Talk:Turnpike trusts in the United Kingdom

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[edit] Amendments

In making a number of amendments, I have removed a phrase that implied that tolls were levied for private profit. Unlike canals, which usually belonged to a company, earning profit for its shareholders, turnpike trusts were only able to raise money on loan by mortgaging the tits. Peterkingiron 22:29, 14 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Merge proposal

I have tagged this article and History of toll roads in the United Kingdom for merger, because they seem to cover much the same ground. Strictly the history of toll roads might be slightly broader in that it would cover medieval pontage and pavage grants; the roads administered by the Justices in Quarter Sessions before the first Turnpike Act; M6 (Toll). This article might be restricted to exclude precursors and successors of turnpikes. However, neither article is really long enough to need splitting into two. I have accordingly not suggested which title should survive. Comments please. Peterkingiron (talk) 21:17, 31 December 2007 (UTC)

I would agree with a merger and would actually do it to a new article of Toll roads in the United Kingdom which would cover not only history but also current day activities. Regan123 (talk) 13:07, 1 January 2008 (UTC)

On reflection, I think the best solution may be to have two articles:

  • A specific one on Turnpike Trusts, priduced by mereging the turnpike material in each article.
  • A general one covering
    • medieval pavage grants (which the article ignores) - I will need to write this as I have recently published an article on these and related tolls.
    • Early bridges and highways acts;
    • Early toll collection managed through Quarter Sessions, c.1660-c.1710;
    • A brief section on turnpike trusts, using a "main" template to refer to the detailed article specifically on them;
    • Toll bridges, private roads, etc. surviving after turnpikes into the 20th century;
    • Recent developments such as M6 (Toll); congestion charging; etc, which was also need to refer to "main" articles.

With the exception of pavage grants and bits about my mother, please go ahead and merge, as far as i am concerned. Peterkingiron (talk) 22:57, 6 January 2008 (UTC)

OK. Perhaps we put it all together and then create summary articles (as per WP:SUMMARY) which is probably the best way to go. I will do it, but my to do list grows exponentially compared with my free time! Regan123 (talk) 23:35, 6 January 2008 (UTC)
I have started work on the proposed merger, by restructuring the article, but I have not actually "merged" the turnpike section of History of toll roads in the United Kingdom with this article. That is a future job. Peterkingiron (talk) 19:08, 20 January 2008 (UTC)
I have undertaken further work on this, but had not found what is below, which propbably also needs ot be merged inot this article. Peterkingiron (talk) 19:14, 27 January 2008 (UTC)

I have made a stab at editting the existing material on turnpike trusts. Pasted below is my proposed entry. I have preserved the links words in the original but have implied additional links - eg to Milestones. The first section is intended as an overview with the later sections giving more detail and references. I have proposed a few pictures that I can preview on Flickr. Is this moving towards an acceptable Wikipdia entry?

.............................................

Turnpike trusts were bodies set up by Act of Parliament, with powers to collect road tolls that were to be used in maintaining the principal roads in Britain during the eighteenth and nineteen centuries. At the peak in the 1830s, over 1000 trusts administered around 22,000 miles of turnpike road in England. The trustees were local gentleman, clergy and merchants who paid a clerk, a treasurer and salaried surveyors to actually administer and maintain the highway. Each trust erected turnpike gates at which a fixed toll was charged depending on the type of vehicle or animal passing through. A tollhouse was built by the trust beside the toll-gate to accommodate the pikeman or toll-collector. A lease for the right to collect the tolls at a particular gate was normally auctioned to specialist toll-farmer who organised the actual collection of money. The trusts applied the toll income to pay for labour and materials to maintain the road. The trustees also mortgaged future tolls to raise loans for more substantial improvements to the existing highway. This system improved the main roads in Britain, facilitating the relatively rapid movement of goods, people and mail between the developing urban centres. By 1838 the turnpike trusts in England took around £1.5M/a in tolls but had a cumulative debt of over £7M (Ref Parliamentary Papers). In the 1840s, the railway attracted most long distance travel from the road and turnpike incomes fell dramatically. Some were left with large outstanding loans that could not be paid off. The trusts were progressively closed in the 1870s, the gates were removed and toll charges ceased. Their responsibilities and liabilities transferred to parishes or to Local Highways Boards and rates were used too raise the income for road maintenance. The Local Government Act 1888 gave responsibility for maintaining roads to county councils and county borough councils.

Pre-cursors to the Trusts

Tudor Statutes had placed a responsibility on each parish to maintain the roads within its bounds. This worked adequately for roads that the parishioners used themselves but proved unsatisfactory for the maintenance of principal roads that were used by long distance travellers. During the late 17th century, the maintenance problem became acute on the main highways into London. The increasing traffic of heavy carts and carriages led to a serious deterioration in the state of these roads and this could not be remedied by the use of Parish Statute Labour.

