MEM25390 - Worthy Toll Road, Worthy (Monument)

Ashley Combe Lodge is a late 19th Century lodge to Ashley Combe, and toll house (see MSO10676 for further details). [1] The Worthy Toll Road, which begins at Worthy, provides an alternative less arduous route west than the 1:4 gradient at the notorious Porlock Hill (MEM22230). The toll road starts at Worthy. On entering Porlock Weir from the south at Porlockford, the road splits: the lower road following the coast and leading to the harbour; and the upper road running parallel before itself splits, offering the option of turning north downhill to the harbour, or carrying on west eventually becoming the Worthy Toll Road. [2] "Worthy Toll Road" is depicted and labelled on the 2022 MasterMap and Vector data. The labelled road begins at the crossroads to the north of Porlockford, at SS 8673 4744, where a finger post marks the way to Worthy and Ashley Combe, and to Lynmouth "VIA WORTHY TOLL ROAD" (see MEM23478). The toll house (MSO10676) is located partially up the hill, at SS 8582 4819, and spans across the road at this point. Entrance is via a gated archway and tolls are collected here [3]. The route then leads southwest (and uphill), meeting Pitt Lane and Yearnor Mill Lane at SS 8514 4721. [4,5] The route of the road is shown on the 25 inch 1st and 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey maps, and on the Tithe Map for Porlock. [6-8] Only part of the road is a toll road. The date from which the collection of tolls for public use of the road began is not available to the HER. [3]