This post isn't about the history of the Turnpike trusts and roads but we will give a quick mention of the toll gates within or close to Marlow to answer a specific query. The Great Marlow and Stokenchurch Turnpike Trust was incorporated in 1791 to deal with the 8 and a half mile stretch of toll road between the two towns. (In its previous state it was described as in a "very ruinous" condition and too narrow in places.) This was renewed every 21 years until 1851, when no application for renewal was made. The trustees had indicated that they wished to be relieved of their duties and that the position of the trust was no longer sustainable. The level of tolls collected had dropped significantly and so the income was no longer sufficient to pay for the maintenance of the road. The railway was blamed for this decline, rightly or wrongly. The two toll gates on this road were known as the Well End and Holly Gates. The former was in Marlow, as Well End at this time refered to Dean Street as well as the village near Little Marlow. Later the road is described as having "several" toll gates. There were also gates on the Hatfield turnpike road at Bisham, at the junction of Little Marlow and Wycombe Roads (Chapel End), and at Greenlands towards Henley and so on.*
The Well End/Dean Street gate location is uncertain. It is on at least one occasion called the Seymour Court gate. But in 1840 the newly built Bank of England public house in Dean Street, (near the junction with Queens Road) was described as "eligibly situated at entrance of the flourishing and improving market town of Marlow near the turnpike on the Oxford Rd". In this instance, they do not mean our modern Oxford Rd, then usually called Oxford Lane, but the road to Stokenchurch which was then in Oxfordshire. Might the gate have been about where Berwick Lane begins now? The toll house keeper of 1838 George Clark, was the first proprietor of the Bank of England of England. Perhaps he saw a way to a money-spinner, refreshments right near the toll gate! In June 1831 Richard Webb had purchased the cottage "formerly occupied by Mr Oxlade, now used as the toll house at Well End" for £200. The property was sold by the trustees of Dr John Brown but the ownership of this toll house seems to have been contentious before this. The trustees had notified the Turnpike Trust of their ownership of the property in 1828/9 so perhaps the latter were subtenants? As it was successfully sold by the trustees a little later, their claim was presumably substantiated.
The toll gate at Aggleton Green (Aggerton) was also in Marlow, this referring to old name for Dedmere Rd end area of what we call Station Rd. This is advertised as up to let (or rather the ability to collect tolls there was up for auction) along with the Marlow Toll Gate in 1780 and for a few years afterwards - the Marlow gate being the Wycombe / Little Marlow Road one. Why was the Aggleton gate there? It is not seemingly located on one of the major routes into town although Dedmere ("Dudmere" "Deadmere" ) was referred to as a highway. Later on complaints were sometimes made that people tried to avoid using Little Marlow Road, for example to escape the tollgate further on, or take a short cut. They used what was intended as service "roads" for those farming the Marlow Fields (common fields). So perhaps the tollgate at Aggleton was to cut off this potential getaway. Presumably it then became uneconomic to maintain this secondary gate. It is probably the side gate referred to in a newspaper article of 1832 which says the side gate had been erected by the trustees of the Hatfield turnpike trust to prevent toll evasion. It had then been removed for 3 years. In 1878, we are told the former toll house in Station Rd has gone and has been replaced by a house. The very first keeper there, Richard Guy, was required to be present only during the daytime and so was not given a house as such but "sufficient lodgings" were found for him. He recieved 2s6d a week for his part time role.
The leases of the Turnpike toll gates tended to be short, just for a year often, 3 years at most. Finding someone reliable for the job seems to have caused much angst. For example in 1787 the lease of Bisham toll gate was cancelled because the incumbent had failed to perform his duties. He could keep the profit of the tolls but had to meet the expense of collecting them, eg paying someone to do the physical collection if not himself. This time around the leasee would have to pay 1 months rent in advance. And in 1789, a notice for the auction of the Marlow toll gates (plural) states that the current occupiers need not reapply unless they had settled their rent arrears. William Croxon, who operated both the Holly and Well End Gates in 1849, was also sued for rents owed. The money that could be made by the toll keepers gradually declined but in 1830 it was stated that £110 profit had been made from the gates on the Marlow - Stokenchurch turnpike road, over the costs of collecting them.
