Ticket, toll ticket

This numbered clearing ticket or receipt was issued for cash paid at the Stepney toll-gate for access to a number of roads in east London operated by the Commercial Road Trust. The ticket notes that the toll paid also authorised the holder to clear a number of other gates and roads in east London from Whitechapel to the West India Docks.

Toll and turnpike fees were first introduced when the large-scale building and repair of roads began in the early 19th century. Acts of Parliament permitted private firms to maintain specific roads and impose charges for access. The system flourished until the 1860s when unpopularity together with the trend to centralise control over roads made it no longer tenable.