Eye on Millig: Helensburgh toll house could have been scene of WW2 battle

This week's Eye on Millig column sees Leslie Maxwell and Alistair McIntyre continue their look at the history of 'toll houses' around Helensburgh and Lomond.

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IT SOUNDS rather like a plot for Dad’s Army, but there was a cunning plan for the Old Milligs Toll House in Helensburgh to be the setting for a battle with any German invaders in World War Two.

The idea was to dig holes in the road opposite the house, and then install pieces of railway track at an angle to prevent tanks rolling down Sinclair Street!

Fortunately it was not required.

Last week’s Eye on Millig featured the early days of local toll houses up to the abolition of tolls in 1883, and this article looks further at the history of road building in the district.

After 1883 in Helensburgh the toll houses at Ardencaple and Drumfork were sold off, but the Road Trustees decided to retain the Milligs building.

A Valuation Roll from 1886 shows that its tenant was Duncan Morrison, a shepherd. Two years later, the tenant was Donegal-born Francis Boyle (37), described as a road surfaceman.

The census of 1891 states that he was the head of the household, and lived with Glasgow-born wife Mary (30), and their children Daniel (12), Mary (10), Denis (7).

Daniel was born in Glasgow, but the other children were born in Helensburgh. Also listed was Daniel Boyle (15), a nephew, born in Rothesay, who was described as a labourer.

In addition, there were three lodgers, James Hancock (25), John McCullins (16), and John Boyle (58), all described as labourers.

Hancock and McCullins were natives of Armagh, while Boyle was listed as born in Donegal and might have been related to Francis.

Helensburgh directories listed Francis as tenant until 1935, but by 1937 the tenant is recorded as Miss Boyle, and she was still there in 1956.

By 1975, when the owner of the property was Strathclyde Regional Council, the tenant was Mary Boyle. If she was the daughter of Francis, it reveals a remarkable family link with the property over a long period.

Before the recent sale, renovation and expansion, the property had lain empty for quite some years. Now, while its front looks remarkably similar to old photos, the building has tripled in size.

Was the unpopular system of toll-paying roads effective in leading to better roads than what had gone before? It would appear that locally they were generally successful in that respect, at least initially.

In the New Statistical Account of Scotland, which gives a parish-by-parish account of the way of life as it was around 1840, the writer for Luss parish stated: “The turnpike roads to Helensburgh and Dumbarton are excellent.”

His counterpart for Arrochar parish commented: “The roads, with the exception of two miles on Loch Longside, are excellent. Bridges, with one exception, are in good repair.”

The writer for Row, later Rhu, parish mentions the turnpike road from Dumbarton to Arrochar, but he does not qualify this statement.

However, he does say of the new road over the Blackhill: “A new line of road from Helensburgh over the hill to Luss and Balloch Ferry affords an easy communication with these places.”

Taken together, these accounts paint a positive picture. On the other hand, the anonymous author of a guide to local walks, serialised in the 'Dumbarton Herald' newspaper in 1857, makes some critical comments on the state of the road along the Gareloch.

He wrote: “Notwithstanding the number of turnpikes on it, the road from Row to Garelochhead is indifferently kept. At many points, two carriages could hardly pass.

“There are few walls or fences to protect the incautious traveller from the rocks on the shore. It is badly drained, and there is no footpath for pedestrians. In wet weather, the road is muddy to a depth of two to six inches. The scenery provides some compensation.”

It may be that with growing population and traffic, the type of roads then in use, even with income from tolls to fund maintenance, struggled to cope.

Although tolls were abolished in 1883, the administrative system of Road Trustees continued until 1889, when county councils were formed.

One of the main functions of the new bodies was that of road maintenance, and local authorities have continued to have a role ever since.

The various toll roads that once existed locally went on to form the backbone of the present-day road system, but what preceded them?

Prior to the 18th century, the only thoroughfares that existed in the county to the west of the River Leven would almost certainly have been classified today as tracks.

The first real road, in the modern sense, was the military road from Dumbarton to Inveraray via Loch Lomondside and the Rest and be Thankful. Built between 1744 and 1750, this formed part of a network of military roads built after the Jacobite uprising of 1715 for strategic reasons, and it was instigated by General George Wade.

