COL. PATERSON'S ROAD-BOOK. 151 



general turnpike roads, but the distinction is not 

 expressed ; and, as travellers are frequently deceived 

 by the natural expectation that turnpikes should be 

 good roads, it is therefore recommended to make 

 previous inquiry into the state of them, as many of 

 the cross turnpike roads are, in winter time, and often 

 after wet weather, rendered almost impassable." 



This acquaints us with the fact that cross-roads 

 in the care of turnpike trustees were not very good 

 in those days. In this book the great roads were 

 measured as follows : 



The Kent roads were measured from the Surrey 

 side of London Bridge down the Old Kent Road. 



The Portsmouth road and those branchino^ from 

 it were measured from the Stone's End, in the 

 Borough. 



The Croydon, Ryegate (Reigate), Epsom, and 

 Brighthelmstone (Brighton) are measured from the 

 Surrey side of Westminster Bridge, and from the 

 *' Standard " in Cornhill. The distance from Cornhill 

 was exactly one mile more than from Westminster 

 Bridge. 



The Winchester, Southampton, Dorsetshire, 

 Devonshire, Cornwall, W^iltshire, Somersetshire, and 

 all the roads in the south-west of the klngfdom were 

 measured from Hyde Park Corner through Brentford. 



The Uxbridge, Edgeware, Birmingham, Shrews- 

 bury, and most of the roads in the western part of 

 the kingdom were chiefly measured from Tyburn 

 turnpike at the top of Oxford Street. 



The Highgate and Hampstead roads were 

 measured from Holborn Bars, near Gray's Inn 

 Lane, and from the bottom of Oxford Street, where 

 St. Giles's pound formerly stood. A stone in the 



