Cambridge researchers used traveller diaries to show 18th-century turnpike trusts cut poor-road mileage by half and doubled stagecoach speeds from 4 to 8 mph between 1700 and 1800.
Key Takeaways
Turnpike trusts, created by Acts of Parliament from 1663, let local gentry levy tolls and borrow against revenues, funding road maintenance without central tax.
Stagecoach speeds doubled (4 to 8 mph) over the 1700s; speeds on turnpiked roads ran ~2 mph faster than on untolled roads.
Diarists valued comfort and safety over speed – they wanted potholes filled and ruts repaired, not premium-grade surfaces, and resisted paying more than necessary.
Over half of non-turnpiked mileage was rated ‘poor’; for turnpikes, under a quarter was poor and ~40% was rated ‘good’ vs. under 20% for free roads.
Regional equity was a side effect: the worst pre-turnpike roads were in the Southwest, Wales, and the North, and those areas saw the largest improvements.
