1795 The Turnpike

THE PRINCES RISBOROUGH TURNPIKE TRUST    research by Peter Gullard

PROPOSED in 1794

With a view to creating a Turnpike (Toll Road) in order to improve the stony road, known today as the A4010, meetings were first held in 1794 in Princes Risborough.  The route of this turnpike, originally from World’s End to West Wycombe was approved by Act of Parliament in 1795.   Money was secured against the tolls that were set up.  Two notable trustees were John Grubb, of Horsenden, Lord of the Manor of Princes Risborough, and Sir Scrope Bernard-Morland of Nether Winchenden, who also had land in the Kimble area.   Between them they chaired all the meetings up to 1841.  The clerks were Aylesbury solicitors.

RESEARCH by PETER GULLARD

To quote from the writings of Peter Gullard, who researched the toll roads of Buckinghamshire  “It was a very active trust which built one and a half miles of new road to shorten the road by cutting out detours. This work converted an indirect string of local lanes into a main road.

1820 IMPROVED ROUTE OUT OF PRINCES RISBOROUGH

In Princes Risborough the road passed down the High Street, along Bell Lane to the junction of Station Road with Poppy Road, where it took a right angled turn.   In 1820 the trustees persuaded the parish’s Enclosure Commissioners to build a quarter mile curving section of Wycombe Road to cut off this corner. The turnpike trustees, of course paid for the new road.

GRADIENT of CULVERTON HILL REDUCED

A quarter of a mile south it crossed the Ridgeway Path and started its climb up Culverton Hill.   Here the pre-turnpike road was not only very steep but tracked from side to side to lessen the gradient.   In 1831-1835 the Overseers of Princes Risborough Parish – at the expense of the Turnpike Trust – rebuilt the steepest half mile of the hill, from the Ridgeway to the Shootacre Lane junction.   They drove a new gently curving road through the middle of the former ‘S’ shape.   They excavated cuttings to even out the gradient and some of the spoil from this was carried downhill to form a low embankment across a shallow valley at the bottom and thus reduced the height to be climbed.

BRANCHES ADDED

Three branches were added to the original.   In 1822 extension authorised from Terrick to Stoke Mandeville.   Also 1822 construction of a largely new road from West Wycombe to Handy Cross (this was only partly built).  1825 a branch road from Princes Risborough to Thame authorised.

TOLL GATES and MILESTONES

The toll gates were on average just over three miles apart. The milestones were simply rectangles of roughly shaped stone on average eleven inches square set facing the road with towns and miles painted on them in black.”

PROS and CONS of the RAILWAYS

The coming of the railways did not adversely affect this turnpike until railways came to Oxford and Aylesbury in 1841-44.   A slump in tolls followed, but in 1854 a line was opened to High Wycombe then on to Princes Risborough and Thame in 1862.  With a station built at Saunderton, the Turnpike saw an upturn in use, for although most people walked from the villages to the station it did a busy trade in goods for which cart traffic would have to use the road.

WOUND UP 1^st NOVEMBER 1871.

By 1866 income was falling again and the trustees applied to Parliament to wind up the Trust.   They eventually obtained permission and it ended 1^st November1871.    At their meeting on 27^th December 1871 to finalise the trust’s affairs they found they had raised £108-10s from the sale of six toll houses, gates and surplus land.

1795 The Turnpike
Map Source	B4010
Village
Road To	West Wycombe
Road To	West Wycombe