A638 road
The A638 is a main road in England that runs between the A1 at Markham Moor in Nottinghamshire and Chain Bar Junction 26 of the M62 motorway south of Bradford in West Yorkshire.
It passes through Retford, Bawtry, Doncaster, Ackworth, Crofton, Nostell, Wakefield, Dewsbury, Heckmondwike and Cleckheaton.
History
The section of road between Markham Moor and Red House north of Doncaster which runs through the centre of Doncaster was originally the A1 before the Doncaster Bypass, a section of A1 was built.The road used to continue to Odsal Top in Bradford but the road between Chain Bar and Odsal has been de-classified from an A road.
Route
Markham Moor to Doncaster
The route starts off as a non-trunk road at the Markham Moor in West Drayton. Previous to 1967, the A1 approached from the south on what is now the B1164. Previous to 1958, this small section would have been the A1, where it would have met the A57 from Lincoln the then both roads were concurrent for a hundred yards, then the A57 took the road through West Drayton. When the West Drayton diversion opened in February 1957 as the A57, the A1 still went through Retford, until August 1961.at Retford
There is a right turn for Askham, then through Gamston, where there is a left turn for the B6387 near the Bramcote Lorne School, an independent preparatory school. It follows the River Idle, and to the east of Eaton, where there is a staggered crossroads, for Upton to the east, and it passes the Jamia Al-Karam, a Muslim boarding school. It enters the White Houses part of Retford as ', with a right turn for Nether Headon, ' and the JET Whitehouses Service Station, a left turn for Ordsall, then crosses the East Coast Main Line. There is a , with the left for Thrumpton. It crosses the Sheffield to Lincoln Line, the former King Edward VI Grammar School on the right opposite the Esso King Edwards Service Station, and there is a left turn for Albert Road, the main access for Retford railway station. It the Cuckoo Way and the Chesterfield Canal as Arlington Way, passes the Sherwood Centre, the Bassetlaw Museum, and St. Swithun's , and the A620 to the north at traffic lights. As Amcott Way it crosses the River Idle with Morrisons on the bank of the river, and the A620 leaves to the west at a roundabout. This part of Retford is West Retford. As North Road it passes the Texaco North Road Service Station, Retford Hospital, then the ambulance station on the right hand side.
on the Great North Road
There is the Sutton Cross Roads for Sutton cum Lound, to the north, and it crosses the ECML at Botany Bay Bridge. At Barnby Moor it meets the Old London Road from the south, then the A634 to the west, the ', a former coaching inn. It passes through Torworth where there is a right turn for Lound, and a left turn for Blyth, and passes '. At this point for a few miles the East Coast Main Line follows directly 500 yards to the east. It crosses a disused railway at Scrooby and passes slightly to the west of the village. Scrooby was the home of William Brewster, leader of the Pilgrim Fathers. It crosses the River Ryton, joins the A614, a trunk road, at an awkward junction at Harworth Bircotes. It enters Bawtry and the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster.
On the left hand side is Bawtry Hall, the former site of RAF Bawtry, the headquarters of 1 Group in the Second World War. The A631 joins from the east, then leaves to the left at the TOTAL Corner Garage. The A614 leaves to the right as a non-trunk road, but the A638 continues to the left as a trunk road. It passes Bawtry library, and continues as a straight road most of the way to Doncaster, crossing the ECML, from the right. Bawtry was a Roman town between Lincoln and Doncaster on a branch of Ermine Street, and the A638 follows all the way through Doncaster to the A1. It is the parish boundary between Bawtry to the left and Austerfield to the east, under the flight path of Robin Hood Airport to the north-east, then from the Blackfirs RSPCA South Yorkshire Animal Centre, the boundary with Rossington to the left. From the Best Western Mount Pleasant Hotel, it is the boundary with Auckley to the east. At Warren House Farm near Hurst Plantation, there is a main right turn for the airport, where the A638 enters the parish of Rossington, deviating from the Ermine Street to the west. It meets Sheep Bridge Lane for Rossington to the left, at a Park and Ride on the left hand side next to Rossington Bridge Farm. Crossing the River Torne, it enters Doncaster itself. The club house for is on the left.
