Old Kent Road a Celtic ancient trackway that was paved by the Romans and recorded as Inter III on the Antonine Itinerary. The Anglo-Saxons named it "Wæcelinga Stræt" (Watling Street). It joined Stane Street another ancient and Roman road at Southwark before crossing the Thames at London Bridge. The Inter III was one of the most important Roman roads in Britain, linking London with Canterbury and the Channel ports at Richborough ("Rutupiae"); Dover ("Dubris") and Lympne ("Lemanis"). Pilgrims, as documented in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, travelled along the road from London and Southwark on their way to Canterbury. In 1415, the road was a
Old Kent Road railway station to the East London was withdrawn on 1 June 1911 and the track was removed in 1912. The station closed temporarily on 1 January 1917 during the First World War as an economy measure, but was never reopened after the end of the war. The reopening of the spur from Old Kent Road Junction to the East London Line in December 2012 allowed through services, as part of London Overground, a century after they were withdrawn. A new station named is proposed to be situated about 700 metres north of the site of the former Old Kent Road station. A