IDENTITY STATEMENT
Reference code(s): TP
Held at: London Metropolitan Archives
Title: TURNPIKE TRUSTS
Date(s): 1728-1871
Level of description: Collection
Extent: 1.42 linear metres
Name of creator(s): Bedfont and Bagshot Turnpike Trust
Colnbrook Turnpike Trust
Hampton and Staines Turnpike Trust
CONTEXT
Administrative/Biographical history:
The turnpike system dated from 1663 when Parliament authorised the erection of toll barriers along the Great North Road. The principle was that each person should contribute to the repair of the roads in proportion to the use he made of them. A barrier was placed across a road and a toll taken from each road user except pedestrians; the monies were then used to support the maintenance and improvement of the road. Turnpikes were placed under the control of bodies known as Turnpike Trusts. By 1770 there were over 1100 Trusts, administering 23,000 miles of road, with 7800 toll gates.
In 1728 the Bedfont and Bagshot Turnpike Trust had charge of the Great West Road (now the A30) from the Hounslow Powder Mills to the Basingstone, an old stone which stood near the Jolly Farmer Inn west of Bagshot. The route was popular with stagecoaches. The construction of a railway line caused turnpike revenue to fall rapidly and many turnpike companies were forced to close down, causing the further deterioration of the roads they were supposed to maintain. In 1888, Surrey County Council took responsibility for the main county roads, whilst Bagshot Rural District Council took over responsibility from the parish for local roads.
The main roads around Slough were managed by the Colnbrook Turnpike Trust, established in 1727. Their stretch of road ran from Cranford Bridge (between Harlington and Hounslow, then in Middlesex) to the Buckinghamshire side of the Maidenhead Bridge. Turnpike gates and toll-houses were set up at Salt Hill, near to the Castle Inn, and to the west of Colnbrook, near the road to Poyle.
CONTENT
Scope and content/abstract:
Records of Bedfont and Bagshot Turnpike Trust, 1763-1850, including minutes; financial accounts; grants of land; correspondence; reports and Acts of Parliament.
Records of Colnbrook Turnpike Trust, 1728-1871, including minutes; financial accounts; assignments; leases of tolls; conveyanves and other deeds; plans; correspondence; bonds and Acts of Parliament.
Minutes of the Hampton and Staines Turnpike Trust, 1826-1859.
ACCESS AND USE
Language/scripts of material: English
System of arrangement:
TP/BED: Bedfont and Bagshot Turnpike Trust; TP/COL: Colnbrook Turnpike Trust; TP/HAM: Hampton and Staines Turnpike Trust.
Conditions governing access:
Available for general access.
Conditions governing reproduction:
Copyright: City of London
Physical characteristics:
Fit
Finding aids:
Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm
ARCHIVAL INFORMATION
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information:
Accruals:
Archival history:
Immediate source of acquisition:
Received as part of a larger accession.
ALLIED MATERIALS
Existence and location of originals:
Existence and location of copies:
Related material:
For more records relating to Turnpike Trusts see ACC/0004 (Whitechapel Turnpike Trust) and ACC/0754 (Middlesex and Essex Turnpike Trust).
Publication note:
See Borough of Twickenham Local History Society paper, Number 11: "The Hampton Staines turnpike, 1773-1859" by Alan Charles Bell Urwin, 1968. Available at the Guildhall Library.
DESCRIPTION NOTES
Note:
Date(s) of descriptions: April to June 2009