It the M18, then the Doncaster to Lincoln Line, and the Esso Doncaster Service Station. It through Bessacarr as Bawtry Road, and at Cantley Bridge it meets Cantley Lane where it becomes a dual carriageway. It a railway line, passes the JET and The Dome Leisure Centre on the left, and there is a roundabout at Asda at Gilwice Way to the left, and Doncaster Racecourse is to the right. It meets the A18, from the right, at a next to the , and the former Great North Road continues straight ahead as South Parade through the town centre. The road follows the A18, and leaves the A18 at the next roundabout. As the non-trunk Trafford Way it passes the Texaco Trafford Way Star Service Station, meets the A630 at a , becoming a trunk road, which passes Doncaster railway station to the left, and under the Frenchgate Centre. The road used to leave at the junction next to the Frenchgate centre,.As Church Way it passes St George's Minster, Doncaster and leaves at the next roundabout, at the start of the A19 next to the new Doncaster College. It on St George's Bridge over the River Don and the East Coast Main Line. At a large roundabout, it rejoins the former Ermine Street, and the A19 leaves to the north-east where a railway line over the road.
Doncaster to Wakefield
As ' the Centurion Retail Park and a Morrisons is on the right, and the JET Royal Blue Garage on the left. It crosses over a former track of the River Don. It the Trans Pennine Trail. At Sunnyfields there is a junction for Barnsley Road to the left near the Rix Sun Inn Service Station and ', where the road leaves Ermine Street, to the right, which continues as the Roman Ridge. It passes the Esso Sun Inn Service Station on the left, and through Scawthorpe, with the Don Valley Academy on the right, and Green Lane to the left. It enters Highfields where there is the ' for Doncaster Lane next to the '. It passes through Woodlands and then Adwick le Street. It meets the A1 and A1 at the Red House Interchange junction 38, formerly a roundabout before 1979. Ermine Street continues northwards along the A1. Before the bypass in August 1961, the A1 would have passed along the current A638 into Doncaster. Off the junction is a large distribution centre for B&Q.From the A1, the A638 becomes a single-carriageway road and follows its former route, before it was extended to follow the former A1 from Markham Moor. It passes through Hampole and the Leeds and Wakefield section of the ECML. There is a right turn for Skelbrooke near Little John's Well near the area known as Barnsdale. It enters the borough of Wakefield and crosses a former railway line. In North Elmsall parish there is a new for an industrial estate, and a roundabout for the new A6021, which leads to the Barnsdale Bar A1/A639 Roman Ridge junction. Previous to the building of this road, the A638 went through North Elmsall with a roundabout closer to Upton. There is a new roundabout with Minsthorpe Lane further south, and the A638 now follows part of the former B6474, with a new T-junction for the B6474 near Upton. It continues to the north-west as '. There is a left for Hemsworth Marsh, and a right for Badsworth and on Badsworth Common it is crossed by the Dearne Valley Line at a 13' 9 .
It turns due west and enters Ackworth Moor Top, meeting Barnsley Road at a roundabout next to the '. As ' it the ' and All Saints' , there is a right turn, it passes the TOTAL ' and the ', it crosses the former Brackenhill Light Railway and passes through Brackenhill. As Doncaster Road it meets the B6428 at a at Hessle and Hill Top, and through Wragby, the '. At Huntwick with Foulby and Nostell it Garmill Lane to the right, with a left turn for Nostell Priory. It passes through Nostell Park and Upper Lake. It through Foulby, of John Harrison, of longitude fame.
