Originally the main routes from the west into dover would have been over the cliffs to Shakespeare Cliff, across to the Western Heights and entering the town through the Cow Gate or along (Old) Folkestone Road via Limekiln Street (which was a turnpike). By the later 18th century these routes were becoming increasingly impassable and so in 1783 the present Folkestone Road, running west out of Dover, was laid as a toll road. The tollhouse was located on a triangular plot of land at the junction of Folkestone Road with the then Elms Road, now Elms Vale Road. The turnpike continued until 1877 when the Trust applied for renewal to Parliament but a large body of Dover petitioners successfully opposed the application and the tollhouse was demolished. (1-2) The toll gate is visible on the first edition OS map of the town (1862-75) but had been removed by the time the second edition had been surveyed (1897-1900). (3-4)

<1> Lorraine Sencicle, 2014, The Dover Historian - Turnpikes – an important part of Dover’s Road network (Website). SKE51695.

<2> Dover District Council, 2013, Dover District Heritage Strategy (Bibliographic reference). SKE31372.

<3> Landmark, Ordnance Survey 1:2,500 map (OS 1st edition 1862-1875): Landmark Epoch 1 (Map). SKE30964.

<4> Landmark, Ordnance Survey 1:2,500 map (OS 2nd Edition, 1897-1900): Landmark Epoch 2 (Map). SKE30965.