Turnpike trusts were bodies set up by individual Acts of Parliament, with powers to collect road tolls for maintaining the principal roads in Britain from the 17th but especially during the 18th and 19th centuries. At the peak, in the 1830s, over 1,000 trusts[1] administered around 30,000 miles (48,000km) of turnpike road in England and Wales, taking tolls at almost 8,000 toll-gates and side-bars.[2]
During the early 19th century the concept of the turnpike trust was adopted and adapted to manage roads within the British Empire (Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, and South Africa) and in the United States.[2]
The term "turnpike" originates from the similarity of the gate used to control access to the road, to the barriers once used to defend against attack by cavalry (see cheval de frise). The turnpike consisted of a row of pikes or bars, each sharpened at one end, and attached to horizontal members which were secured at one end to an upright pole or axle, which could be rotated to open or close the gate.[3]
Precursors to turnpike trusts
The Great North Road near Highgate on the approach to London before turnpiking. The highway was deeply rutted and spread onto adjoining land.
Pavage grants, originally made for paving the marketplace or streets of towns, began also to be used for maintaining some roads between towns in the 14th century. These grants were made by letters patent, almost invariably for a limited term, presumably the time likely to be required to pay for the required works.[4]
Tudor statutes had placed responsibility on each parishvestry to maintain all its roads. This arrangement was adequate for roads that the parishioners used themselves but proved unsatisfactory for the principal highways that were used by long-distance travellers and waggoners.[5] During the 17th century, the piecemeal approach to road maintenance caused acute problems on the main routes into London. As trade increased, the growing numbers of heavy carts and carriages led to serious deterioration in the state of these roads and this could not be remedied by the use of parish statute labour. A parliamentary bill was tabled in 1621/22 to relieve the parishes responsible for part of the Great North Road by imposing a scale of tolls on various sorts of traffic. The toll revenue was to be used in repairing the road, however, the bill was defeated. During the following forty years, the idea of making travellers contribute to the repair of roads was raised on several occasions.[6]
United Kingdom legislation
Road Repair (Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Huntingdonshire) Act 1663
Many parishes continued to struggle to find funds to repair major roads and in Hertfordshire, way wardens on behalf of the vestries stood frequent trial at quarter sessions for their failure to keep the Old North Road in a good state of repair. In 1656 the parish of Radwell, Hertfordshire petitioned their local sessions for help to maintain their section of the Great North Road. Probably as a result judges on the Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire circuit represented the matter to Parliament,[7] it then passed an act that gave the local justices of the peace powers to erect toll-gates on a section of the road, between Wadesmill, Hertfordshire; Caxton, Cambridgeshire; and Stilton, Huntingdonshire for 11 years, the revenues so raised to be used for the maintenance of the road in their jurisdictions (15 Cha. 2. c. 1).[7][6] The toll-gate erected at Wadesmill was the prototype in England. Parliament then gave similar powers to the justices in other counties in England and Wales.[7] An example is the first Turnpike Act for Surrey, the Surrey and Sussex Highways Act 1696 (8 & 9 Will. 3. c. 15), during the reign of William III for enhanced repairs between Reigate in Surrey and Crawley in Sussex.[8] The act made provision to erect turnpikes, and appoint toll collectors; also to appoint surveyors, who were authorized by order of the justices to borrow money at five per cent interest, on security of the tolls.[8]
The first turnpike trusts
The front page of the Act to create the Fyfield Turnpike Trust on the Great Road to Gloucester in 1738
The first scheme that had trustees who were not justices was established through a Turnpike Act in 1706 (6 Ann. c. 4) for a section of the London-Chester road between Fornhill (near Hockliffe) and Stony Stratford.[9] The basic principle was that the trustees would manage resources from the several parishes through which the highway passed, augment this with tolls from users from outside the parishes and apply the whole to the maintenance of the main highway. This became the pattern for the turnpiking of a growing number of highways, sought by those who wished to improve flow of commerce through their part of a county.[7]
The proposal to turnpike a particular section of road was normally a local initiative and a separate Act of Parliament was required to create each trust. The Act gave the trustees responsibility for maintaining a specified part of the existing highway. It provided them with powers to achieve this; the right to collect tolls from those using the road was particularly important. Local gentlemen, clergy and merchants were nominated as trustees and they appointed a clerk, a treasurer and a surveyor to actually administer and maintain the highway. These officers were paid by the trust. Trustees were not paid, though they derived indirect benefits from the better transport, which improved access to markets and led to increases in rental income and trade.[10]
The first action of a new trust was to erect turnpike gates at which a fixed toll was charged. The Act gave a maximum toll allowable for each class of vehicle or animal – for instance one shilling and six pence for a coach pulled by four horses, a penny for an unladen horse and ten pence for a drove of 20 cows. The trustees could call on a portion of the statute duty from the parishes, either as labour or by a cash payment. The trust applied the income to pay for labour and materials to maintain the road. They were also able to mortgage future tolls to raise loans for new structures and for more substantial improvements to the existing highway.[10]
Map of the Turnpike Tollgates in London 1801.
