From the 1st to the 4th centuries AD, Ewell was a large Romano-British town. Stane Street approaches from the northeast, leaving the silty clays of the Reading Beds and moving briefly onto the better-draining Thanet Sands. Close to the present Church Street, the road makes a 23° turn to the south, to allow it to reach the Upper Chalk of the North Downs more quickly. It has been suggested that the road bends somewhat more sharply than was strictly necessary, possibly to avoid the Hogsmill Spring, which may have held religious significance for the local British tribes. A second change in alignment occurs where the Epsom to Sutton railway line cuts across the road.