All that remains of the Glamorgan Turnpike

By Graham Loveluck Edwards

Glamorgan Star news 25/07/2023

2 minutes read

WHEN traveling around the county you may have stumbled across one of the rather ornate road signs (pictured) and may even have wondered about them. They, along with a few other clues, are reminders of the old Glamorgan Turnpike.

The what? Well, up until the construction of the M4 as recently as the 1980s, the principal route across Glamorgan has loosely followed the Via Julia Maritima. This is a Roman road, built in the Antonine period to link up the forts at Gloucester, Caerleon, Cardiff and Neath. The route of the modern day A48. By the 18th Century it was becoming a problem. It had not been properly maintained since the Romans left and was in a terrible state.

One of the more famous casualties of the state of this road (in folklore at least) was Richard Cromwell, the son of Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector. Richard Cromwell was known to be very close to Colonel Philip Jones of Fonmon Castle in the Vale and the story goes that after a very boozy lunch at Fonmon, he was heading home to London along the Roman Road. His coach struck a pothole with such a jolt that the impact threw him from his seat, through the door of his carriage and out onto the road.

Hence the nickname ‘Tumble-Down-Dick’ and that stretch of road has ever since been known as ‘The Tumble’ – the steep hill on the A48 west of Culverhouse Cross.

The solution came from an Act of Parliament which led to the creation of the Glamorgan Turnpike trust in 1764. The premise was that the trust would collect tolls from road users and discharge these funds on behalf of the landowners to re-build, re-route and maintain the highway. The improvements also involved the introduction of milestones – many of which are still around today. One example (pictured) stands at the bottom of Caroline Street, outside Subway in Bridgend town centre. As you can see from the date stamp, these were introduced in 1836.

I’ve always loved these old Turnpike Signs. The regency style arches and flourishes are beautiful. The information is also useful. It tells travellers that they are in Bridgend Town and District, that this section was at the time part of the parish of Coity, and also the distance to Pyle to the west and Cowbridge to the east. As well as London, for those making the two-day trip to the capital.

The Turnpikes were not universally popular, however. In the 1830s there was a cost-of-living crisis. Low wages, high rents plus debt, taxes, tythes and a run of poor harvests in rural areas meant that ordinary people were on their knees. So being charged to use the roads was the last straw. Especially as those charges really started to rack up if you were transporting livestock.

Across rural West and Mid Wales, people rose up in what became known as the Rebecca Riots. Their insurrection saw many toll gates destroyed and toll collectors attacked, sometimes with mobs of over 100 men dressed up in women’s clothes with blackened faces. The struggle continued for five years.

Eventually, a board of enquiry was set up to review the burden put on travellers using the public highways. It concluded that tolls should be scrapped, and the Turnpike Trusts disbanded. So, all we have left to remind us of the episode are a few old toll houses such as the one on Newcastle Hill Bridgend and these signs.

Graham Loveluck-Edwards is a history writer, author and broadcaster. You can watch videos on Welsh history by searching for Graham Loveluck on YouTube.com

By Graham Loveluck Edwards

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