62-647: Lyle Hill stands at the West End of Greenock in Inverclyde , Scotland . It has scenic viewpoints accessible from Lyle Road, which was constructed in 1879–1880 and named after Provost Abram Lyle , well known as a sugar refiner . The hill's highest point is Craigs Top at 426 feet (130 m) above sea level , and before the road was constructed the hill was known as the Craigs, or as the Bingens (with various spellings). Adjacent to
124-755: A bugler played the Last Post then the Lyle Hill beacon was lit, as were beacons across the United Kingdom. Viewpoints provide panoramic views across the Clyde. The hill overlooks Gourock and the Tail of the Bank , an area of the River Clyde named after the end of the long sandbanks resulting from the river`s journey from the counties of Lanark and Renfrew and denoting the point at which
186-636: A Canadian wit proposed should be renamed "The Heights of Abram". The Lyle family sold its share in the Glebe refinery to other partners in 1880, and with the funds bought land at Plaistow near London to start the Abram Lyle & Sons refinery, not far from the Silvertown refinery of Henry Tate & Sons. In 1921 their successors merged to form Tate & Lyle . From 1863 onwards, the Caledonian Railway and
248-454: A Greenock cooperage business, and in 1865 had co-founded a sugar refining partnership at the Glebe refinery (visible from the start of Lyle Road). The number of men and boys employed on the road construction varied from 250 to 400. The completed road extended westwards down to the Gourock toll at the junction of the high and low roads to Gourock, and was formally opened on 1 May 1880. Lyle Road
310-415: A coach pulled by four horses, a penny for an unladen horse and ten pence for a drove of 20 cows. The trustees could call on a portion of the statute duty from the parishes, either as labour or by a cash payment. The trust applied the income to pay for labour and materials to maintain the road. They were also able to mortgage future tolls to raise loans for new structures and for more substantial improvements to
372-521: A disproportionate amount of damage to the road. The rate at which new trusts were created slowed in the early 19th century but the existing trusts were making major investments in highway improvement. The government had been directly involved in the building of military roads in Scotland following a rebellion in 1745, but the first national initiative was a scheme to aid communications with Ireland . Between 1815 and 1826 Thomas Telford undertook
434-683: A fifth of the roads in Britain; the majority being maintained by the parishes. A trust would typically be responsible for about 20 miles (32 km) of highway, although exceptions such as the Exeter Turnpike Trust controlled 147 miles (237 km) of roads radiating from the city. On the Bath Road for instance, a traveller from London to the head of the Thames Valley in Wiltshire would pass through
496-583: A major reorganization of the existing trusts along the London to Holyhead Road , and the construction of large sections of new road to avoid hindrances, particularly in North Wales. By 1838 the turnpike trusts in England were collecting £1.5 million per year from leasing the collection of tolls but had a cumulative debt of £7 million, mainly as mortgages. Even at its greatest extent, the turnpike system only administered
558-530: A name now given to the area, to the railway station just to the north of Lyle Hill and to the playing pitch of the local rugby side, the Greenock Wanderers . The viewpoint is marked by a beacon which was constructed to mark the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth in 1977 and is lit on special occasions. On the other side of the road, steps and a rough path lead up to Craigs Top, the highest point of
620-709: A rising volume of traffic, or in building new sections of road. During the first three decades of the 18th century, sections of the main radial roads into London were put under the control of individual turnpike trusts. The pace at which new turnpikes were created picked up in the 1750s as trusts were formed to maintain the cross-routes between the Great Roads radiating from London. Roads leading into some provincial towns, particularly in Western England, were put under single trusts and key roads in Wales were turnpiked. In South Wales,
682-494: A short distance past this bend: the length of Lyle Road from these houses to the junction with Eldon Street is approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km). The railway tunnel ends in the Fort Matilda area, and a short distance to the west of Fort Matilda station an iron railway bridge takes the line over Lyle Road, on its way to Gourock station and pierhead . Two ministers from St Andrews were ordained in 1873 at Greenock churches,