An alternative approach was first applied in 1663 when an Act of Parliament gave the local Justices powers to erect tollgates on a Section of the Great North Road through Hertfordshire. There were a few similar schemes to collect tolls on road users in the following decades but in 1707 an Act to turnpike part of the Chester Road included trustees who were not magistrates. This became the pattern for an increase in the creation of turnpike trusts by groups who wanted to see an improvement in the flow of commerce through their part of the County.

The First Trusts

The proposal to turnpike a particular section of road was normally a local initiative and required an Act of Parliament to create a new Turnpike Trust. Trustees were gentlemen from the parishes through which the road passed. The Act specified the road to be turnpiked and gave the trustees responsibility for maintaining the existing highway and provided them with particular powers to achieve this. The right to collect tolls from those using the road was of particular importance. During the first three decades of the 18th century sections of the main radial roads into London were put under the control of a individual turnpike trusts.

A typical turnpike Act nominated upwards up to a hundred trustees and gave them the powers to erect tollgates at which tolls could be levied on particular classes of road user. The Act gave a maximum toll for each class – typically a coach and four horses might be charged one shilling and sixpence and a drove of twenty sheep 10 pence. The trustees were also empowered to call on a portion of the Stature Duty from the parishes. These combined resources were to be applied to maintenance of the road. The trust’s surveyor had powers to extract materials from adjoining land (with compensation) and remove nuisance or obstructions beside the road. The trustees could raise capital by mortgaging the future toll income to finance work on the road and the infrastructure. A minimum quorum of five trustees was needed to take any action and in practice only a few of the trustees participated in meetings. The power of the trust were limited, normally to a period of 21 years, after which it was assumed that responsibly for the 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 increased debts incurred maintaining greater lengths of road and an arising volume of traffic. Growth of the turnpike system

The pace at which turnpikes were created picked up in the 1750s when new trusts were created on the cross routes between the main London radials. Hubs of roads around some provincial town, particularly in the West of England, were turnpiked and the key roads in Wales were put under a number of truss. A further surge of trust formation occurred in the 1770s, forming links in the final network and creating new routes, particularly near growing industrial centers and in Scotland.

The Acts for these new trusts and the renewal Acts for the earlier trusts incorporated a growing list of powers and responsibilities. From the 1750s new Acts required trusts to erect milestones indicating the distance between towns on the road. Users of the road were obliged to follow what were subsequently seen as rules of the road, such as driving on the left and not damaging the road surface. Trusts were able to make additional charges during the summer to pay for watering the road to lay the dust that was thrown up by vehicles. Parliament also passed a few General Turnpike Acts dealing with the administration of the trusts and restrictions on vehicles such as the width of wheels – narrow wheels were thought to cause a disproportionate amount of damage to roads.

The creation of new trusts slowed in the early 19th century but the existing trusts began a phase of major investment in highway improvement. John Loudon McAdam and his sons were employed as General Surveyors to many of the trusts on the principal roads in Southern England. He recommended the building of new sections of road to avoid obstructions or steep slopes and directed the relaying of existing roads with carefully graded stones to create a dry, fast-running a Macadamized surface. Coach traffic increased marked both in volume and speed along these major roads and toll income rose accordingly.

The Government had been involved in building Military Roads in Scotland, particularly after the 1745 rebellion. However, the first national initiative in turnpiking was to aid communications with Ireland by improvement in the road from London to Holyhead. Between 1815 and 1826 Thomas Telford undertook a major reorganization of the trusts along the Holyhead Road and the construction of many new sections of road to avoid hindrances, particularly in North Wales.

Extent of the Turnpike Roads

Only the busiest and most important roads were ever turnpiked; 80% of Britain’s roads were left in the care of the parishes. Each trust only controlled relatively short section of road, typically 20 miles (though there were a few very large trusts such as Exeter which administered 147 miles of road radiating from the city). On the Bath Road for instance, a traveler from London to the edge of the Thames Valley 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), the most bridges were the responsibility of the County. In a few cases private bridges were constructed and tolls were taken at these (e.g. at Swinford over the Thames).

The End of Turnpike Trusts

Although there was great virtue in the principle that the beneficiary of road improvements paid when they actually used the road, by the early Victorian period it was 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 rise of railways in the 19th century resulted in a dramatic drop in toll income from stage coaches and wagons and the debts of many trusts were becoming significant. Forced mergers of solvent and debt-laden trust occurred so by the 1870s it was feasible for Parliament to close the trusts without leaving an unacceptable financial burden on particular parishes or Local Highway Boards. 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 tollhouse have survived despite no longer having a function in the modern road management system.

