A tollhouse or toll house is a building with accommodation for a toll collector, beside a tollgate on a
toll road
A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or '' toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implement ...
,
canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface f ...
, or
toll bridge
A toll bridge is a bridge where a monetary charge (or '' toll'') is required to pass over. Generally the private or public owner, builder and maintainer of the bridge uses the toll to recoup their investment, in much the same way as a toll road ...
.
History
Many tollhouses were built by
turnpike trust
Turnpike trusts were bodies set up by individual Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, acts of Parliament, with powers to collect road toll road, tolls for maintaining the principal roads in Kingdom of Great Britain, Britain from the 17th b ...
s in England, Wales and Scotland during the 18th and early 19th centuries. Those built in the early 19th century often had a distinctive bay front to give the pikeman a clear view of the road and to provide a display area for the tollboard.
In 1840, according to the Turnpike Returns in Parliamentary Papers, there were over 5,000 tollhouses operating in England. These were sold off in the 1880s when the turnpikes were closed. Many were demolished but several hundred have survived for residential or other use, with distinctive features of the old tollhouses still visible.
Canal toll houses were built in very similar style to those on turnpikes. They are sited at major
canal lock
A lock is a device used for raising and lowering boats, ships and other watercraft between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water ...
s or at junctions. The great age of canal-building in Britain was in the 18th century, so the majority exhibit the typical features of vernacular
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover— George I, George II, Ge ...
. In the English Midlands, a major area of 18th century canal development, most are of mellow red brick and hexagonal in plan, and tall enough to give the lock keeper a good view of local traffic on the canal. Being small, most have proved unsuitable for occupation, and so are often used as shops or tourist information outlets.
The manager's office in modern
toll plazas in the United States is also referred to as a "toll house" even though it is not used as a residence.
Gallery
See also
*
Tollkeeper's cottages in Ontario
*
Tholsel, from the English word
tolsey
*
Tollbooth
References
Bibliography
Tollhouses in England:
* Haynes, R. & Slocombe, I. (2004) Wiltshire Toll Houses, publ. Hobnob Press, Salisbury. ()
* Kanefsky, J. (1976) Devon Tollhouses, Exeter Ind Arch. Group, University of Exeter ()
* Jenkinson, T, Taylor, P (2009) The Toll-houses of South Devon, Polystar Press ()
* Jenkinson, T, Taylor, P (2010) The Toll-houses of North Devon, Polstar Press (
* Searle, M. (1930), Turnpikes and Toll-bars, publ. Hutchinson
* Taylor, P. (2001) The Toll-houses of Cornwall, publ. The Federation of Old Cornwall Societies. ()
* Taylor, P (2010) The Toll-houses of Essex, Polystar Press (
* Ward, M & A (2011) The Toll House, Medlar Press, Shropshire ()
External links
British Tollhouseshas photographs and maps of some surviving tollhouses in Britain
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toll House
*
House
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...
House types in the United Kingdom
Transport buildings and structures
Road infrastructure