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#1732902088682744-550: A trust was ended, there were often great celebrations as the gates were thrown open. The assets of the trust, such as tollhouses, gates and sections of surplus land beside the road were auctioned off to reduce the debt, and mortgagees were paid at whatever rate in the pound the funds would allow. The legacy of the turnpike trust is the network of roads that still form the framework of the main road system in Britain. In addition, many roadside features such as milestones and tollhouses have survived, despite no longer having any function in
806-554: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Turnpike trust Turnpike trusts were bodies set up by individual Acts of Parliament , with powers to collect road tolls for maintaining the principal roads in Britain from the 17th but especially during the 18th and 19th centuries. At the peak, in the 1830s, over 1,000 trusts administered around 30,000 miles (48,000 km) of turnpike road in England and Wales, taking tolls at almost 8,000 toll-gates and side-bars. During
868-515: Is in the shape of the Cross of Lorraine combined with an anchor. Across the road, steps and a rough path lead up to a viewpoint at Craigs Top with views up the River Clyde as far as Glasgow . The hill was at one time known as the Craigs or Craigs Top, the Bingens, Mount Binian or Binnan's Hill. Spellings included the Binghans, Bingans, Bingins, Bingens, and Binyans, and it was suggested that this came from
930-428: Is shown about 0.8 miles (1.3 km) north west of Windy Hill . John Marius Wilson in his 1860 Hand-Book To Scotland: For Tourists described the "small modern fortification" of Fort Matilda as set "on a point of land projecting from the base of Binnan's Hill", and said that "Binnan's Hill rises behind it with precipitous crest, and commands a fine view of the Clyde from Dumbarton to Dunoon." Greenock expanded to
992-511: Is very fine", and a "zigzag road leads down into the main road to Gourock again." In 1929 local Co-operative Society jubilee celebrations "concluded with a fireworks display on the Lyle Hill". During World War II most of the golf course was occupied by Site Cz4 Z Battery , anti-aircraft rockets defending the area against Luftwaffe raids (such as the Greenock Blitz ). Also known as Clyde Aa Defences, Bow Hill, Craig's Top and Lyle Hill, this
1054-467: The Gaelic Binneans with the meaning of little hills. The Reform Act 1832 plan of Greenock shows Craigs Top , with Craigs Farm House to its east, as does an 1842 map of "Greenock and its environs" though it uses the term Farm Steading . From 1856 onwards, large scale Ordnance Survey maps show Craigs Top , with Craigs farm about 330 yards (300 m) to the east. They also show Bow Hill to
1116-560: The Greenock and Ayrshire Railway sought approval for rival schemes taking various routes for a connection to Gourock. In 1883 the House of Lords committee decided in favour of a Caledonian Railway scheme, and their railway opened in 1889. It runs in a bored tunnel directly under Newton Street, the next street to the south parallel with Finnart Street, diverging where Newton Street bends west into Lyle Road. Houses eventually developed along Newton Street
1178-530: The Lyle Hill , near where Gourock begins. In the middle is the famous Tontine Hotel at one end of the green Ardgowan Square with the Ardgowan Bowling Club and two tennis courts and Ardgowan Square Evangelical Church at the other end. The West End is also host to 'Glenpark': home of the 2002 SNCL champions, Greenock Cricket Club . The ground has been credited as one of the most pleasant to play at in
1240-400: The West End , is an area of Greenock , Inverclyde , Scotland . The streets are in a grid like layout referred to as blocks as opposed to the irregular street patterns elsewhere in the town. Union Street is the longest before it cuts off into Newark Street. Greenock Academy was located at the far end of Brisbane Street on Madeira Street in the west end, and numerous churches exist within
1302-733: The river becomes the Firth of Clyde . Also visible are the Cowal hills, with the town of Dunoon below, the Holy Loch , former site of the US Navy Scottish submarine base and the settlements of Kilcreggan , Rosneath and Helensburgh to the east. On a clear day it is possible to see beyond the Erskine Bridge to Glasgow in the east, and the Island of Arran and beyond to the south west. Immediately to
