 the Romans took control of the North when they defeated the Brigantes, a Northern Celtic tribe at the Battle of Scotch Corner.[1] There was a major Roman settlement at Scotch Corner, with its own mint.[2][3]

The route now called the A66 was once 'the winter road' from Scotch Corner to Glasgow, by way of Carlisle. 'The summer road' runs from Barnard Castle, along Teesdale to Alston, then through Brampton to Gretna in Scotland. Particularly for cattle droving, the shorter route was advantageous when passable. The Summer Road is one of the most spectacular routes in England. The summer road follows what is now the B6278, B6277, and A689.

The location remained significant as a staging post with an inn, The Three Tuns, which subsequently became a roadhouse in the early days of motorised travel.[2] The £8 million Scotch Corner diversion opened in July 1971, which created a grade separated junction on the A1.[4][5]

A £380 million upgrade of the A1 between Leeming Bar and Barton Interchange meant that the road was upgraded to three-lane motorway standard in March 2018.[6]

Facilities
The front entrance of Moto Hospitality, Scotch Corner

Scotch Corner is the site of the Scotch Corner Hotel established in 1939, built on the site of a mid-16th century inn and now operated by Holiday Inn.[2][7] Almost as soon as it was opened, part of the hotel was requisitioned by the Royal Air Force for convalescing airmen.[5] In 2011 it underwent a £3 million refurbishment.[8][9]

It is also marked by a Moto Hospitality service station built in 1980 with an attached Travelodge motel.[7][10] The Moto offers a Costa Coffee, Marks & Spencer, Burger King, WHSmith, KFC, an Esso petrol station,[11] and an electric vehicle charging station.[12]

Jethro Tull refer to Scotch Corner in the title track of their 1976 Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die! album.[13]

gollark: Well, of course it does.
gollark: Or encoding.Or something.
gollark: Though yes, I did mess up decoding.
gollark: I'm not entirely sure what you're saying here.
gollark: Also, try ctrl+F5.

See also

References
  1. "Richmond and Swaledale History". Yorkshire-england.co.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
  2. Lloyd, Chris (12 March 2018). "History of Scotch Corner - once the site of a battle between Romans and Brigantes, 2,000 years ago". The Northern Echo. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018.
  3. "Roman treasures found on A1". Highways England, Government of the United Kingdom. 10 April 2017. Archived from the original on 24 April 2017.
  4. Corner interchange Commercial Motor 9 July 1971 page 26
  5. Lloyd, Chris (16 March 2018). "Life and Times of Scotch Corner Take a New Turn". Darlington & Stockton Times (11–2018). p. 33. ISSN 2516-5348.
  6. Copeland, Alexa (29 March 2018). "A1(M) in North Yorkshire now fully open - But works not over just yet". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  7. "Domesday Reloaded: Scotch Corner Hotel". BBC. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
  8. Amos, Mike (31 January 2012). "Third degree burns". The Northern Echo. Archived from the original on 23 March 2014.
  9. "Holiday Inn, Scotch Corner". Projekt Architects. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018.
  10. "Domesday Reloaded: Highway Service Station". BBC. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
  11. "Scotch Corner | Motorway Services | Service Areas | Moto - the UK's largest motorway services provider". Moto-way.com. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
  12. "Our Electric Highway". Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  13. "Jethro Tull - Too Old To Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young To Die Lyrics". Metro Lyrics.

Location grid
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