The following article was published by Eddie McRorie on 11th May 2025 on the Johnstone History Facebook page and is reproduced here with his kind permission.

Toll-Bar at Peockland – Public Meeting at Johnstone, 1864 & 1872

Toll bars were intensely disliked by road users in Johnstone, with all traffic entering and leaving the town subject to a fee at several points.

However, a new proposal by the Road Trustees to erect a toll bar at Peockland was met with fierce opposition from all quarters. Feuars, merchants, engineers, founders, cotton and flax spinners, and other townspeople united in an attempt to have the Road Trustees abandon their plan.

The Trustees had justified the toll by citing the heavy traffic of minerals (ironstone) from local mines through the town to the railway station, which they claimed caused considerable damage to the roads. However, a public committee formed to oppose the proposal pointed out that the ironstone traffic had largely ceased by that time.

Public Meeting

James Finlayson of Finlayson & Bousefield, flax spinners in the town, delivered a passionate and compelling speech, vividly illustrating the burden faced by residents:

“Johnstone is in the unhappy predicament of almost all other towns—being, in the apt phrase of Mr. Finlayson, absolutely throttled.
There is a toll on the Houston and Bridge of Weir road; there is Cartside Toll, the Howwood Toll, and the Paisley Road Toll.
And although the railway station is close to the town, the inhabitants are charged toll for conveying their goods either to or from it.
All this is perfectly intolerable and disgraceful.
It is creditable to the good people of Johnstone that they have not risen in open rebellion against such disgraceful imposts—
that they have not imitated Rebecca and her followers in Wales, and, making short work of the matter, demolished the tolls.”(1)

Results

Despite public opposition, all efforts to prevent the Peockland toll bar failed. In fact, eight years later, in 1872, the Renfrewshire Road Trustees proposed two new toll bars: one on the road between Johnstone and the railway station, and another between the station and Thornhill.

From a later Roads Committee meeting:

A letter from Messrs Shanks & Sons was read, complaining of the growing toll costs at Bridge of Weir. Mr. Shanks, senior partner of the firm, explained:

At one time, they did not need to go through the toll at all, but a private road was closed by Mr. Freeland about 15 or 16 years earlier. Since then, they had been paying £2 10s a year. However, each year, the toll-keeper increased the fee, and by this time, they were paying 30s a month.

Mr. P. Coming MacGregor asked:
“How far is your works from the station?”
Mr. Shanks replied:
“About 300 yards.”
Mr. Johnstone, the road surveyor, added:
“By road, the distance is about half a mile.”

Mr. Shanks offered to pay £12 a year as a composition fee, which he felt was more than fair.
The Chairman responded:
“You’d better make it £18, and it will save all the wrangling you dislike so much.”
Mr. Shanks:
“Say £15.” (Laughter followed.)

After some discussion, the matter was remitted to the committee for consideration in letting the toll bar.

The End of Toll Bars

Road users would not have to wait much longer to see the end of toll charges. Toll bars, commonly known as turnpikes, were largely abolished in the 1870s and 1880s. The rise of railways and increased use of canals for transporting goods contributed to the decline of the turnpike system. Parliament ceased renewing Turnpike Acts, and road maintenance responsibilities were transferred to local authorities. The last turnpike trust was officially wound up in 1895.

Note:
(1) The Rebecca Riots were a series of protests in West and Mid Wales (1839–1843). Farmers and agricultural workers, often disguised as women, attacked tollgates to protest against excessive road fees and worsening economic conditions. The rioters, who called themselves “Rebecca and her daughters,” became symbolic of resistance to social injustice.