The trusts applied some funds to erecting tollhouses that accommodated the pikeman or toll-collector beside the turnpike gate. Although trusts initially organised the collection of tolls directly, it became common for them to auction a lease to collect tolls. Specialist toll-farmers would make a fixed payment to the trust for the lease and then organise the day-to-day collection of the money, leaving themselves with a profit on their operations over a year.[10]
The powers of a trust were limited, normally to 21 years, after which it was assumed that the responsibility for the now-improved road would be handed back to the parishes. However, trusts routinely sought new powers before this time limit, usually citing the need to pay off the debts incurred in repairing damage caused by a rising volume of traffic, or in building new sections of road.[10]
The growth of the turnpike system
The schedule of maximum tolls allowed on the Woodstock to Rollright Turnpike Trust on the Great Road to Worcester in 1751
During the first three decades of the 18th century, sections of the main radial roads into London were put under the control of individual turnpike trusts. The pace at which new turnpikes were created picked up in the 1750s as trusts were formed to maintain the cross-routes between the Great Roads radiating from London. Roads leading into some provincial towns, particularly in Western England, were put under single trusts and key roads in Wales were turnpiked. In South Wales, the roads of complete counties were put under single turnpike trusts in the 1760s. A further surge of trust formation occurred in the 1770s, with the turnpiking of subsidiary connecting roads, routes over new bridges, new routes in the growing industrial areas and roads in Scotland. About 150 trusts were established by 1750; by 1772 a further 400 were established and, in 1800, there were over 700 trusts.[11] In 1825 about 1,000 trusts controlled 18,000 miles (29,000km) of road in England and Wales.[12]
An Act to explain, amend, and reduce into one Act of Parliament, the General Laws now in Being, for regulating the Turnpike Roads of this Kingdom; and for other Purposes therein mentioned.
An Act to explain, amend, and reduce into One Act of Parliament, the General Laws now in being for regulating the Turnpike Roads in that Part of Great Britain called England; and for other Purposes.