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#17329020886821364-614: The 1870s it was feasible for Parliament to close the trusts progressively without leaving an unacceptable financial burden on local communities. From 1871, all applications for renewal were sent to the Turnpike Trust Commission. This arranged for existing acts to continue, but with the objective of discharging the debt, and returning the roads to local administration, which was by then by highway boards . The Local Government Act 1888 gave responsibility for maintaining main roads to county councils and county borough councils. When
1426-501: The A5) in the 1820s reduced the journey time of the London mail coach from 45 hours to just 27 hours, and the best mail coach speeds rose from 5-6 mph (8–10 km/h) to 9-10 mph (14–16 km/h). McAdam and his sons were employed as general surveyors (consultant engineers) to many of the main turnpike trusts in southern England. They recommended the building of new sections of road to avoid obstructions, eased steep slopes and directed
1488-780: The Admiralty , in the presence of officers and ratings from both the Royal Navy and the French Forces. To mark the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 1977, the Lyle Hill beacon was built at the viewpoint beside Lyle Road. This beacon has subsequently been lit for major occasions, including the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012, and her 90th birthday in 2016. After the Countryside Commission for Scotland offered grant-aid in 1980, lnverclyde District Council carried out major improvements to
1550-517: The Lyle Hill car parking and viewpoint. Annual Remembrance Sunday commemoration ceremonies take place at the Free French Memorial; in 2016 the occasion also marked 70 years since its unveiling. For the 2018 First World War centenary Remembrance Sunday on Armistice Day , the commemorations at this monument began with a bagpiper at dawn, and in an evening ceremony attended by the French consul
1612-619: The Mid Kirk and the Old West Kirk , and brought their golf clubs . With others, they promptly set up a six hole golf course on land leased from Bow Farm, but this ended after three years when the tenant farmer applied cattle manure . In 1890 Greenock Golf Club was founded with a nine hole course on the Battery Park, then in 1892 the Club leased ground to the south of Lyle Road, and built a clubhouse at
1674-535: The country, and has a slight slope from the East to West end of the field. The club also operates Junior and Lower-league teams under the Greenock or Glenpark XI name, and has full clubhouse facilities. As well as the current railway line, a former rail link led towards Princes Pier, now home to the new Ocean Terminal, where large ocean cruisers and container ships are re-supplied. This Inverclyde location article
1736-625: The early 19th century the concept of the turnpike trust was adopted and adapted to manage roads within the British Empire (Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, and South Africa) and in the United States. Turnpikes declined with the coming of the railways and then the Local Government Act 1888 gave responsibility for maintaining main roads to county councils and county borough councils. The term "turnpike" originates from
1798-411: The existing highway. The trusts applied some funds to erecting tollhouses that accommodated the pikeman or toll-collector beside the turnpike gate. Although trusts initially organised the collection of tolls directly, it became common for them to auction a lease to collect tolls. Specialist toll-farmers would make a fixed payment to the trust for the lease and then organise the day-to-day collection of
1860-480: The golf course reorientated to form its present eighteen hole and nine hole courses. There was a large Free French Naval Forces base at Greenock during the war, and at its end they designed and built the Free French Memorial which stands beside Lyle Road, funded by subscriptions raised among their personnel. At a ceremony held on 15 January 1946, the memorial was unveiled by A. V. Alexander , First Lord of
1922-569: The grounds of Greenock Crematorium. A study of the early cartography of Renfrewshire states that the name "Lyle's Hill" appears on James Knox's 1836 Map of the Basin of the Clyde , but does not give any detail of the location of this hill. There is a "Lyles Hill" in the Muirsheil area shown on John Ainslie 's 1800 map of Renfrewshire to the east of the River Calder , on large scale Ordnance Survey maps it
