Old Kent Road Old Kent Road Old Kent Road is a major thoroughfare in South East London, England, passing through the London Borough of Southwark. It was originally part of an ancient trackway that was paved by the Romans and used by the Anglo-Saxons who named it Wæcelinga Stræt (Watling Street). It is now part of the A2, a major road from London to Dover. The road was important in Roman times linking London to the coast at Richborough and Dover via Canterbury. It was a route for pilgrims in the Middle Ages as portrayed in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, when Old Kent Road
Old Kent Road Dover, though in the narrative the street is still partly rural in nature. After suffering an attack of amnesia, the main character of George Orwell's "A Clergyman's Daughter", Dorothy Hare, finds herself alone on Old Kent Road. In 1985, the BBC arts series "Arena" included a documentary about the road. The road is mentioned in the title of the music hall song "Knocked 'em in the Old Kent Road". It was written in 1891 by Albert Chevalier, who was the lyricist and original performer; the music was written by his brother Charles Ingle. The song was popularised by Shirley Temple's