300 Years Ago Maintenance Turnpikes Act of Parliament A Royal Visit Map of 1800 19th Century Charges The Impact of an Improved Road Network

Building better roads required more money than the parishes could find from their rates (a local tax). An important new way of organising the building of main roads in the 18th Century was through Turnpike Trusts.

Turnpike Trusts were authorised to borrow money to pay for road improvements and charge tolls to recover the costs and pay for on-going maintenance. Unlike the parishes, Turnpike Trusts had the resources to hire road engineers and builders to do a proper job.

From January 2016, this website is managed by Stroud Local History Society

GRO AP 50-1 Gloucestershire Turnpike Act 1726
GRO AP 50-1 Gloucestershire Turnpike Act (transcript)