The Turnpike Roads Act 1773 (13 Geo. 3. c. 84), also known as the General Turnpike Act 1773,[1] was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain that consolidated all acts relating to turnpike roads in England and Wales.
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act to explain, amend, and reduce into One Act of Parliament, the General Laws now in being for regulating the Turnpike Roads in that Part of Great Britain called England; and for other Purposes. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 13 Geo. 3. c. 84 |
| Territorial extent | England and Wales |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 1 July 1773 |
| Commencement | 29 September 1773[a] |
| Repealed | 1 January 1823 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repeals/revokes | Turnpike Roads Act 1766 |
| Repealed by | Turnpike Roads Act 1822 |
| Relates to | |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
Background
editThe first legislated control in England was introduced under the Highways Act 1555 (2 & 3 Ph. & M. c. 8), which was amended and extended by the Highways Act 1562 (5 Eliz. 1. c. 13).[2]
In 1663, the Road Repair (Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Huntingdonshire) Act 1663 (15 Cha. 2. c. 1) was passed to authorise the charging of rates for a section of the Great North Road in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire, becoming the first turnpike act. From the late 17th-century, Parliament increasingly took responsibility for repairing and maintaining roads from local authorities.[3]
From 1700 to 1750, 143 new turnpike acts were passed, followed by a period of "turnpike mania", during which 375 new trusts were created between 1751 and 1772.[4]
In response to the increased development and congestion of roads in England, the Highways Act 1766 (6 Geo. 3. c. 43), Highways (No. 2) Act 1766 (7 Geo. 3. c. 42), the Highways Act 1768 (8 Geo. 3. c. 5) and the Turnpike Roads Act 1766 (7 Geo. 3. c. 40) were passed to improve their regulation.[1]
Provisions
editThe act made statutory provision for the erection of milestones along the turnpike roads indicating the distance between the main towns on the road, known as "guide posts" or "fingerposts".[1] Users of the road were obliged to follow what were to become rules of the road, such as driving on the left and not damaging the road surface. Trusts could take additional tolls during the summer to pay for watering the road in order to lay the dust thrown up by fast-moving vehicles.[5]
Section 86 of the act repealed the Turnpike Roads Act 1766 (7 Geo. 3. c. 40), effective on 29 September 1773.[5]
Legacy
editThe Highways Act 1773 (13 Geo. 3. c. 78) was passed at the same time as the act, which consolidated all acts relating to highways in England and Wales.
The Select Committee on Temporary Laws described this act as a Consolidation Act.[6]
The act was wholly repealed by the Turnpike Roads Act 1822 (3 Geo. 4. c. 126).
Notes
edit- ^ Section 86.
References
edit- ^ a b c "Known your Traffic Signs - Introduction". GOV.UK. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
- ^ "Timeline of British Turnpike Trusts". University of Portsmouth, Department of Geography. Retrieved 18 November 2007.
- ^ "Turnpikes and tolls". UK Parliament. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
- ^ Albert, William (1972). The turnpike road system in England, 1663-1840. -. Internet Archive. Cambridge, [Eng.]: University Press. pp. 125–126. ISBN 978-0-521-08221-1.
- ^ a b Britain, Great (1773). The Statutes at Large: From the Magna Charta, to the End of the Eleventh Parliament of Great Britain, Anno 1761 [continued to 1807]. Vol. 130. J. Bentham. pp. 267–247.
- ^ Commons, Great Britain Parliament House of (1803). Reports from Committees of the House of Commons which Have Been Printed by Order of the House: And are Not Inserted in the Journals [1715-1801. Vol. 14. pp. 34–118.