The Hatfield and Reading Turnpike , nicknamed the Gout Track, was an English turnpike road created in the 1760s to provide a route that connected the Great North Road (the modern A1) with the Holyhead Road (A5) and the Bath Road (A4). It had the advantage that it made it possible for travelers to avoid congested London and was shorter in distance. In 1881 it was one of the last of the turnpikes to have its tolls removed. [2]
Reading and Hatfield Road Act 1768 | |
---|---|
Act of Parliament | |
![]() | |
Long title | An Act for repairing, widening, turning, and altering, the Road leading from Reading, in the County of Berks, through Henley, in the County of Oxford; and Great Marlow, Chipping Wycombe, Agmondesham, and Cheynes, in the County of Bucks; and Rickmansworth, Watford, and Saint Albans, to Hatfield, in the County of Hertford; and also the Road leading out of the Said Road at Marlow, over Great Marlow Bridge, through Bysham, to or near the Thirty mile Stone in the Turnpike Road leading from Maidenhead to Reading. |
Citation | 8 Geo. 3. c. 50 |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 8 March 1768 |
It is said that the Marquis of Salisbury, who lived at Hatfield House, wanted a route to the Great West Road avoiding central London, for onward travel to the spa towns of Bath and Cheltenham where, as a sufferer of gout, he often took the waters. This would also spare him the discomfort and congestion of London's cobbled streets. With others (including the Earl of Essex, who suffered from a similar affliction, and who lived at Cassiobury House near Watford) he sponsored an act of Parliament[ which? ] passed in 1757 for the building of a road from Hatfield to Reading. The Reading and Hatfield Turnpike Trust was set up by a further act of Parliament, the Reading and Hatfield Road Act 1768 (8 Geo. 3. c. 50), to improve the route between the two towns. It ran via St Albans, Watford, Rickmansworth, Amersham, High Wycombe and Marlow, with two alternative routes south and west from there, one to Knowl Hill (on the Great West Road between Maidenhead and Reading) and the other to Reading itself via Henley-on-Thames. The Trust lasted until 1881, and at that date was one of the last surviving Turnpike Trusts in the country. For many years the route was known as the Gout Track, given its reputed raison-d'etre. [3] [4] [5] [6]
Analysis of toll receipts shows that traffic was lighter than that on the great trunk routes it interconnected. [4] Nevertheless, it stimulated the local economies along its route in trades like farriers, foraging and inn keeping. [7]
On classification by the newly formed Ministry of Transpor t in 1922, it formed parts of the A414 (Hatfield - St Albans), A412 (St Albans - Watford - Rickmansworth), A404 (Rickmansworth - Amersham), A416 (Amersham - High Wycombe - Marlow - Knowl Hill) and A32 (Marlow - Henley - Reading). In 1935, the A404 was extended along the A416 section between Amersham and the A4 to make it easier for those who wanted to use the route for its original function, while the A32 section through Henley was renumbered the A4155 . [8]
South of Marlow the turnpike had two alternate routes -
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south and Buckinghamshire to the west. The largest settlement is Watford, and the county town is Hertford.
Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. In the 2021 Census, it had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Buckinghamshire. The town is situated 27 miles (43 km) west of Charing Cross, London and 13 miles (21 km) east-northeast of the county town of Reading. The town differs from the Parliamentary constituency of Maidenhead, which includes a number of outer suburbs and villages, including villages which form part of the Borough of Wokingham such as Twyford, Charvil, Remenham, Ruscombe and Wargrave.
The A4 is a major road in England from Central London to Avonmouth via Heathrow Airport, Reading, Bath and Bristol. It is historically known as the Bath Road with newer sections including the Great West Road and Portway. The road was once the main route from London to Bath, Bristol and the west of England and formed, after the A40, the second main western artery from London.
Watford Junction is a railway station that serves Watford, Hertfordshire. The station is on the West Coast Main Line (WCML), 17 miles 34 chains (28 km) from London Euston and the Abbey Line, a branch line to St Albans. Journeys to London take between 16 and 52 minutes, depending on the service. Trains also run to Clapham Junction and East Croydon, via the West London line. The station is a major hub for local bus services and the connecting station for buses to Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter. The station is located north of a viaduct over the Colne valley and immediately south of Watford Tunnel.
