Statute Law Repeals - Law Commission - Ministry of Justice

11.6 By the mid-19 th century, the turnpike system as a means of maintaining a national
road network was in decline. A principal weakness of the turnpike system lay in
its financial structure and administration. The trusts were burdened by heavy
capital debts incurred at their inception and there was often little effective control
over the collection of toll moneys. Nor was there any central control over the
manner in which trustees used their powers. Moreover, the advent of the railways
reduced many trusts to a state of chronic insolvency. The rapid spread of the
railway network meant that, by 1850, turnpike roads were no longer the principal
provider of goods and passenger transport services in England and Wales.
11.7 From 1864 onwards, Parliament took steps to terminate turnpike trusts. This was
achieved by means of the Annual Turnpike Acts Continuance Acts, each of which
identified specific turnpike Acts for repeal or discontinuance, whilst continuing
every other subsisting turnpike Act for a period of approximately 12 months. The
Annual Turnpike Acts Continuance Act 1885 was the final Act whereby
Parliament provided for the continuation, expiry or repeal of turnpike Acts.
Applying only to turnpikes in England and Wales, it provided that any turnpike Act
that had not already expired, repealed or been discontinued should continue no
longer than 1 November 1886 unless Parliament provided otherwise. 4 In the
event, the final turnpike trust, relating to the Anglesey portion of the Shrewsbury
to Holyhead Road, expired on 1 November 1895.
11.8 Although the framework of legislation that governed the generic management of
turnpike trusts has already been repealed, 5 most of the Acts that provided for
individual turnpike trusts have never been formally repealed. The repeals
identified below are an attempt to remedy that situation in relation to the counties
of Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Surrey and in relation to the roads between
London and Holyhead. 6 The repeals for Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Surrey
are for convenience grouped between these three counties, although many of the
Acts span more than one county. Moreover, boundary changes over the years
mean that many of the locations originally falling within these counties now fall
within other counties or within the London boroughs. In the great majority of
cases the Acts listed are proposed for repeal on the basis that, although they
have expired, 7 they have not been formally repealed.
4 The 1885 Act, s 6.
5 Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1981, s 1, Sch 1, Pt 10.
6
Work on repealing turnpike legislation in other English counties will be undertaken in due
course.
7 The term ‘expired’ is used in this part of the report to include the many instances where a
turnpike Act was discontinued by an Annual Turnpike Acts Continuance Act.
329