Transport

1. Transport How did we get around for all of this trade to happen?

2. Transport in 1700 • Transport in 1700 was primitive because it did not really need to be any better • People did not travel far outside their village. • Communication across the country was poor. • “A narrow causeway which a coach can barely pass, all pitched with slats and stones, our coach was once edged and several men were forced to lift us out; its made only for packhorses.” (Celia Fiennes 1697)

3. Foot Horse back Farm cart Farm Wagon Pack horse (these were long trains of horses carrying heavy goods) THERE WAS NO PASSENGER TRANSPORT. Forms Of transport in 1700

4. Coastal Shipping: This was used in particular used for heavy goods such as coal from Newcastle to London. It too had draw backs though as not everywhere had easy access to the coast and you would still have to transport you goods to the port. Navigable rivers. These were rivers that were big enough to get boats down. But they had a number of disadvantages: Bends: it was difficult to get large boats around bends. (This problem was overcome by “Cutting” bends out. Width: Rivers varied in width this meant boats often got stuck. Silt: Collected at the bottom and boats got marooned on the sand and silt banks. Current: Without a power source it was difficult to against the current of a river. Other forms of primitive transport.

5. Time for Change • With a growth in trade and manufacture the government had to do something to improve roads, but as usual they were not going to pay for it so in 1555 they came up with the STATUTE OF LABOURS.

6. What did the Act involve? • Every village became responsible for the upkeep of the roads in around their village. • Everybody in the village was obliged to take three days each year to repair the roads without pay. • The villagers had to also provide the materials for the repair.

7. REACTION! • Villagers refused to do the work. They said that most of the damage had been caused by “foreigners” strangers that had used the roads around their village. • They would not work for free . • The most that was ever done was the ruts in the roads were filled with stone.

8. Dangers of Early roads: • They were bumpy and good were easily broken as were wagons. • They were often just mud or dirt tracks, vehicles often got stuck in the mud or the huge ruts left behind by other travellers • It was slow due to the delays of being stuck in the mud. • Often when we had suffered bad rain, whole roads got washed away. • There was a risk of robbery. • There was not a national network.

9. Due to the fact that the statute of labours was not working. Something had to be done to improve the roads so that goods could travel around the country more easily. In 1663 The first TURNPIKE TRUST ACT was passed. This alloed the local justices to collect tolls from roads in their area. Turnpike trusts were soon formed . How did they work? Turnpike Trusts

10. Turnpike trusts • A group of investor put money in to buy a stretch of road. • They then had to improve that stretch of road. • They then charged a toll ( a tax) for people using that road. There would have been a number of gates along the road, where travellers had to stop and make a payment. • The profits were then shared out amongst investors. These were called “dividends”. • Some of the profit would have been reinvested in improving or repairing the road , or indeed buying a new stretch of road.

11. Opposition to the turnpikes. • Many people were unhappy with the turnpikes as they did not see why they should now pay to use roads that they had previously used for free. • Some turnpikes were not as good as others and they did not repair their roads, only took the profits. • Some turnpikes placed a high number of toll gates on a small stretch of road to maximise their profit.

12. Rebecca Rioters • In South Wales protestors went onto the street and took violent action. • Men disguised as women attacked toll houses where the gate keeper lived and they burnt down houses and gates. • Because of their disguises they were called the Rebecca Rioters!

13. Turnpike FEVER!!!! • It did not take long for the astutue business man to realise that a great deal of money could be made from the roads. • Soon many men were forming trusts and applying for a grant for a stretch of road. • So many turnpike acts were passed between 1750-1791 this period became known as TURNPIKE FEVER.

14. Advantages of Turnpikes: Transport of heavy goods wwas much easier. Since fewer horses were needed. This in turn brought the price down. Roads were now much safer as there were less hazards. Fat cattle and sheep lost less weight on the journey to market. Turnpikes allowed post boys to ride much faster and speeded up the delivery of mail. Disadvantages Of Turnpikes: It was not a uniform system. Travellers lost time passing through large numbers of gates. It was expensive should you have to stop at a number of gates. PRO’s and CON’s

15. Great Road Engineers 1770-1830 • Many of these new roads were initially made by laying down large stones and covering them with a layer of smaller stones mixed with earth, which was given a curve to allow the rain water to drain off. • But in practice most traffic stuck to the middle of the road to avoid the steep camber. (slope). This caused ruts in the centre of the road, these filled with water and softened up the rest of the road.

16. Thomas Telford • Thomas Telford became the world’s greatest CIVIL Engineer. • He built many turnpike roads. • His greatest achievement was the London to Holyhead road. It was 500km long and 10km wide. It was so soundly built that certain stretches of it are still in use today. • He used solid foundations which made his roads more expensive. He avoided steep gradients and his camber was gentle rather than the steep cambers of old roads which wagons used to avoid.

17. John McAdam. • Unlike Telford he believed that solid foundations were not necessary. • He claimed that if you used a layer of small stones 20-25 centimetres deep. • He claimed that these smaller stones knitted together, especially when compacted down by the traffic. • This in turn would cause the road surface to become smooth and make coach journeys more comfortable. • The Mcadam surface was cheaper that Telford’s so turnpike trusts tended to use it more.

18. George Wade: He built roads near Scotland for the army to use because we feared that the Scottish would invade at the start of the 18th Century. John Metcalf (known as “Blind Jack”) He was blind from the age of 6 due to contracting smallpox. He built his first turnpike in 1765. He laid great quantities of heather in his roads when he built them in boggy areas. This stopped the vehicles from sinking. He also realised that round stones could not be used on the surfaces of roads as they were simply pushed aside by the traffic so he used jagged broken stones, which bound together under the weight of the traffic. Other road builders.

19. The Golden Age of Coaching • Due to the new improved roads.It was now possible for passenger transport to be available for people. • The first form of passenger transport was the stage coach. This got its name because the horses were changed at stages along the journey, for fresher horses. The horses would be picked up again on the way back. • Initially the journey was quite uncomfortable as the stage coaches did not have springs or cushioned chairs. • But they were popular despite that they were slow. It took a number of days to get to London. • The golden age of coaching was in the 1820’s to 1830’s. each day there were 3,000 coach trip across Britain.

20. Other Road Innovations • A POSTAL SERVICE was set up by John Palmer. In 1784. Each of his coaches were armed with guards and a gun called a “Blunderbus” to protect them from highway men. Later mail coaches had a bell so that they could warn the toll gates that they were coming and they would not be slowed down. • Newspapers: Mail coaches also delivered newspapers, this improved communication across the country no end.