In recent times it has been assumed that the road from Bidford to
Weston Subedge, known as Buckle Street, is identical with Ryknield
Street, but I should prefer to call Buckle Street a branch of the
latter only, for the purpose of joining Ryknield Street and the Foss
Way near Burton-on-the-Water. I consider the real course of Ryknield
Street to be as described in Leland's _Itinerary_ (inserted by
Hearne), Edition III., 1768, in which he quotes, from R. Gale's _Essay
concerning the Four Great Roman Ways_, that "from Bitford on the
southern edge of Warwickshire it (Ryknield Street) runs into
Worcestershire, and taking its course thro' South Littleton goes on a
little to the east of Evesham, and then by Hinton and west of
Sedgebarrow into Gloucestershire, near Aston-under-Hill, and so by
Bekford, Ashchurch, and a little east of Tewksbury, thro' Norton to
Gloucester."

Such a course for Ryknield Street would make it the connection between
the north, running through the Roman Alauna (Alcester) to Glevum
(Gloucester). It must be remembered that there was, in Roman times,
nothing at Evesham to take the road there, for Evesham did not exist
as a town until long after the Romans left. Leland says that there was
"noe towene at Eovesham before the foundation of the Abbey," which
took place about A.D. 701, about 250 years later, and there was no
road from Alcester to Gloucester except the one we are following.

Another important road passed the northern extremity of Blackminster
and crossed the road just referred to so that the Blackminster area
was situated at the junction. This was the old road from Worcester,
passing the present site of Evesham a mile or more to the north,
crossing the Avon at Twyford, and the Ryknield Street at Blackminster,