Leeds became a borough with a charter from Charles I in 1626, although it had been developing into a town after an earlier charter from King John in 1207. Small and compact, it grew in importance from its location by the bridge over the Aire, which had probably been in existence since at least Norman times.
In the Middle Ages anyone wanting to enter it to trade would have to go through the so-called “bars”. Unlike York, for example, with its elaborate bars (Micklegate Bar, etc),Leeds wasn’t fortified. Its checkpoints were buildings, probably wooden, on the main roads. John Cossins’ Plan of Leeds published in 1726 suggests that by then the bars were wooden gates designed to keep out stray cattle, delay unwanted visitors, and collect tolls on market days. As time went on the checkpoints were removed and replaced by a stone to show, in effect, the boundaries of the town.
There were six of these, of uncertain date. Three of them survive, and all but one are marked by Leeds Civic Trust blue plaques. Clockwise, from the north, they are:
The North Bar: on the front of the old bus station, now a café, on Vicar Lane. Click here for picture.
The East or York Bar: on the wall in front of the Parish Church of St Peter on Kirkgate. Click here for picture.
The South Bar: on the south side of Leeds Bridge at the bottom of Lower Briggate. A Civic Trust plaque marks the spot.
Burley Bar: a blue plaque on the Headrow marks the location of this; the actual stone is now inside the main entrance of the Leeds (formerly Leeds & Holbeck) Building Society, also on the Headrow (corner of Albion St). Picture to follow.
The West Bar: a blue plaque, unveiled in 1989, is the only record of this: at the Bond Street Centre outside 34-38 Boar Lane. The western border of mediaeval Leeds was adjacent to the Manorial Park.
The Richmond to Lancaster turnpike was opened in the middle of the 18th century to provide an east-west coast-to-coast transport route across the north of England. At Richmond (or more specifically Catterick Bridge in nearby Brompton-on-Swale) it would connect with the Catterick Bridge to Durham turnpike (opened in 1747): this went through Yarm, on the River Tees, a busy port at the time. At the other end Lancaster too was a rapidly growing port on the Lune. It had trade with Ireland, North America and the West Indies, while Yarm gave access to the Baltic, the Netherlands and France. At Brompton-on-Swale it also joined the Great North Road.
On the bridge at Richmond
The act was passed in 1751, though the road was not completed until 1774. It was based mainly on existing roads which were, in the words of the original petition, “bad, ruinous, narrow and rocky … impassable at some times of the year … [and] dangerous”.
The route, from Richmond on the Swale, went down into Wensleydale where it went along the north side of the valley to Askrigg, then the major settlement in the upper dale. (Nowadays the main road is south of the river, the A684). From there it originally followed the old Roman road through Bainbridge (site of a Roman fort) and over to Gearstones, just before Ribblehead. In 1794, however, this problematic stretch was replaced by a lower route through Hawes and up Widdale. This was beneficial for Hawes which began to overtake Askrigg as the more important settlement.
Turnpike stone near Hawes
At the head of Widdale (on the new route) and at the high point of the old Roman road, the turnpike left the North Riding and entered the West Riding. Still following the Roman road as far as Ingleton, it then entered Lancashire a mile or so west of Burton in Lonsdale. There was, however, an alternative proposed route from Ingleton; this went south of the Greta through Wennington to serve some local coal pits. These two routes met near Farleton, about 8 miles from Lancaster.
Milestones
County boundary stone
On the North Riding stretch five of the original turnpike milestones survive: at Redmire, Woodhall, on the western edge of Hawes, halfway up Widdale, and at Widdale Head just before the county boundary. Sadly, all the old turnpike milestones are in a poor condition, and virtually nothing is legible on any of them: some have numbers on them with possibly an L or an R for the destinations. There is also a plaque on the bridge over the Swale on the western outskirts of Richmond, stating “To Askrigg 18 / To Lancaster 56 / Miles”. This is of uncertain date, possibly late 18th century.
At the county boundary an interesting stone can be found. At the bottom is the name Ingleton Township so it was presumably they who erected it as there is no mention of Hawes on the North Riding side. Although it now reads simply North Yorkshire on the right-hand side the word Riding was presumably there originally.
West Riding C C milestone
Probably shortly after its creation in the late 19th century the North Riding County Council erected milestones on many of the major roads in the county. By this time the old turnpike had lost its importance and was not included; instead the Council put milestones on the dale’s southern road, now the A684. Most of these survive.
None of the original turnpike milestones exist on the West Riding stretch of the road. The newly-formed County Council had a programme to replace old turnpike milestones with new ones on many roads in the county (click here for details of this), and although this road was not included in the original contract it is assumed these were part of a later as yet untraced scheme. Most of these (ten in all) are still in situ. Designed in the same style as the so-called Brayshaw and Booth stones, they were actually produced at William Towler’s Globe Foundry in Leeds.
Lancashire C C milestone
Lancashire County Council had a similar programme of replacing old turnpike milestones with new ones to a standard design, and several remain on their side of the boundary. They give mileages only as far as Ingleton, as well as to other places in Lancashire and Westmorland where the road leads. There is in fact just one survivor of the original turnpike stones, on the now A683 west of Caton, marking three miles to Lancaster.
Source: article by Hilary Jones in Milestones & Waymarkers, 2024, vol 16, pp 10-19. The illustrations are Milestone Society photographs on geograph.org.uk.
