This book deals with the development and administration of turnpike trusts in England from the creation of the first turnpike authority in 1663 to the coming of the the railways in 1840. It is concerned specifically with assessing the economic importance of the trusts before and during the Industrial Revolution. The author begins by analysing the importance of the roads in relation to the entire transport network in the seventeenth century and then examines the legislative development of the trust device and spread of the turnpike trusts throughout the country. The financing of the trusts and...