Stenders Rd Tollhouse (General)

by fredb , Monday, October 19, 2009, 23:09 (5588 days ago) @ paulie20

Is it meant to be Thomas and Ann Toll gate keepers, and son William?
the address is Elton(1871), there may have been a toll house at Elton corner and the junction with the Littledean road, I'm not local enough to know about the name Stenders Road? Stretches of road were owned/managed by people who employed the toll collectors, so Stender might have been the owners name?
They had to sit and watch the road so they could collect the toll from passers by, there was usaually a gate to stop people getting by without paying, and toll houses had special windows which allowed them to look up and down the road. There are some old photos of tollgates in the area, not sure if they are here!
Many toll houses were knocked down because they blocked the view at junctions once modern traffic arrived, I remember a few being knocked down about 45 years ago, they would be protected now.
William as road repairer filled in the holes, and they may have managed a stretch of the main Chepstow - Gloucester road out of Westbury, or the Littledean road, or both.

Where did you get the Stenders name from? Fred