It crosses Windmill Hill, with a right turn for Sharlston. There is a left turn for Crofton and it meets Pontefract Road at crossroads to the Crown Carveries '. It meets Weeland Road from the right - the western end of the A645 at the Q8 Oakdale Garage, then the B6378 from the left. It crosses the Pontefract Line, then passes the Total S.A. , next to the former Walton Colliery. It crosses a railway line, and at Warmfield cum Heath it Black Road from the right. Entering the town of Wakefield as Doncaster Road, it passes a large railway bridge. There is a left for Agbrigg Road. It passes through Fall Ings, passing the BP Wakefield Service Station, the Fall Ings Cut of the Calder and Hebble Navigation, and meets Barnsley Road from the south. It the River Calder near the Chantry Chapel of St Mary the Virgin, Wakefield, and the A61 leaves to the north as Kirkgate and as the dual-carriageway Ings Road the A638 passes a railway, carrying the Hallam Line and Huddersfield Line, then passes retail parks and meets Denby Dale Road at a roundabout next to the Royal Mail . It passes the ECML, meets another section of the A636 from the south near the and splits into two one-way sections around , partly as Quebec Street. It continues to the west near the , concurrent with the A642, as Westgate End becoming single-carriageway. At Westgate Common, the road into Horbury Road to the south-west, and Dewsbury Road due west at St Michael's .
Wakefield to Bradford
It passes a McDonald's and the Morrisons on the right, opposite ', and at Borough Corner meets George-a-Green Road from the south at crossroads. It passes the Catholic Primary School on the right, and climbs the hill out of Wakefield. It Broadway from the south and becomes Wakefield Road at the Old Malt Shovel. It passes the Shell Ossett and Roundwood Industrial Estate on the left, and becomes a dual-carriageway, built with the M1 junction 40 by Costain in October 1968. It passes a BP garage on the left, with the Holiday Inn on Queen's Drive, and the Silkwood Park business park and the Days Hotel on the right. It meets the M1 at a roundabout and continues to the west as a dual-carriageway, passing through Gawthorpe. The former A638 continues through Ossett as the B6129. It becomes the single-carriageway Chancery Road at a with Leeds Road. At Chickenley it meets the former route, becoming Wakefield Road, the borough of Kirklees.in Dewsbury
At Earlsheaton there is a crossroads, and the road down the Calder valley into Dewsbury passing the BP Ossett Service Station. The A638 forms the Dewsbury Ring Road, with two sections - one trunked and one untrunked. The trunked section is Aldams Road, Vicarage Road and Rishworth Road, which meets Wilton Street. The untrunked section passes Dewsbury railway station and meets Leeds Road. The two divide near Sainsbury's and the Rishworth Centre Retail Park. It passes a railway bridge as Halifax Road, and passes a on the right of Kirklees College, the former Dewsbury Technical School of Art and Science. Further north it the Wheelwright Campus of Kirklees College - the former Wheelwright Grammar School for Boys. There is a left turn for Healds Road for Dewsbury and District Hospital. There is a crossroads for Dewsbury Gate Road near the Esso ' in Staincliffe. It meets Batley Road from the right next to the ', becoming High Street. It passes Heckmondwike Grammar School and St James's on the left, then passes through Heckmondwike town centre, Market Street from the left, and Northgate from the right, passing Morrisons on the left. It becomes ' and passes the imposing , home of Rieter Automotive, who make car furnishings.
It passes the Texaco ' on the right, and the A62, becoming Bradford Road near ' in Liversedge. It passes a BP on the left, and in Littletown it becomes a dual-carriageway, which destroyed much of the village centre when it was built. At Rawfolds it passes the Princess Mary Stadium and crosses the River Spen. As Dewsbury Road in Cleckheaton it meets the A643 at crossroads. It meets Whitcliffe Road from the left, then Hunsworth Lane from the right at Moorend. It passes the Spen Trading Estate on the right, and meets the M62, M606, and Whitehall Road at the Chain Bar Roundabout, where the road terminates.
The road from here used to pass north through Oakenshaw, which runs parallel next to the M606, and then Low Moor. At the Odsal Top roundabout, the road that continues on the opposite side of the roundabout is the B6380, and continues to Horton Bank Top, meeting the A647 near Horton Bank Country Park.
The M606 at one point was to be named the A638.