Roadside sign marking boundary between parish and turnpike trust responsibility, Christchurch Road East, Frome, Somerset
The acts of Parliament for these new trusts and the renewal acts for the earlier trusts incorporated a growing list of powers and responsibilities. The Kent Roads Act 1743 (17 Geo. 2. c. 4), the Turnpike Roads Act 1766 (7 Geo. 3. c. 40) and the Turnpike Roads Act 1773 (13 Geo. 3. c. 84) made statutory provision for the erection of milestones along the turnpike roads indicating the distance between the main towns on the road. Users of the road were obliged to follow what were to become rules of the road, such as driving on the left and not damaging the road surface. Trusts could take additional tolls during the summer to pay for watering the road in order to lay the dust thrown up by fast-moving vehicles. Parliament also passed a few general Turnpike Acts dealing with the administration of the trusts and restrictions on the width of wheels – narrow wheels were said to cause a disproportionate amount of damage to the road.[13][14]
The rate at which new trusts were created slowed in the early 19th century but the existing trusts were making major investments in highway improvement. The government had been directly involved in the building of military roads in Scotland following a rebellion in 1745, but the first national initiative was a scheme to aid communications with Ireland. Between 1815and1826 Thomas Telford undertook a major reorganization of the existing trusts along the London to Holyhead Road, and the construction of large sections of new road to avoid hindrances, particularly in North Wales.[15]
By 1838 the turnpike trusts in England were collecting £1.5 million per year from leasing the collection of tolls but had a cumulative debt of £7 million, mainly as mortgages.[16] Even at its greatest extent, the turnpike system only administered a fifth of the roads in Britain; the majority being maintained by the parishes. A trust would typically be responsible for about 20 miles (32km) of highway, although exceptions such as the Exeter Turnpike Trust controlled 147 miles (237km) of roads radiating from the city. On the Bath Road for instance, a traveller from London to the head of the Thames Valley in Wiltshire would pass through the jurisdiction of seven trusts, paying a toll at the gates of each. Although a few trusts built new bridges (e.g. at Shillingford over the Thames), most bridges remained a county responsibility. A few bridges were built with private funds and tolls taken at these (e.g., the present Swinford Toll Bridge over the Thames).
The quality of early turnpike roads was varied.[17] Although turnpiking did result in some improvement to each highway, the technologies used to deal with geological features, drainage, and the effects of weather, were all in their infancy. Road construction improved slowly, initially through the efforts of individual surveyors such as John Metcalf in Yorkshire in the 1760s. 19th-century engineers made great advances, notably Thomas Telford and John Loudon McAdam.[18]
The engineering work of Telford on the Holyhead Road (now the A5) in the 1820s reduced the journey time of the London mail coach from 45 hours to just 27 hours, and the best mail coach speeds rose from 5-6mph (8–10km/h) to 9-10mph (14–16km/h). McAdam and his sons were employed as general surveyors (consultant engineers) to many of the main turnpike trusts in southern England. They recommended the building of new sections of road to avoid obstructions, eased steep slopes and directed the relaying of existing road-beds with carefully graded stones to create a dry, fast-running surface (known as Macadamising). Coach design improved to take advantage of these better roads and in 1843 the London-to-Exeter mail coach could complete the 170-mile (270-km) journey in 17 hours.
The introduction of toll gates had been resented by local communities which had freely used the routes for centuries. Early Acts had given magistrates powers to punish anyone damaging turnpike property, such as defacing milestones, breaking turnpike gates or avoiding tolls. Opposition was particularly intense in mountainous regions where good routes were scarce. In Mid Wales in 1839, new tolls on old roads sparked protests known as the Rebecca Riots. There were sporadic outbursts of vandalism and violent confrontation by gangs of 50 to 100 or more local men, and gatekeepers were told that if they resisted they would be killed. In 1844, the ringleaders were caught and transported to Australia as convicts.[19] However, the result was that toll gates were dismantled and the trusts abolished in the six counties of South Wales, their powers being transferred to a roads board for each county.[20]
An Act to continue for One Year from the passing of this Act, and thenceforth until the End of the then next Session of Parliament, the several Acts for regulating the Turnpike Roads in Ireland.
An Act to continue to the First Day of October One thousand eight hundred and forty-six, and to the End of the then next Session of Parliament, certain Turnpike Acts.
An Act to continue certain Turnpike Acts in Great Britain, to repeal certain other Turnpike Acts, and to make further Provisions concerning Turnpike Roads.
An Act to continue certain Turnpike Acts in Great Britain, to repeal certain other Turnpike Acts, and to make further provisions concerning Turnpike Roads.
An Act to continue certain Turnpike Acts in Great Britain, to repeal certain other Turnpike Acts, and to make further provisions concerning Turnpike Roads.
By the early Victorian period toll gates were perceived as an impediment to free trade. The multitude of small trusts were frequently charged with being inefficient in use of resources and potentially suffered from petty corruption.
