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Twyford Down is an area of chalk downland lying directly to the southeast of Winchester, Hampshire, England. It is situated near the South Downs National Park, next to St. Catherine's Hill. The down has been used as a settlement since pre-Roman times, and has hosted a fort and a chapel, as well as being a popular 17th and 18th century coaching route. In 1991, the down became the site of a major road protest against the completion of a section of the M3 motorway from London to the south coast of England. There had been plans to replace an earlier 1930s-built bypass of Winchester since the 1970s, which became regularly congested due to design features that had become out of date. This became problematic due to the lack of available land between Winchester College and St. Catherine's Hill. After several public inquiries, particularly with problems using the water meadows near the college, a route was chosen that took the motorway over the down, ultimately in a cutting. Although protesting against the M3 had been ongoing since the early 1970s, the protest-action on top of the down, described in 1994 as the most controversial British motorway project ever to start construction, attracted a wider group of classes of people than had previously been the case, and included physical violence from onsite security officers. The motorway was completed as planned, and provided an important link of continuous motorway between Greater London and the South Coast ports. Nevertheless, the protests attracted interest from the national media, and drew attention to this form of campaigning. Subsequent road schemes were altered to take greater account of the environment or cancelled altogether. Several protesters at Twyford Down subsequently went on to form campaign groups such as the Campaign for Better Transport. ==History== Twyford Down sits to the southeast of Winchester and the northeast of Twyford, and is part of the Winchester-East Meon Anticline. The down's summit, known as Deacon Hill, is towards the north-eastern edge of the area which is renowned for its dramatic rolling scenery and ecologically rich grassland.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Hampshire Conservation Volunteers : Deacon Hill )〕 Its history can be traced back to pre-Roman times. Along it run a series of trackways known as "dongas", which resulted from farmers herding animals to surrounding markets. St Catherine's Hill, in the centre of the down has been identified as a human settlement more than 3,000 years ago and pre-dates the foundation of Winchester. In the 3rd century, a fort was constructed on the hill, while in the 12th, a Norman chapel was constructed on the site. During the Middle Ages, paths along the down formed part of the Pilgrim's Trail from Winchester to Normandy via Portsmouth. This is commemorated by the modern Pilgrims' Trail which crosses the down.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=The Pilgrims' Trail )〕 In 1675, John Ogilby noted that the main coaching route from London to Southampton ran over the top of the down, going directly from Alresford to Twyford, avoiding Winchester. This remained the main coaching route until about 1800, when an alternative route via Winchester (now mostly the A31 and former A33) was formed.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Old Hampshire mapped )〕 During this time, and up to the 19th century, the area was sometimes known as Morestead Down after the nearby village of Morestead.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Milne's map of Hampshire )〕 Hockley Golf Club was established as a private members' club on the down in 1914.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Hockley Golf Club - How to join )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Twyford Down」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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