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1984-410: The highest point of the road, a scenic viewpoint looks out over Gourock and the Firth of Clyde to Cowal in the west, and north over the Fort Matilda area of Greenock to Argyll across the Clyde. There are benches, information points, and a beacon which is lit on significant occasions. Car parking spaces give views to the west, and a short distance further down the road the Free French Memorial
2046-425: The highway passed, augment this with tolls from users from outside the parishes and apply the whole to the maintenance of the main highway. This became the pattern for the turnpiking of a growing number of highways, sought by those who wished to improve flow of commerce through their part of a county. The proposal to turnpike a particular section of road was normally a local initiative and a separate Act of Parliament
2108-441: The highway. These officers were paid by the trust. Trustees were not paid, though they derived indirect benefits from the better transport, which improved access to markets and led to increases in rental income and trade. The first action of a new trust was to erect turnpike gates at which a fixed toll was charged. The Act gave a maximum toll allowable for each class of vehicle or animal – for instance one shilling and six pence for
2170-548: The hill. There are steep craigs on the north and west of the hill, formed by glacial erosion , to its south undulating upland forms the site of Greenock golf course . Its high point is at Bow Hill on the west side, and the ground slopes less steeply to the south and east. A war memorial to the Free French forces who fought in the Second World War stands on the western brow of the hill. The Free French Memorial, Greenock ,
2232-495: The jurisdiction of seven trusts, paying a toll at the gates of each. Although a few trusts built new bridges (e.g. at Shillingford over the Thames), most bridges remained a county responsibility. A few bridges were built with private funds and tolls taken at these (e.g., the present Swinford Toll Bridge over the Thames). The quality of early turnpike roads was varied. Although turnpiking did result in some improvement to each highway,
2294-564: The justices in other counties in England and Wales. An example is the first Turnpike Act for Surrey, the Surrey and Sussex Highways Act 1696 ( 8 & 9 Will. 3 . c. 15), during the reign of William III for enhanced repairs between Reigate in Surrey and Crawley in Sussex. The act made provision to erect turnpikes , and appoint toll collectors; also to appoint surveyors, who were authorized by order of
2356-470: The justices to borrow money at five per cent interest, on security of the tolls. The first scheme that had trustees who were not justices was established through a Turnpike Act in 1706 ( 6 Ann. c. 4) for a section of the London- Chester road between Fornhill (near Hockliffe ) and Stony Stratford . The basic principle was that the trustees would manage resources from the several parishes through which
2418-413: The local justices of the peace powers to erect toll-gates on a section of the road, between Wadesmill , Hertfordshire; Caxton , Cambridgeshire ; and Stilton , Huntingdonshire for 11 years, the revenues so raised to be used for the maintenance of the road in their jurisdictions ( 15 Cha. 2 . c. 1). The toll-gate erected at Wadesmill was the prototype in England. Parliament then gave similar powers to
2480-418: The marketplace or streets of towns, began also to be used for maintaining some roads between towns in the 14th century. These grants were made by letters patent , almost invariably for a limited term, presumably the time likely to be required to pay for the required works. Tudor statutes had placed responsibility on each parish vestry to maintain all its roads. This arrangement was adequate for roads that
2542-404: The money, leaving themselves with a profit on their operations over a year. The powers of a trust were limited, normally to 21 years, after which it was assumed that the responsibility for the now-improved road would be handed back to the parishes. However, trusts routinely sought new powers before this time limit, usually citing the need to pay off the debts incurred in repairing damage caused by
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2604-467: The north of the hill Greenock's Battery Park provides level playing fields, bounded on the west by Gourock's Cardwell Bay and on the east by the former torpedo factory, now occupied by warehousing and a housing development, and the Navy Buildings for long occupied by HM Coastguard . They stand at Ironotter Point which in the late 18th century was the site of a coastal gun battery called Fort Matilda ,
