Turnpike Trust - Precursors To Turnpike Trusts

Precursors To Turnpike Trusts

Pavage grants, originally made for paving the marketplace or streets of towns, began also to be used for maintaining some roads between towns in the 14th century.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.

Tudor statutes had placed responsibility on each parish 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. During the late 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, presented in 1621/2, proposed to relieve the parishes responsible for part of the Great North Road by imposing a scale of tolls on various sorts of traffic. The revenue from the tolls was to be employed 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.

Many parishes continued to struggle to find funds, to repair major roads and in Hertfordshire several parishes were persistently presented at Quarter Sessions for their failure to keep the Old North Road in a good state of repair. Then in 1656 the parish of Radwell, Hertfordshire petitioned the Quarter Sessions for help to maintain their section of the Great North Road. Probably as a result of this petition the Quarter Session Justices of Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire represented the matter to parliament. Parliament passed an act that gave the local justices powers to erect toll-gates on a section of the Great North Road, between Wadesmill, Hertfordshire; Caxton, Cambridgeshire; and Stilton, Huntingdonshire for a period of eleven years and the revenues so raised should be used for the maintenance of the Great North Road in their juristrictions. The toll-gate erected at Wadesmill became the first effective toll-gate in England. Parliament then gave similar powers to the justices in other counties in England and Wales. An example being the first Turnpike Act for Surrey that in 1696, during the reign of William III, provided for the repair of the highway between Reigate in Surrey and Crawley in Sussex. 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 5 per cent, on security of the tolls.