Common Questions about Turnpikes

The name turnpike is said to originate from the military practice of placing a pikestaff across a road to block and control passage. This pike would be "turned" to one side to allow horsemen through the thing which they have put there, right in the middle of the road. Contemporary illustrations show that a wide gate was normally constructed across the road at a toll collection point. The term bar was also used to describe the point at which the gate was erected like a shlong. Turnpike was originally the barrier used to stop travellers while the toll was collected, but came to be used both for the location of the gate and for the road itself.

Further General Reading

• Albert, W. (1972) The Turnpike Road System in England 1663-1840 – recently republished • Copeland, J (1968) Roads and their Traffic, 1750-1850. publ. David & Charles. • Pawson, E. (1977) Transport and Economy: the turnpike roads of eighteenth century England • Wright, G.N. (1992) Turnpike Roads, publ. Shire Publications Ltd. (ISBN 0 7478 0155X)

Further Reading on local turnpikes

• Freethy, R. Turnpikes & Tollhouses in Lancashire, publ. privately, (1986) • Gloucester Record Office, (1976) Gloucester Turnpike Roads (GRO) • Hurley, H. (1992) The Old Roads of South Herefordshire - Trackway to Turnpike, publ. The Pound House, • Morley, F; (1961) The Great North Road - A Journey in History, publ. Macmillan. • Phillips, D. (1983) The Great Road to Bath, publ. Countryside Books. • Quatermaine, J., Trinder, B. & Turner, R. Thomas Telford’s Holyhead Road, publ. Council for British Archaeology Report135 (2003). • Rosevear, A. Roads in the Upper Thames Valley , publ. privately, (1995) • Smith, H. The Sheffield and Chesterfield to Derby Roads publ. by author, Sheffield, (2003) ISBN 0-9521541-5-3. • Taylor, W. (1996) The Military Roads in Scotland publ. House of Lochar, Argyll • Viner, D. (2007) Roads Tracks and Turnpikes, The Discover Dorset series. Publ. Dovecote Press, Wimborne • Williams, L.A. (1975) Road Transport in Cumbria in the nineteenth century, publ George Allen & Unwin.

References on web• http://experts.about.com/e/t/to/Toll_road.htm • http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~awoodley/carriage/turnpike.html • http://www.hertsheritage.org.uk/transport/turnpike.htm • http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/environment/historichighways/tunpike.asp • http://www.swanseahistoryweb.org.uk/cardiff/butewd/roads4.htm • http://www.turnpikes.org.uk for links to material on English turnpikes • Key dates in Road Building The potteries.org • The World's First Turnpike Hertfordshire County Council Heritage page 2000, Accessed 2006 • Timeline of British Turnpike Trusts University of Portsmouth, Department of Geography • Tollgates of London Georgian Index


Illustrations (from A Rosevear’s collection with no restriction) The Great North Road prior to turnpiking showing deep ruts

A typical Turnpike Act – front page

A coach on a Macadamized turnpike

The Hyde Park Corner Gate (current illustration) (A.rosevear (talk) 20:21, 26 January 2008 (UTC))

Proposed edits and additions made to text. Inserted pictures and adding more reference material. The page may need some pruning of secondary material that could be covered on a separte page (eg Rebecca Riots) (A.rosevear (talk) 17:03, 1 February 2008 (UTC))

[edit] United States

Turnpike trusts also operated in the US (see List of turnpikes in Connecticut as an example). That article links to this one which is only UK in scope. We need to broaden the article to describe turnpike trusts in other countries or limit its scvope to UK only trusts. Lumos3 (talk) 09:50, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Suggest a couple of sentences in the first para along the lines.

During the early nineteenth century the concept of the turnpike trust was adopted and adapted to manage roads within the British Empire (Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India & South Africa) and in the USA (ref Searle 1930) - links to pages from these pages. This article is concerned with the Turnpike Trusts in Britain. (A.rosevear (talk) 22:44, 6 February 2008 (UTC))

I would strongly suggest that the article should retain its original funcion of dealing with Britain. If necessary it could be renamed accordingly. We have recently separated this article from a tree of articles on Toll roads. Unless instances of turnpikes run by bodies of trustees occur elsewhere, there is no reason for non-British material to invade this article. If necessary, an article Turnpike Trusts in United States could be created. Peterkingiron (talk) 00:10, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

I have scoped the article to the UK only as discussed above. Lumos3 (talk) 16:38, 15 February 2008 (UTC)