The railway era spelt disaster for most turnpike trusts. Although some trusts in districts not served by railways managed to increase revenue, most did not. In 1829, the year before the Liverpool and Manchester Railway opened, the Warrington and Lower Irlam Trust had receipts of £1,680 but, by 1834, this had fallen to £332. The Bolton and Blackburn Trust had an income of £3,998 in 1846, but in 1847 following the completion of a railway between the two towns, this had fallen to £3,077 and, in 1849, £1,185.[21]
The debts of many trusts became significant; forced mergers of solvent and debt-laden trusts became frequent, and by the 1870s it was feasible for Parliament to close the trusts progressively without leaving an unacceptable financial burden on local communities. From 1871, all applications for renewal were sent to the Turnpike Trust Commission. This arranged for existing acts to continue, but with the objective of discharging the debt, and returning the roads to local administration, which was by then by highway boards. The Local Government Act 1888 gave responsibility for maintaining main roads to county councils and county borough councils. When a trust was ended, there were often great celebrations as the gates were thrown open. The assets of the trust, such as tollhouses, gates and sections of surplus land beside the road were auctioned off to reduce the debt, and mortgagees were paid at whatever rate in the pound the funds would allow.
The legacy of the turnpike trust is the network of roads that still form the framework of the main road system in Britain. In addition, many roadside features such as milestones and tollhouses have survived,[22] despite no longer having any function in the modern road management system.
Gallery
Poster advertising the letting of tolls, 1826.
The surviving Copper Castle Tollhouse on the Honiton Turnpike.
A surviving milestone at Beedon on the Chilton Pond to Newtown River Turnpike.
Milepost on the Keighley and Kendal Turnpike at Gargrave: Settle 10 3/4, Kendal 40, Skipton 4 ¾ and Keighley 14 miles.
A stagecoach approaching Oxford along the Henley Turnpike Road. The dust is thrown up from the Macadamised surface. Early 1800s.
Turnpike trusts in Greater Manchester – describes the trusts which operated within Greater Manchester, from the 0.5 miles (800m) long Little Lever Trust to the 22 miles (35km) Manchester to Saltersbrook Trust.
A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and maintenance.
The United Kingdom has a well developed and extensive network of roads totalling about 262,300 miles (422,100 km). Road distances are shown in miles or yards and UK speed limits are indicated in miles per hour (mph) or by the use of the national speed limit (NSL) symbol. Some vehicle categories have various lower maximum limits enforced by speed limiters. A unified numbering system is in place for Great Britain, whilst in Northern Ireland, there is no available explanation for the allocation of road numbers.
The A466, also known as the Wye Valley Road, is a road from Hereford, England to Chepstow, Wales via Monmouth, Tintern and the Wye Valley.
The history of road transport started with the development of tracks by humans and their beasts of burden.
Toll roads in Great Britain, used to raise fees for the management of roads in the United Kingdom, were common in the era of the turnpike trusts. Currently there is a single major road, the M6 Toll and a small number of bridges and tunnels where tolls are collected. In addition, there are also two UK road pricing schemes, the London congestion charge and the Durham congestion charge.
Shillingford Bridge is Grade II* listed road bridge near Shillingford, Oxfordshire, carrying an unclassified road across the River Thames in England on the reach above Benson Lock. The bridge provides access between Shillingford to the north of the river and Wallingford to the south. Originally the south side was in Berkshire but was transferred from Berkshire to Oxfordshire in 1974. The bridge is single track and vehicular passage is controlled by traffic lights.
Sparrows Herne Turnpike Road from London to Aylesbury was an 18th-century English toll road passing through Watford and Hemel Hempstead. The route was approximately that of the original A41 road; the Edgware Road, through Watford, Kings Langley, Apsley, the Boxmoor area of Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted, Northchurch, Cow Roast and Tring. Much of this part is now numbered the A4251 road. It linked in with other turnpikes to the north forming a route to Birmingham.
