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Watford Gap services are motorway services on the M1 motorway in Northamptonshire, England. They opened on 2 November 1959, the same day as the M1, making them the oldest motorway services in Britain. The facilities were originally managed by Blue Boar, a local company that had run a nearby petrol station before the M1 opened. Roadchef bought the services from Blue Boar in 1995. The main building was designed by Harry Weedon, the architect for Odeon Cinemas, while the layout and general buildings were designed by coordinating architect Owen Williams. The main building was not ready on opening, so food was served from temporary sheds. The restaurant opened in September 1960, but due to the site's reputation as a truck stop, was redesigned in 1964 to accommodate a waitress service. The services became a meeting place for rock bands in the 1960s, including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix, as it provided a convenient place to sit down and eat a meal in the early hours of the morning. In the 1970s, the quality of the services declined and the food came in for harsh criticism from journalists and artists, such as Roy Harper. Since purchase in 1995, Roadchef have refurbished the premises. They have promoted its history, including the association with a north / south divide, and its regular use by 1960s rock musicians. A number of events took place to celebrate the 50th anniversary in November 2009, including a musical about the services. The services are named after the nearby Watford Gap, a crossing point of the limestone ridge just north of the village of Watford; the name is unrelated to the town of Watford in Hertfordshire. Watford Gap is often considered to be on a dividing line that separates the north and the south of England. ==Location== The services are in Northamptonshire, England close to the village of Watford about to the south east of Rugby and about to the north west of London. They are situated between junctions 16 and 17 of the M1 with a single site for each direction on the motorway linked by a footbridge.〔 The name comes from the nearby Watford Gap, the narrowest and lowest point in the limestone ridge that crosses England diagonally from the Cotswolds to Lincoln Edge. In Roman Britain, Iter II, later named Watling Street, crossed the gap; Thomas Telford considered the route unsuitable for coach traffic due to the presence of quicksand. Today, this is reflected in the modern road network by the A5 suddenly turning left towards Kilsby near the services. Similarly, the Grand Union Canal avoided the gap by the Crick Tunnel. Consequently, the Roman Road at Watford Gap was largely untouched by previous engineering works when the M1 was constructed, and the engineers were able to build over it. In popular culture, the Watford Gap is often considered to be a dividing line that separates the north and the south of England. The phrase "north of the Watford gap" may be shortened to "north of Watford", inviting confusion with the larger town of Watford further south in Hertfordshire. Roadchef have suggested that the services' name should be included in the Oxford English Dictionary as an expression of the divide between the north and south. 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「Watford Gap services」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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