Many tollhouses were built by turnpike trusts in England, Wales and Scotland during the 18th and early 19th centuries. Those built in the early 19th century often had a distinctive bay front to give the pikeman a clear view of the road and to provide a display area for the tollboard.[2] In 1840, according to the Turnpike Returns in Parliamentary Papers, there were over 5,000 tollhouses operating in England. These were sold off in the 1880s when the turnpikes were closed. Many were demolished but several hundred have survived for residential or other use, with distinctive features of the old tollhouses still visible.
Gallery
Toll House in Burke, Vermont. This house was home to the toll collector for the road on Burke Mountain.
Toll house at the Bratch Locks, Wombourne, on the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, circa 1772
Smethwick. What looks like a window opening on the upper floor would hold the tollboard.[3]