However, by the time this road was built, command had passed to Major Caulfield. He used soldiers for much of the work, but civilian contractors were called in as necessary, such as when major bridge works were required.

Unskilled civilian labour was also brought in before the Inveraray road was completed, at least on occasion. The mechanism under which this was done was through a system known as Statute Labour.

Provision for this scheme had been brought in during the 17th century, but it was not really used until the following century.

It entailed tenants, cottars and labourers having to attend for ‘road days’ on up to six occasions a year, to carry out unpaid work on roads and bridges.

The people with responsibility for managing this system were the Commissioners of Supply for the county, working in conjunction with Justices of the Peace. Both were drawn from the same body of people, essentially the landowning gentry of the county.

Statute Labour was deeply unpopular with those expected to turn out — quite possibly they would see the work as not being beneficial to themselves.

Conversely, the military were occasionally called in to help with building or maintenance work on non-military roads. This would have been organised through the Commissioners of Supply.

Under the Statute Labour system, work carried out was often considered to be of poor quality. In the absence of the civil engineering firms of today, the use of soldiers, paid for by the Commissioners of Supply, would seem to have made good sense.

No doubt motivated by acknowledgement of the inadequacy of Statute Labour, that system was abolished in Dunbartonshire in 1786, and replaced by a local tax.

This however was set at a very low level, and it generated a meagre income for road maintenance.

The Rosneath Peninsula roads were never made turnpike — sea transport may have prevailed — and road maintenance there was funded by the Statute Labour tax through much of the 19th century.

Maintenance of the Loch Lomondside military road to Inveraray eventually passed to civilian control.

The Argyllshire section did so in 1814, and the Dunbartonshire section probably followed not long after implementation of the Dunbartonshire Act of 1807 conveniently cleared the way for the introduction of tolls on Loch Lomondside.

The 1760s building or upgrade of the road from Dumbarton to Row may have provided the catalyst for the local appearance of wheeled vehicles.

David Murray, the author of the book “Old Cardross” in 1880, wrote: “Wheeled carts did not begin to be used until about 1763, and when they were introduced, crowds of people went to see such wonderful machines — they looked on with surprise, and returned with astonishment.”

However, it would seem that early promise suffered a setback, because Murray goes on to state: “The parish roads were so rough and so soft that, even by 1793, the farmers could not carry on improvements with horses and carts, save for a few weeks in the middle of summer, and sledges had to be used in many parts of the county to transport goods and produce.”

A significant part of the network of roads in the area was brought into being by private initiative, in particular through the work done on behalf of John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll, from 1770 until 1803.

Local author W.C. Maughan, in his 1893 book “Rosneath Past and Present”, quotes the inscription on a stone set into a roadside wall near Finnart Oil Terminal.

It states: “This Road was made from The Castle of Rosneth To Tenne Claugh in the year 1777 by His Grace John, Duke of Argyle. Erected by Donald Fraser.”

Several other sources give the date of construction as 1787 as opposed to 1777. The stone has been cleaned, and possibly re-touched at least once over the years, so there may be a measure of doubt.

However the line of this road is essentially unchanged to the present time. Tenne Claugh is at Arrochar, where the new road joined the existing military road.

The same Duke also funded the road from Drumfork Ferry to Duchlage, south of Luss. Although there have been many changes since, the present roads from Crosskeys to Muirlands and to Arden could be claimed as guided by his pioneering work.

The minutes of a meeting of the Commissioners of Supply held in 1787 record that £270 had been spent on the road from Kirk of Row round the Gareloch, of which £242 had been provided by the 5th Duke of Argyll.

These roads were open to public use, but it could be argued the Duke was not necessarily building or improving these roads purely for the good of the community.

Their presence meant that his three castles at Inveraray, Rosneath and Ardencaple now had a road link to one another, as well as to Dumbarton and the south.

There are very few pictures of local toll houses, and it would be good to hear from anyone who has images of the Ardencaple or Drumfork toll houses.

email: milligeye@btinternet.com

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