2666-426: The parishioners used themselves but proved unsatisfactory for the principal highways that were used by long-distance travellers and waggoners. During the 17th century, the piecemeal approach to road maintenance caused acute problems on the main routes into London. As trade increased, the growing numbers of heavy carts and carriages led to serious deterioration in the state of these roads and this could not be remedied by
2728-642: The relaying of existing road-beds with carefully graded stones to create a dry, fast-running surface (known as Macadamising ). Coach design improved to take advantage of these better roads and in 1843 the London-to- Exeter mail coach could complete the 170-mile (270-km) journey in 17 hours. The introduction of toll gates had been resented by local communities which had freely used the routes for centuries. Early Acts had given magistrates powers to punish anyone damaging turnpike property, such as defacing milestones, breaking turnpike gates or avoiding tolls. Opposition
2790-463: The renewal acts for the earlier trusts incorporated a growing list of powers and responsibilities. The Kent Roads Act 1743 ( 17 Geo. 2 . c. 4), the Turnpike Roads Act 1766 ( 7 Geo. 3 . c. 40) and the Turnpike Roads Act 1773 ( 13 Geo. 3 . c. 84) made statutory provision for the erection of milestones along the turnpike roads indicating the distance between the main towns on the road. Users of
2852-632: The result was that toll gates were dismantled and the trusts abolished in the six counties of South Wales , their powers being transferred to a roads board for each county. These are incomplete lists of trusts by county. By the early Victorian period toll gates were perceived as an impediment to free trade. The multitude of small trusts were frequently charged with being inefficient in use of resources and potentially suffered from petty corruption. The railway era spelt disaster for most turnpike trusts. Although some trusts in districts not served by railways managed to increase revenue, most did not. In 1829,
2914-447: The road were obliged to follow what were to become rules of the road, such as driving on the left and not damaging the road surface. Trusts could take additional tolls during the summer to pay for watering the road in order to lay the dust thrown up by fast-moving vehicles. Parliament also passed a few general Turnpike Acts dealing with the administration of the trusts and restrictions on the width of wheels – narrow wheels were said to cause
2976-609: The roads of complete counties were put under single turnpike trusts in the 1760s. A further surge of trust formation occurred in the 1770s, with the turnpiking of subsidiary connecting roads, routes over new bridges, new routes in the growing industrial areas and roads in Scotland . About 150 trusts were established by 1750; by 1772 a further 400 were established and, in 1800, there were over 700 trusts. In 1825 about 1,000 trusts controlled 18,000 miles (29,000 km) of road in England and Wales. The acts of Parliament for these new trusts and
3038-423: The similarity of the gate used to control access to the road, to the barriers once used to defend against attack by cavalry (see cheval de frise ). The turnpike consisted of a row of pikes or bars, each sharpened at one end, and attached to horizontal members which were secured at one end to an upright pole or axle, which could be rotated to open or close the gate. Pavage grants, originally made for paving
3100-412: The south end of Forsyth Street. Initially they had a nine hole course, over time this was extended and an eighteen hole course added. In his 1903 guidebook, M. J. B. Baddeley described Lyle Road as the "most remunerative route" between Greenock (Princes Pier) and Gourock, over a good road that passes by Sir Gabriel Wood's Mariners' Asylum . "The view across the Clyde from the highest point ('Lyle Hill')
3162-412: The south, but do not give any other name to the northern part of the hill. Admiralty charts from 1850 on show Binian Peak or Mt. Binian , after 1915 they show Craigs Top with Mt. Binian as a supplementary name, after 1932 just Craigs Top. John Thomson 's 1832 Atlas of Scotland depicts the mass of the hill. The word Cadelhills , across its southern part, was the name of a house and its garden, now in
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#17329020886823224-525: The technologies used to deal with geological features, drainage, and the effects of weather, were all in their infancy. Road construction improved slowly, initially through the efforts of individual surveyors such as John Metcalf in Yorkshire in the 1760s. 19th-century engineers made great advances, notably Thomas Telford and John Loudon McAdam . The engineering work of Telford on the Holyhead Road (now
