From 1663 to 1836 many British roads were improved by collecting tolls from travellers towards their maintenance. Toll houses were built beside barriers across the road, known as turnpikes, which halted the traveller for the toll to be collected. Such toll or turnpike roads had to be approved by a Private Act of Parliament, setting up a turnpike trust. Promoters also had to deposit plans of turnpikes with the county, borough or parish authorities concerned. Turnpike roads were profitable in the stagecoach era, but tolls declined with the coming of the railways. Most turnpike trusts were dissolved in the 1880s and 1890s. <1>
The Toll House at Iden Green was built as part of a network of Toll Houses on the Bethersden Turnpike, that was approved by an act of Parliament 1767. <2>
The Iden Toll House is shown on the 1837-1858 Kent Tithe Map. <3>
A planning application to demolish The Toll House and build a new dwelling on an adjacent plot of land was approved in 2024. <4>

<1> Researching Historic Buildings in the British Isles, Researching the history of toll houses (Website). SKE58459.

<2> turnpikes.org.uk, Kent Turnpikes (Website). SKE58458.

<3> Tithe Commissioners, 1837-1858, Tithe Map for Kent, 1837-1858 (Cartographic materials). SKE53487.

<4> Swale and Thames Archaeological Survey Company, 2024, Historic Building Recording, at The Toll House, Iden Green Farm, Goudhurst, Cranbrook, Kent TN17 2PA (Unpublished document). SKE58457.