Improving the roads

The first attempt in Britain to improve roads started in 1663. This was when the Turnpike Trust was set up. The trusts had one simple aim: to charge people to use newly improved roads and then the money raised from the tolls was used to pay for the upkeep of the roads.

The trusts were set up by small groups of businessmen who were sometimes more interested in making a profit than maintaining the good condition of roads for their customers. The businessmen had to get an Act of Parliament passed to build their turnpike and had to employ professional road surveyors, treasurers and reputable road engineers.

A carriage passes through the toll gate while engineers survey the road

As you can see from the illustration, the road engineers built gates across the entrance of the roads and then toll keepers collected tolls from people using the roads. People were charged different tolls depending on the method of transport they were using. This money was then meant to be used to maintain the roads.

Some trusts did maintain their roads and employed professional road engineers (such as Thomas Telford) to build straighter and better roads. However, people who had always used local roads did not like suddenly having to now pay for the same route. For example, during the Rebecca Riots in Wales (1842-44) rioters dressed as women burned down toll keepers' cottages and tollgates in protest at road tolls.