Chorleywood is a village and civil parish in the Three Rivers District, Hertfordshire, on the border with Buckinghamshire, approximately 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Charing Cross. The village is adjacent to the Chiltern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is part of the London commuter belt included in the government-defined Greater London Urban Area. Chorleywood was historically part of the parish of Rickmansworth, becoming a separate ecclesiastical parish in 1845 and a separate civil parish in 1898. The population of the parish was 11,286 at the 2011 census.
Arriva Herts & Essex is a bus operator providing services in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire, with services extending to Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Greater London. Until 2002 its operations included Colchester. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus.
The A308 is a road in England in two parts. The first part runs from Central London to Putney Bridge. The second part runs from just beyond Putney Heath to Bisham, Berkshire. It traces four, roughly straight lines, to stay no more than 3 miles (4.8 km) from the Thames. It is a dual carriageway where it is furthest from that river, in Spelthorne, Surrey and forms one of the motorway spurs to the large town of Maidenhead. Other key settlements served are Fulham, Kingston (London), Staines upon Thames, Windsor and a minor approach to Marlow
Knowl Hill is a village in the civil parish of Hurley in Berkshire, England. It is 5 miles (8 km) west of Maidenhead on the A4 road toward Reading. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries it was the southern terminus of the Hatfield and Reading Turnpike that allowed travelers from the north to continue their journey to the west without going through the congestion of London.
The Marlow branch line is a single track railway line in England, between Maidenhead station in Berkshire and Bourne End and Marlow stations in Buckinghamshire. It is 7 miles 10 chains (11.5 km) in length. Passenger services are operated by Great Western Railway using Class 165 and Class 166 diesel trains. The line connects to the Great Western Main Line at Maidenhead; it uses a section of the former Wycombe Railway line to High Wycombe together with the former Great Marlow Railway.
The A404 is a road in the United Kingdom that starts at Paddington in London and terminates near Maidenhead in Berkshire. It is 44.6 miles (71.8 km) long.
The A405 is a 4.8 miles dual carriageway road in Hertfordshire, England, from the A41 at Leavesden Green, near Watford, to the A414 at Park Street Roundabout near St Albans.
The A412 is a road in England between Slough and Watford. It was the main artery for this corridor and used to continue to St Albans prior to the construction of the M25. It provides interchange to the A4 in Slough, the A40/M40 at the Denham Roundabout, the M25 in Maple Cross, the A404 in Rickmansworth town centre, the A411 on a partially grade separated dual carriageway in Watford town centre, and the A41 in North Watford.
The Magic Roundabout in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, is similar to the complex roundabouts in Hemel Hempstead and other places. It is located on the junction of the A40 and A404 roads.
Berkshire College of Agriculture is a further education agricultural college at Hall Place in Burchetts Green, Maidenhead, Berkshire. It was founded in 1949, as the Berkshire Institute of Agriculture. It has been part of the Windsor Forest Colleges Group since August 2022.
Green Line route 724 is a bus service currently operated by Arriva Herts & Essex as part of the Green Line Coaches network. It runs on an orbital route round the north and western outskirts of London between Harlow and Heathrow Central bus station, and is partly funded by airport operator Heathrow Airport Holdings.
Carousel Buses Limited, trading as Carousel Buses, is a bus company based in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. Originally an independent company, it is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. It is grouped together with Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel, both of Oxfordshire, and with Pulham's Coaches of Gloucestershire, with the fleets of each operator regularly interchanged.
Maidenhead Boyne Hill railway station was built by the Wycombe Railway to serve the western part of Maidenhead. It was opened in 1854 and closed in 1871.
The Great Western Combination was a football league in south-central England.
National Cycle Route 61 is part of the National Cycle Network managed by the charity Sustrans. It runs for 34 miles from Maidenhead (Berkshire) to Rye House (Hertfordshire) via Uxbridge, Watford, St Albans, Hatfield, Welwyn Garden City and Hertford in the United Kingdom.