Proposed additions to the Harborough District Council Local List of Non-Designated Heritage Assets
Tollgate Cottage, Lutterworth Road, Bitteswell
Ref: BIT/002
Construction Date: mid 18th – early 19th Century
Architect: Unknown
Original Use: Tollhouse
Current Use: Private dwelling
Condition: Good
Occupancy: Occupied
Parish: Bitteswell
Ward: Ullesthorpe
Reason for Inclusion
Historic Interest
Turnpike roads were developed as a private network of toll-roads which expanded across the country in the early to mid 18th Century. They had a transformative effect on the local highway network and shaped the settlement pattern nationally and within the district. By 1760 the Lutterworth to Ullesthorpe road was part of the national network of turnpikes initiated by George III. Stage coaches and the mail coach all passed through Bitteswell on the way to and from London and Chester or Holyhead.
Tollgate Cottage is a rare surviving example of a tollhouse which would have been common along the route and were where tolls for the route were collected and access to the road was controlled.
Only 2 are known to survive in the district, the other is on the A47 near Tugby (Local List entry TUG/001)
Architectural Interest
The small building is a simple design with a central door with ground floor windows on either side. Although the doors and windows have been replaced since the 1848 sketch of the building and it has been extended, it is an attractive feature and its historic character largely survives. It is a landmark on the entry to Bitteswell.
Associative interest
- Historic association with the turnpike network