Lives of Wiston Turnpike tollhouse keepers reveal fascinating part of West Sussex history

Moses and Elizabeth Maple worked on the Wiston Estate and lived in the tollhouse, long since demolished.

Jane Cosham has researched their lives and uncovered the story of how they met, as well as their work as toll-collectors, including a court case involving her great-great-grandfather.

Jane was pleased to be able to have the family graves restored last year, as a beautiful tribute to them.

She said: "Moses Maple was the fifth child of ten, born to Thomas Maple and Elizabeth Roberson in Thakeham, West Sussex. Moses was born in the early part of July 1820 and was baptised on July 10 in Thakeham Church.

"When Moses was 20, he married Elizabeth Mitchell, who was from Wiston. They married at St Mary’s Church, Thakeham, on April 2, 1841. Elizabeth was seven years older than Moses.

"Moses and Elizabeth moved to Wiston, where Moses carried out his profession as a sawyer. Elizabeth was soon to become the turnpike keeper at Wiston Gate, with Moses supporting her with this work. The turnpike house was originally situated opposite the entrance to the Wiston Park Estate. Tolls were collected from people passing through this point."

Jane discovered that a case went to court in December 1848, when Moses brought charges against a W. Smith from Shoreham, who was in charge of a horse and carriage and passed through without paying the toll. Moses won his case and the defendant was ordered to pay a fine of 10 shillings plus costs within 14 days.The family had been growing fast and by 1851, Moses had six children – five sons and one daughter. Sadly, he passed away only five years later, leaving his widow to care for them alone.

Jane said: "In July 1856, Moses was working at a new parsonage in the village of Ashington. After work, he visited The Swan Inn at the village, where he spoke with the landlord, Mr Rowlands. He ordered himself a glass of ale and shortly afterwards complained of feeling very ill.

"Mr Rowlands took him home to Wiston Gate, where the Steyning doctor, Mr Young was summoned but 36 hours later, Moses was dead. His death was attributed to peritonitis. His wife Elizabeth was now a widow with six young children.

"As Moses had worked on the Wiston Estate, he was buried there on Thursday, July 31, in the graveyard of St Mary. His grave is sadly unmarked."

Elizabeth continued her work as tollhouse keeper well into the early 1880s, with the help and support of her sons. She passed away from consumption on August 11, 1884, at the age of 71 and was buried at All Saints Church in Buncton.

Jane explained: "At this time, burials were no longer allowed at St Mary’s churchyard. Any spaces were being kept for the Goring family who own the estate. So, sadly, they were not laid to rest together. Their home, the tollhouse, was knocked down in 1970.

"Last year, I saw an article on Steve Davis via his Facebook page, Military Grave Restorer. He restores military graves at no cost, keeping alive and respecting the memory of people who fought in wars. In order to support his work, he was cleaning private graves to raise funds, so I contacted him.

"With the support of my family and cousins, who are all descendants of Moses and Elizabeth, we had the grave of Elizabeth restored. Their son Albert Edwin Maple and his wife Jane is the grave next to Elizabeth’s. We had that done, too. It is an incredible feeling to preserve the memory and give thanks to these people, our great, and great-great-grandparents."

An article written by Danae Tankard, with research by Kim Leslie, for Weald & Downland Living Museum tells us more about tollhouse keepers and their work. They were responsible at any time of the day or night for operating the gates and issuing tickets, imposing fines, measuring wheels, weighing wagons and determining who was eligible for exemptions. The work was not physically strenuous, although the hours were antisocial, and the toll collectors lived rent free and exempt from parish rates.

The first Turnpike Act was passed in 1663, the principle being that travellers should contribute towards road repairs through the payment of tolls. Turnpike trusts were empowered to finance road improvement by issuing mortgage debt, which allowed them to raise considerable sums of money. Income from tolls was applied to the payment of the interest on the money borrowed and to ensure future road maintenance.

The first turnpike in Sussex was the road connection Crawley to Reigate. Those to follow were all roads running north to south, connecting London to the coast and to market towns like Horsham. It was the growth of Brighton that led to a large number of cross routes in the 1770s. Later, more roads were added to link London to the resorts, like the Beeding turnpike road that was established in 1807 to provide an alternative route to Beeding Hill.

Sir Charles Goring of Wiston was one of the 105 trustees appointed for this 17-mile route from Horsham through Shipley, West Grinstead, Ashurst, Steyning and Bramber.

Toll gates were required to have the tolls displayed on a board fixed to the front of the tollhouse. In addition, toll collectors were required to display their names, written in black letters at least two inches in height and breadth, on a white board 'on some conspicuous part or parts' of the tollhouse.