A tollhouse or toll house is a building with accommodation for a toll collector, beside a tollgate on a toll road, canal, or toll bridge.
Garford is a village and civil parish about 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Abingdon. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. The parish is bounded by the River Ock to the north, by two tributaries of the Ock to the south, and by field boundaries and the road between Kingston Bagpuize and West Hanney to the west. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 229.
The A382 is a road in South West England, connecting Newton Abbot to the A38, then to Bovey Tracey and on through Moretonhampstead to the A30.
St Blazey Gate is a settlement in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom in the civil parish of St Blaise. It is situated between the towns of St Blazey and Par on the A390 to St Austell.
Turnpike trusts were bodies set up by Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom during the 18th and 19th centuries. The trusts had powers to collect road tolls for the maintenance of principal highways. The length of turnpike roads within what is now Greater Manchester varied considerably, from the 0.5 miles (0.8 km) Little Lever Trust, to the 22 miles (35 km) Manchester to Saltersbrook Trust.
The Metropolitan Turnpike Trust was the body responsible for maintaining the main roads in the north of the conurbation of London from 1827 to 1872. The commissioners took over from fourteen existing turnpike trusts, and were empowered to levy tolls to meet the costs of road maintenance.
The Keighley and Kendal Turnpike was a road built in 1753 by a turnpike trust between Keighley in the West Riding of Yorkshire and Kendal in Westmorland, England. The primary instigators were in Settle. The road followed a modified ancient route through Craven. It necessitated bridge widening, reorientation in some of the towns it passed and the relocation of inns and stables. The road was of great benefit to commerce in the northwest but proved a financial loss as the cost of repairing wear caused by heavy traffic was underestimated. The trust's records were lost when it closed.
The Richmond to Lancaster Turnpike, was a road that was opened in the second half of the 18th century between Richmond, in the North Riding of Yorkshire and Lancaster in Lancashire, Northern England. The turnpike was built to allow goods to be taken from Yorkshire to the port of Lancaster. It was approved in 1751, but was not wholly completed until 1774.
Tollgate House, near the village of Mitchel Troy in Monmouthshire, Wales, is a tollhouse dating from the early 19th century. Attributed to the architect Sir Jeffry Wyatville, it is a Grade II listed building.
The Newton Bushell Turnpike Trust was a turnpike trust company in Devon which built and maintained trunk road connections from the West of Newton Bushell (now Newton Abbot between 1760 and November 1872. The trust built several roads, including what is now the A382 from Newton to Whiddon Down and the A383 to Ashburton.
This is a list of turnpike trusts that maintained roads in the East of England.
This is a list of turnpike trusts that maintained roads in the north east of England.
This is a list of turnpike trusts that maintained roads in the West Midlands.
Bateman, J.; Welsby, W. N. (1854). The General Turnpike Road Acts. London: Hedges & Smith.
Bogart, Dan (2017). Shaw-Taylor, L.; Bogart, D.; Satchell, M. (eds.). "The Turnpike Roads of England and Wales"(PDF). The Online Historical Atlas of Transport, Urbanization and Economic Development in England and Wales c. 1680-1911. Cambridge University. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
Harvey, Edward (2010). "Pavage grants and urban street paving in medieval England, 1249-1462". The Journal of Transport History. 31 (2). London: Sage: 151–163. doi:10.7227/TJTH.31.2.3. ISSN0022-5266. S2CID167347539.
Friar, Stephen (2001). The Sutton Companion to Local History. Sutton Publishing. ISBN0-7509-2723-2.
Pawson, E. (1977). Transport and Economy: the turnpike roads of eighteenth century England.
Riden, Philip (1987). Record Sources for Local History. B. T. Batsford Ltd. ISBN0-7134-4726-5.
Searle, M. (1930). Turnpikes and Toll Bars (Limiteded.). Hutchinson & Co.
Tupling, G. H. (1952). "The Turnpike Trusts of Lancashire". Memoirs and Proceedings of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, Session 1952-1953. 94.
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