Old toll house, Shortbank Road
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Old toll house, Shortbank Road by Gordon Hatton as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
Old toll house, Shortbank Road
Image: © Gordon Hatton Taken: 26 Nov 2018
This toll house presents a problem in that it doesn't quite match with the history of the turnpike road that passed by the door. Shortbank Road was the turnpike road from Skipton to Addingham for a relatively short period from 1755 to 1820 after which an easier route was taken along much of the line now followed by the A65. The building is grade 2 listed, but its date is given as early 19thC. A mid 18thC date would have established it as a turnpike toll house, but the later date causes doubt. A local source suggests that the toll house was there to collect dues from the traffic coming down the hill from sandstone quarries on the moor edge. This is possible, but needs further research.
Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Image Location
Latitude
53.959137
Longitude
-2.005146