Turnpike Tollgates in London, 1801

The associations of the so-called turnpike trusts were active from the 17th to the 19th century. In the United Kingdom, in the 19th century, they were responsible for building and maintaining turnpike roads. During their heyday in the 1830s, there were over 1,000 trusts with nearly 8,000 toll booths covering a distance of 48,000km. After the introduction and increasing spread of the railroad, toll booths eventually lost their importance.

Map of the turnpike toll gates in London in 1801, map, 1801, creator: John Cary; source: Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tollgates_London_1801.jpg, public domain.