Fell End Turnpike

Sedbergh Turnpike Trust was set up in 1762 by Act of Parliament (2 Geo II) to build and maintain roads between Sedbergh and Kirkby Lonsdale, Kendal, Hawes and Kirkby Stephen, 62 miles of road in all.

The Marthwaite-Kirkby Stephen High Lane Head road followed the present A683, except for the section Rawthey Bridge (or Rathar Bridge) to the Ravenstonedale Toll Bar, which followed Street.

Toll gates were set up at intervals not too short to inconvenience traffic, but not too long to miss revenue. The average interval was five miles. The tolls were farmed out. The gatekeeper at Ravenstonedale Gate paid £25 p.a., and kept the tolls collected, except any receipts from the public stage 'if one be instituted' which he was to hand over to the Trustees. (Minute book, 1826) (The payment for the gate at Kirkby Stephen High Lane Head was £75 p.a. - obviously more lucrative)

The net revenue of Ravenstonedale Toll-Bar in 1813 was £53; in 1816 £65 and in 1825 £64/10s.

Tollkeepers were instructed to light the lamps at the Toll Bar between 1st October and 1st April from sunset to twelve o'clock at night.

In 1824, the Surveyor was asked to prepare plans for diversions of the road in Garsdale and towards Kirkby Stephen. He recommended that a better gradient could be achieved by leading the road along Buckbank Lane from Sedbergh to rejoin the existing road at Cross Keys, by making a new road from Rawthey Bridge to Ravenstonedale Toll Gate, and thence over Stennerskeugh Bridge to Wharton Hall.

The lower part of the diversion was not proceeded with, but at their meeting at the Black Bull, Sedbergh on October 7, 1825, the Trustees 'ordered that the new line of road from the north end of Rawthey Bridge to the Toll Bar in Ravenstonedale, and then by Stannerskew Bridge and Wharton Dykes to Kirkby Stephen be adopted.'

The necessary powers were conferred by Parliament in 1826 (7 Geo IV). The expense was to be "defrayed out of the Tolls, and not by Subscription."

A plan was drawn up, and the individual parcel numbers listed.

OWNER OCCUPIER 40 Common or Waste Land 41 do. do. 42 Field Revd Allinson Christopher Dixon 43 do. Dr Tatham John Brown 44 do. do. do. 45 do. do. do. 46 do. Revd Richd Hunter Robert Johnson 47 do. do. do. 48 Lane, Common or Waste Land 49 Field Richard Holme John Dawson 50 do. Isaac Handley Matthew Hunter 51 Field Richard Holme John Dawson 52 do. 53 do. 54 do. 55 do. 56 do. 57 Field John Hunter John Hunter 58 do. do. do. 59 Field Robert Hunter Thos Thexton 60 do. do. do. 61 do. do. do. 62 do. do. Robert Hunter 63 do. do. do. 64 do. Isaac Handley Robert Tunstall 65 do. Wm Parker Wm Parker 66 Lane, Common or Waste Land 67 Field Isaac Handley Robert Tunstall 68 do. Wm Shaw John Herd 69 do. do. do. 70 do. George Fawcett George Fawcett 71 do. Anthony Hunter Anthony Hunter 72 do. do. do. 73 do. Ellen Alderson Ellen Alderson 74 do. do. do. 75 do. do. do. The costing for the section from "Rother Bridge" to Kirkby Stephen was: Forming, stoning and draining 598 rods @ 1/10 £ 897 0 0 Cop fencing 1196 rods @ 6/- 358 16 0 Forming, stoning and draining 2147 7 7 New stone fences 986 rods @ 12/- 591 12 0 Removing fences 192 rods @ 7/- 67 4 0 Cop fencing 450 rods @ 6/- 135 10 0 4 Under Gates across Road 70 0 0 21¼ Statute Acres @ £50 1062 10 0

Only Richard Holme and William Parkin agreed to the compulsory purchase of their land, and most other parties (with the exception of Revd Allison and Dr Tatham, John Brown, Robert Johnson, John Dawson, Robert Tunstall and John Herd, who expressed no opinion) dissented. The Act was passed anyway, and received the Royal Assent on 5 May 1826. The work had to be completed within four years.

In 1830, land for further diversions in Ravenstonedale and Garsdale cost £2/7/4. The cost of labour was just over £700. (Account statement for 1830)

The Trust ran into financial difficulties with the coming of the railways, when some of the mortgagees who had lent it money demanded repayment, since their security (they had a charge on the tolls) was depreciating in value. Revd. Sedgwick of Dent caused the mortgagees' complaints to be formally entered in the Minute Book.

Turnpikes in England and Wales were abolished on November 1, 1874, and the roads vested in County Councils. The Sedbergh Trust sold off its properties (a shop in Sedbergh, the various toll houses - the one at Ravenstonedale was offered for sale at £50), and, there being no claims against it, the Trust was formally wound up on December 8, 1874.

(NB Photocopy of plan and section. The plan has several erasures, and the field parcel numbers have been rewritten several times to cope with different plans and projects - the smallest numbers were those of the original survey, the numbers in the series 52-86 added later, and the series 41-75 (in red) the final numbering. The plan and section both cover the entire road from Marthwaite to Kirkby Stephen at 4" to the mile. The section has embankments and cuttings for the diversion shaded in green and brown respectively)

The New and the Old