An Act for the more effectual Preservation of the Turnpike Roads in that Part of Great Britain called England; and for the Disposition of Penalties given by Acts of Parliament relating to Highways; and for the more effectual preventing the Mischiefs occasioned by the Drivers riding upon Carts, Drays, Cars, and Waggons, in the City of London and within Ten Miles thereof.
The Highways Act 1750 (23 Geo. II c. 33) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning the maintenance and management of public highways in England and Wales. It formed part of a sequence of 18th-century statutes intended to improve the condition of roads prior to the widespread use of turnpike trusts.[2] The Act amended earlier highway legislation and sought to strengthen local administrative obligations for road upkeep.
Road conditions in mid-18th-century Britain were governed primarily by the Highways Act 1555 and later amendments. Responsibility for repairs rested with parishes, which were required to provide labour and materials. By the early 1700s, this system was widely considered inefficient. Parliament introduced a series of reforms to increase compliance and clarify obligations, including the Highways Act 1715 and subsequent amendments.[3] The 1750 Act continued this process by tightening enforcement and adjusting procedural requirements.
Provisions
Provision
Description
Source
Preservation of turnpike roads
The Act focused on the more effectual preservation of turnpike (toll) roads in England. Duties and powers were kept to keep them repaired.
Makes provision for the disposition (recovery/use) of penalties given by earlier Highway Acts and enforces their recovery.
Prevention of drivers riding on carts in London
Includes measures "for the more effectual preventing the Mischiefs occasioned by the Drivers riding upon Carts, Drays, Cars, and Waggons, in the City of London and within Ten Miles thereof."
Enforcement procedures/recovery
Provisions to enforce recovery of penalties and ensure compliance by local officers/surveyors.
Later developments
The Act was later superseded by later 18th-century reforms, including the Highways Act 1766 and Highways Act 1773, which continued restructuring parish-based road administration.[2]
References
↑Parliament of the United Kingdom (1773). "Highways Act 1773". vLex. Retrieved 2025-11-23.
123Pickering, Danby. "The Statutes at Large". Magna Charta to the End of the Eleventh Parliament of Great Britain, Anno 1761. 20. Cambridge.
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