The Dark Ages

During the Roman occupation, the lifestyle of the tribes was totally altered. The Romans built roads, fortifications and many other constructions, such as villas and the like. Additionally causeways, culverts, lesser streams and bridges where practical and the marshy land was drained.

With the withdrawal of the Romans (AD410) maintenance of the groundworks was neglected and, as a consequence, fell into disrepair; for instance, the drainage of low-lying marshy grounds. As a consequence artificial pools developed into serious marshlands and travellers had to circumnavigate these hazards.

All was not gloom and doom, since the upland passes, the ridgeways and track ways were able to utilize these ancient routes for many centuries, and the Roman roads were quite serviceable.

In the 10th and 11th centuries, England became united under one king, and trade began to increase using parts of the Roman roads, ancient track ways and new paths at field edges. By custom, parishes were responsible for maintaining the roads, but this was rarely enforced.

The Middle Ages

1066 brought the Normans and the Doomsday Surveys of 1068. In spite of the lack of maintenance of the Roman ways, Watling Street, Ermine Street, Fosse Way and the prehistoric Icknield Way, were regarded as Royal Roads, and were under the king’s protection. These roads were wide enough for two waggons to pass and a tax was collected for “pavage” to maintain the surface. These routes, the “Kings Highway”, developed into busier roads.

The principal methods of using the roads were:

On foot, carrying personal possessions and minor loads.
Packhorses, in pack trains were able to carry considerable loads in panniers paired across the horse’s backs.
Astride horse back, the fastest mode for many years to come. Weaker persons were carried in litters suspended between two horses.
Sledges, wheeled carts and slow ox waggons.
A hammock waggon, available in the 11th century for the elderly.
Coaches, which appeared in the 14th century, a wherlicate, canvas covered, was used by ladies and invalids, but many ladies preferred to ride sidesaddle rather than in an unsprung waggon.

Food and other goods were carried on pack animals, although carts were available. The cost of carriage remained constant for three centuries, at a penny per mile for one ton of grain, and double for heavy goods like lead and tiles. The roads appear to have been adequate until the 16th century.

Monastries did some work on roads and bridges but in 1530, Henry VIII closed the monastries and took the lands and buildings without making any provision for the maintenance of the roads.

The first statute was the Statute of Bridges in 1531 requiring repairs locally, or by the Justices of the Peace in the county.
The 1555 Highways Act made ratepayers and citizens for road maintenance, this continued until the 19th century. This revived the Saxon idea that each parish be responsible for the roads passing through it. Annually a Surveyor of Highways, directed parishioners to repair roads for 5 days a year (6 days from 1563). This work was statute labour.

The surveyor when elected, unpaid, took over the accounts, examined the roads and bridges, and organized the annual week of repairs. Such presentment had advantages in road repair, since it was a way around the poor results of the former statute labour. It made more money but it did not guarantee a better standard of road. The surveyor had an arduous year in office (and hoped that someone would take over).

The arrangement of the Act looked good on paper, and it must have served some purpose to be renewed every 7 years until 1586 when it was made permanent. There were, of course, exceptions for doctors and clergy and the gentry wriggled out. However, the surveyors were never chosen for their knowledge of road mending and were unpopular.

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