3286-664: The use of parish statute labour. A parliamentary bill was tabled in 1621/22 to relieve the parishes responsible for part of the Great North Road by imposing a scale of tolls on various sorts of traffic. The toll revenue was to be used in repairing the road, however, the bill was defeated. During the following forty years, the idea of making travellers contribute to the repair of roads was raised on several occasions. Many parishes continued to struggle to find funds to repair major roads and in Hertfordshire , way wardens on behalf of
3348-549: The vestries stood frequent trial at quarter sessions for their failure to keep the Old North Road in a good state of repair. In 1656 the parish of Radwell, Hertfordshire petitioned their local sessions for help to maintain their section of the Great North Road. Probably as a result judges on the Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire circuit represented the matter to Parliament, it then passed an act that gave
3410-516: The west end, such as Ardgowan, St Luke's, Old West Kirk, St John's , St George's North, Finnart St Paul's as well as many smaller independent churches. Also located on Finnart Street is the James Watt College . Greenock West railway station lies at the border between the west end and the town centre. Fort Matilda railway station is located at the other edge of the West End, at the foot of
3472-586: The west on a grid plan . There was severe unemployment in the town during the Long Depression , and in late 1878 the Police Board resolved to provide work by building a road or carriage drive to the Craigs or Bingens from the west end of Finnart Street, where it meets Madeira Street. The Streets Committee agreed in January 1879 to name it Lyle Road, after Abram Lyle who was then the town's Provost . He inherited
3534-573: The year before the Liverpool and Manchester Railway opened, the Warrington and Lower Irlam Trust had receipts of £1,680 but, by 1834, this had fallen to £332. The Bolton and Blackburn Trust had an income of £3,998 in 1846, but in 1847 following the completion of a railway between the two towns, this had fallen to £3,077 and, in 1849, £1,185. The debts of many trusts became significant; forced mergers of solvent and debt-laden trusts became frequent, and by
3596-768: Was built in the shape of the Cross of Lorraine , the emblem of the Free French, combined with an anchor. It has plaques commemorating the loss of the Flower-class corvettes Alyssa and Mimosa , and of the submarine Surcouf . Locally, it is also associated with the memory of the loss of the Maillé Brézé which blew up at the Tail of the Bank . [REDACTED] Media related to Lyle Hill viewpoints at Wikimedia Commons 55°57′20″N 4°47′36″W / 55.9555°N 4.7934°W / 55.9555; -4.7934 Greenock West Greenock West , also known simply as
3658-474: Was built to an average gradient of 1 in 10. The maximum gradient is between 1 in 5 and 1 in 7 (14% and 20%), the steepest point being at the 50m contour, just above the hairpin bends at the west side of the road. The distance along it heading west from Madiera Street to the Gourock toll is 1.7 miles (2.7 km). Its high point at 392 feet (119 m) above sea level is near Craigs Top (426 feet (130 m)), which
3720-422: Was one of six such batteries covering the Clyde and Glasgow. Spread across the hill, the battery had four projectile rocket launchers, each of which was set on a circular base and surrounded by four ammunition huts. The site included a GL Mk. II radar unit. Other accommodation huts were located adjacent to Lyle Road, and on the south boundary next to Greenock Cemetery. After the war, the grounds were reinstated, and
3782-499: Was particularly intense in mountainous regions where good routes were scarce. In Mid Wales in 1839, new tolls on old roads sparked protests known as the Rebecca Riots . There were sporadic outbursts of vandalism and violent confrontation by gangs of 50 to 100 or more local men, and gatekeepers were told that if they resisted they would be killed. In 1844, the ringleaders were caught and transported to Australia as convicts. However,
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#17329020886823844-416: Was required to create each trust. The Act gave the trustees responsibility for maintaining a specified part of the existing highway. It provided them with powers to achieve this; the right to collect tolls from those using the road was particularly important. Local gentlemen, clergy and merchants were nominated as trustees and they appointed a clerk, a treasurer and a surveyor to actually administer and maintain
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