In 1831, it was agreed to remove the gate at the Wycombe and Little Road junctions, also known as the Chapel End gate. It had been the subject of constant bickering. Inhabitants of Marlow technically had the right to pass through without payment, but many complained that this was not what was happening in reality. The gatekeeper had been summoned for taking illegal tolls because of this. On the other hand, charges of riding through the Chapel End, Bisham and Well End/Dean Street gate without paying when required were common. The proximity of the Bisham and Chapel End gates was also an issue as some people complained they were unfairly charged twice for travelling on the same Turnpike Trusts short stretch of road. The gates were little more than a mile apart they said, and was it fair to pay a toll every mile? Deciding who should pay only once, or not at all caused yet more acrimony with accusations of unequal treatment and regulations not followed. The first toll taker at Chapel End Gate was shoemaker William Robinson who recieved 7s a week plus a house.
I am not sure when the Aggleton/Aggerton gate passed out of active use. The tollgate house gets mentioned in passing in 1835, it's noted that part of some waste ground near The Pound (just past Marlow Place in what we call Station Road) was going to be enclosed to turn it into a garden for "the turnpike house". It may of course have passed into domestic use at this time. There are records of several now demolished 2 room cottages in the area in property deeds, wills etc so perhaps one will be identified as the old toll house in time. In the same year, the trustees of the Reading and Hatfield Turnpike Trust conveyed to W J Atkinson land in "Church Street" [Chapel Street] Great Marlow, for £156. The Atkinsons were at the Rookery so possibly this relates to land where the toll house or gate stood. At least one toll keeper at this gate recieved an allowance in lieu of accomodation.
The toll gate keepers probably had a thankless job. They were referred to as greedy even though they were not the ones setting the toll fees or conditions. Poor Christopher Bain, a former sergeant and keeper of the Bisham Gate in 1866, was incensed when a rumour was circulated that he had attempted to charge even the Queen when she had passed through. Some said he had closed the "bar" eg prevented her carriage passing, until his demands for the payment of a toll had been met. He wrote to the local papers to clear his name. But many residents must have muttered that this sounded just the sort of thing a toll keeper would do!
*Hatfield Turnpike Rd - In 1771 the newly opened Reading to Hatfield Turnpike Rd was advertised as offering a connection to the Bath road at Reading, and to a branch of the "Great North Rd" at Hatfield. It went via Henley, Wycombe, Amersham, Watford, and St Albans. The Upper Crown and the Crown and Broad Arrow inns at Marlow were both recommended by the Trust as places to get good post chaises, able horses and accommodation. (The Crown and Broad Arrow was the Lower Crown in the High Street.) In 1831 the Bisham Gate on this road took tolls worth £360 and the Greenland Gate £225. An example of the penalty you could get for avoiding the tollgates was the 12s fine including costs inflicted on George Wood in 1846 for evading the Greenlands gate. In 1770 the trustees through their secretary Mr Allnutt advertised for tenders to erect 50 milestones along the route. Capital letters were to be 3" high and a quarter inch deep, with smaller letters in proportion. The final meeting of the trustees was held in the petty sessions room at the police court in January 1882 to wind up its affairs.
Written and researched by Kathryn Day.
Related posts:
Marlow stagecoach services here
Trouble at the Toll House - convict William Neighbour here
For all mentions of an individual here, see the A-Z person index in the top drop down menu. For other transport related posts, head for the General Marlow History listing here
SOURCES
Extract of the annual returns of the Great Marlow and Stokenchurch Turnpike Trust. Great Britain House of Commons. 1851, Vol 18
Conveyance of Well End Toll House, 1831. Commissioners appointed to direct and approve sales made by corporate bodies, Oxford University Digital archive.
Reading Mercury 19 March 1770, 17 May 1780, July 8 1771 British Library Archive,accessed via the BNA
Pigots Directory 1830, 1831,1842, 1844
Bucks Herald 3rd October 1840, as above
Bucks Chronicle and Bucks Gazette 24 November 1849, as above
Enrolment books, deposited with Clerk of the Peace, ref Q/RX 1835, Bucks Archives.
Slaters Commercial Directory 1851
High Wycombe Directory and Handbook 1885
Dutton, Allen and Co Directory and Gazetteer 1869
Weekly News 30 September 1838, thanks to Riley Hammond.
St James Chronicle 12 September 1839, digitised by Google.
Reading Mercury 30 September 1830
Berkshire Chronicle May 20 1832
Journal of the House Of Commons August 1790 - December 1791, Great Britain House of Commons.
Bucks Advertiser and Aylesbury News 11th April 1846, British Library Archive.
Windsor and Eton Express 21 July 1832. As above.
©Marlow Ancestors
