The development of the Fife road system, 1700-1850
Abstract
During the first half of the eighteenth century the political
and social climate of Scotland was becoming increasingly favourable
for the expansion of agricultural output and mineral exploitation.
These activities generated extra traffic and the growing number of
wheeled vehicles created a demand for soundly constructed roads.
In contrast with the English parish system, responsibility for
road management in Scotland lay with landowners, accountable to
their county meetings. A tax on rent financed a selective programme
of improvement, and when parish labour was converted to a monetary
payment a considerable increase in road works became possible.
In Fife, the influence of farmers and coal owners is seen in
the planning of roads to distribute lime and coal, while leading
landowners were concerned with the national highways which crossed
the peninsula. Although one of these became a toll road in 1753,
the turnpike system was adopted for the county only at the end of
the century. It is the hitherto underestimated activity among
road authorities before the imposition of tolls which forms the
main theme of this study.
The basic pattern of overland connections existing around
1700 is derived from the evidence of settlement distribution and
known physiographic constraints. This pattern is checked against
the earliest available maps and road records to deduce a putative
network. A sequence of maps illustrates the subsequent changes,
including the extent of postal and coach services and control of
roads by the turnpike trusts.
The abandonment of hillside routes, the dominance of the
link between the Forth and Tay ferries, and the influence of
individual landowners on schemes of improvement are illustrated
by more localised studies which emphasise the multiplicity of
factors operating during a crucial phase in the development of
the modern road network.
Type
Thesis, PhD Doctor of Philosophy
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