THE OLD COACHING ROADS. 55 



was to hand the money over to his employer, who, in 

 the phraseology of the day, ' farmed ' the tolls, which 

 were put up periodically by the trustees for tender ; 

 the person whose tender was accepted then paid the 

 fixed amount to the trustees, and took all the tolls 

 at the gates, looking to the diflference between the 

 two for his profit after paying the expenses of col- 

 lecting. 



Meetings of turnpike trustees were considered of 

 some importance, next, perhaps, to petty and quarter 

 sessions, being attended by magistrates, gentlemen of 

 property in the neighbourhood, or other persons duly 

 qualified, together with a clerk and surveyor. They 

 occasioned pleasant meetings among the squires and 

 clergymen, who sometimes were appointed trustees, 

 combining business with pleasure, a ride over in the 

 morning to discuss various matters in connection 

 with the roads, followed by a lunch at the inn where 

 the meetings in purely rural districts were usually 

 held, and a chat about the last run or the next meet 

 of the hounds. Joseph Baxendale, the head of the 

 firm of 'Pickford,' was one of the trustees appointed 

 by an Act of Parliament relating to the Whetstone 

 Trust on the North Eoad, where his house was situate, 

 and the Pickford vans with four horses used to pass. 

 They were difi"erent from the Pickford vans at the 

 present day, being much lighter, more in the shape of 



