Gloucestershire Society for Industrial Archaeology 

Turnpike trusts were bodies, authorised by Acts of Parliament, with powers to build and maintain roads, for which they could collect tolls from the various types of user. Turnpike Acts date from the 17th century but the vast majority were passed in the  the 18th and 19th Century. The Act was normally for 21 years but extensions were normally granted when needed. The last trust was dissolved in 1895.  The 42 page Act for the The Roads in and Around Tewkesbury [58 Geo. III, c. xxx.] was passed in 1818.  

The Act contains a wealth of information, including the names of the Trustees, the tolls payable for the different classes of traffic, the provision of milestones and tollhouses, the manner in which the trust should be administered and the accounts to be presented each year.  It also deals with ways in which finace for the construction of roads may be made, along with provision for their repair. It even stipulates how toll collectors ‘misbehaving’ should be dealt with and that victuallers are not to be Officers of the Trust or Trustees.