Development of Roads

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DEVELOPMENT OF ROADS IN CUMBRIA

The evidence of roads in present-day Cumbria from 3000 BC to 1500 BC is difficult to find, yet it does exist as small tracks or paths. The majority cease to exist having been overgrown with grass in the past 3,500 years. Small roads believed to have existed acted as trade routes within the difficult to reach Lake District. The Romans arrived and created an entirely new network of roads. Their basis of building this new network was not based solely on commerce. In fact, economics had little to do with it. The Romans were more interested in protecting their strategic position within the Lake District. More than 2,000 years later, many roads still survive which is a testament to the superb engineering skills of the Romans in one of the wettest areas in England. Roman main roads in the north of England became of great strategic importance during later battles with Scotland.

The Lake District experienced an increase in population and activity during the Middle Ages. Kendal saw the establishment of itself in 1189 as a market town. By 1300 there were nine market towns in the Lake District. The creation of market towns and an increase in population warranted an expansion and improvement to the Roman roads creating the backbone of our present-day road system. These new roads were better equipped to serve the growing needs of trade and commerce in the area. Maintenance of these roads were often provided by the monasteries, a growing presence in the Lake District, who regularly used them to transport the wool from their sheep and produce from their large estates to the bustling market towns for trading. At this time, the Church viewed maintenance of the roads as a pious act and as an encouragement to help granted indulgences. In 1354 forty days of remitted penance was promised for anyone working on a boggy stretch of road north of Penrith. Corpse roads also developed along mountain passes in order to carry the dead from their secluded Lakeland homes to the consecrated ground of their distant parish church.

Regular maintenance of the roads seemed to end and complaints began about their disrepair after 1575. This could be attributed to the dissolution of the monasteries when the roads were no longer regularly maintained by the Church accompanied by an increase in everyday traffic. Parliament tried to counter this by passing a series of road maintenance Acts, but could not really keep up with the pace of the ever increasing traffic flow in the subsequent 200 years.

The period between the Middle Ages and the mid-18^th century is described as the most important for road development in Cumbria. It was unsystematic and often unexplained but apparently necessary. Many modern roads, now widened and paved, were born during this period. During the 18^th century the population of Cumbria almost doubled. Industries, like the mining of coal and copper, iron smelting and the woollen trade boomed. Ways to transport raw materials and finished products needed to be found. Pack-horses carrying heavy loads became a common sight on small mountain passes that often zig-zagged down mountains, evidence of these can still be seen today. About 20 pack-horse bridges were built around 1700 to ease the hard journey. Kendal often saw 354 pack-horses alone pass through the town weekly.

Although many other parts of England saw the birth of turnpikes, they were slow to come to Cumbria. The first was in 1739 at Whitehaven. By 1800 there were 15 turnpikes in Cumbria, all playing a vital role in trade and commerce, especially the newest, tourism. Turnpikes were chiefly financed by local landowners thereby helping the economic development of the Lakes at this time. The rise of railways in the 19^th century led to the inevitable decline of turnpikes between 1870 and 1885. Railways also led to the decline of one of the most important approach routes to the Lake District. For hundreds of years people, coaches and horses crossed the 10 miles of quicksand of Morecambe Bay from Lancaster to Ulverston, but in 1857 the new rail link between Lancaster and Ulverston ceased many from making the sometimes perilous journey.

By the early 20^th century virtually all present-day roads existed. More often than not old roads were straightened, widened and surfaced, instead of building new ones. The proliferation of motor cars was surely an impetus to the improvement of roads. Estimates are that there were 800 motor cars in Britain in 1900, and a mere 15 years later the number jumped to 132,000. Today the debate continues about the congestion of the roads in the Lake District. Are they able to accommodate the hordes of tourists who descend upon the area during the summer months while continuing to protect the landscape that so many come to see? It is unknown how it will develop, but the roads of history are there for us to follow.