Catalogue description HOCKERILL (ESSEX and HERTFORDSHIRE) TURNPIKE TRUST

Hockerill Turnpike Trust, Hertfordshire

During the first thirty years of the Trust's existence its clerk was Philip Martin, who served jointly with his partner Peter Calvert from 1744 to about 1758 and subsequently alone until his resignation in 1774. Thereafter the Trust was served in this office for a total of ninety-six years by three generations of the Mott family, solicitors of Much Hadham (who were also clerks to the Wadesmill Trust from 1792): Thomas Mott 1774-1827, Thomas Samuel Mott 1827-1852, and Thomas Mott 1852-1870. After the Trust's termination its records remained with Messrs. Mott, Gayton and Mott, and their sucessors Gayton and Hare, until 1909 when they were acquired by the County Surveyor. The books and papers were transferred to the County Strong Room in 1929, but the maps (TP3/33-36) were retained by the Highways Department until 1956 (part of Accession 673). A direct deposit made by Messrs. Hare and Sons in 1947 (formerly nos. 65900-66054, part of Accession 127) has been included in the present list (TP3/5). The minutes (complete from 1744) and accounts (from 1793), and much of the nineteenth century correspondence and papers, were extensively used in the composition of F.H. Maud's book The Hockerill Highway (Colchester 1957), which gives a succinct account of the history of this Trust.

The Trust formally entitled the Essex and Hertfordshire Turnpike but commonly called after the hamlet of Hockerill (on the east side of Bishop's Stortford) was established by 17 Geo. II c. 9 from May 1744 to administer about twenty-eight miles of road from Harlow Bush Common (the southern boundary of the parish of Harlow) to Stump Cross, in the parish of Great Chesterford, the boundary between Essex and Cambridgeshire. At South Mill, three-quarters of a mile south of the centre of Bishop's Stortford, the turnpike road divided into two branches, one through the town by way of Southmill Road, South Street, Potter Street, North Street, Rye Street, Hazelend Road and Gipsy Lane to cross the River Stort near Palmers Water, while the other crossed the river at South Mill and proceeded through Hockerill and northwards to join the first branch at Palmers Water. An Act of 1791 enabled the Trust to construct a new road linking these branches one mile north of the centre of Bishop's Stortford and to abandon responsibility for the old road on the western side of the river northward from that point to Palmers Water. This reduced the length of the Trust's road by threequarters of a mile, but the loss was more than made up as a result of an Act of 1829 which authorised the construction of two new branches of road at Newport and Harlow, of which the latter, from Harlow Mill to the George Inn, was by far the more important. These increased the Trust's mileage to twenty-eight and a half, of which four miles was accounted for by branch roads, but under the Act maintenance of part of the road in Bishop's Stortford was made the responsibility of the parish. Other diversions and improvements which did not require the sanction of Parliament were also undertaken, notably the construction of South Road, Bishop's Stortford, in 1834. The Trust successfully resisted an attempt made in 1852 to consolidate it with other turnpike roads in Essex, and retained its separate identity until 1 November 1870 when its powers were terminated. The Trust held one further meeting on 13 December 1870 at which its assets were distributed among the several parishes in Essex, the Hadham District Highway Board (for Sawbridgeworth and Thorley) and the Bishop's Stortford Local Board of Health, which assumed responsibility for the former turnpike road in their respective areas.

There were two toll-gates established in 1744, one at Spellbrook (a hamlet in the north of the parish of Sawbridgeworth) by the blacksmith's shop near the Greyhound Inn (with a side-gate for a short time in 1745 across Hallingbury Lane, taken down when the main gate was moved to the other side of the brook), the other at the Chequer Inn in the parish of Ugley (Essex), replaced in the following year by a double gate across either branch of the road at Palmers Water. Both of these gates had its own treasurer responsible for supervising the collection of tolls and the payment of maintenance and other expenses on his section of the road. Another treasurer was appointed in 1767 when a third toll-gate was established between the Crown Inn and the mill at Great Chesterford (Essex), and the system of having more than one treasurer continued until 1825 (the number had been reduced to two in 1823). As a result of the building of the new road north of Bishop's Stortford the double gate at Palmers Water was replaced in 1791 by a side-gate across the old road there while a main gate was established half a mile to the south, on the north side of a lane (now only a footpath) leading to the parsonage at Birchanger (Essex). In 1792 the Chesterford gate was transferred to half a mile north of Quendon, near the lane leading to Elsenham and Henham (Essex), and in 1801 a weighing-engine was placed there. The trustees had ordered the construction of a weighing-engine at Palmers Water in 1752 but the contractor had failed to complete the project and it was abandoned. Use of the Quendon weighing-engine was suspended in 1827 and on each subsequent occasion when the tolls were leased.

In 1841 Spellbrook gate was transferred a mile and a quarter northwards to the north end of Thorley Street but was moved again the following year to Hockerill, on the north side of the road to Little Hallingbury (Essex). This was part of a general re-organisation of the toll-gates, in which the Birchanger gate was moved a little further north, to the south side of Sion House, with a side-gate across Birchanger Lane, followed shortly by another across the road to Forest Hall and Burton End (Essex); the side-gate at Palmers Water was discontinued and a new side-gate erected across the south end of Manuden Lane (Hazelend Road, by the Red White and Blue public house) in Bishop's Stortford; a gate called South Mill gate was placed across the main road between South Street and South Road, Bishop's Stortford; a side-gate was set up near the Green Man Inn at Harlow across the road to Hatfield Heath (Essex); and a gate was established on the main road at the north end of the hamlet of Potter Street in Harlow. Three months after these six gates had been ordered another was established north of Bordeaux Farm in the parish of Littlebury (Essex) near the lane to Little Chesterford, on which a side-gate was placed in 1843. Tolls were to be paid at the first and third gates passed by the traveller on the main road, tolls paid at the side-gates counting as paid at the nearest main gate. The system was simplified somewhat in 1845 when all the side-gates and the main gates except Littlebury and Quendon were abolished, Birchanger gate was restored to its former position and a gate established once more at Spellbrook, toll being payable at alternate gates. Early in 1846 a side-gate was restored at Palmers Water and in 1861 a gate was again erected across the turnpike road at the north end of Potter Street, Harlow, near Izzards Farm. No further alterations were made in the number of gates before the termination of the Trust in 1870.

Hockerill Turnpike Trust Acts

1744 17 Geo. II c. 9 For repairing road from Harlow Bush Common to Stump Cross in parish of Great Chesterford for 21 years from May 1744 [to expire 1765].

An extension of the term for 5 years was applicable to the Trust under a General Turnpike Act of 28 Geo. II c. 17 (1755).

1769 9 Geo. III c. 51 Extended term for 21 years [to 1791].

1791 31 Geo. III c. 99 Enabled Trust to construct new road from opposite Common Down, Bishop's Stortford, to branch road between Hockerill and Palmers Water; and extended term for 21 years [to 1812].

1809 49 Geo. III c. x1v Amended powers and established term of 21 years from April 1809.

1829 10 Geo. IV c. xxi Repealed preceding Acts and enacted new powers for 31 years from April 1829; established sinking fund; enabled Trust to construct new roads from Harlow Mill to George Inn at Harlow and from toll-bridge at Newport to 39th milestone.

From 1860 the Trust was prolonged by Annual Turnpike Acts Continuance Acts until its termination was fixed at 1 November 1870 by 33 & 34 Vict. c. 73 (1870)

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