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Continued from previous page for refreshments at the Cock and Hoop on the corner of Church Street. The landlord, spotting a great marketing opportunity, changed the name to The Three Crowns in honour of the event - the three crowns being England, Scotland and France. And it was only a few years ago that it changed its name again to Bar Lorca.
Besides the pleasure seekers, who brought money in to the local economy, for the most part the area was given over to farming and the High Street would see a constant stream of farm animals being driven along the road for slaughter in the City. Big carts carrying grain, vegetables and fruit also took a huge toll of the often-flooded road. In an effort to fund work on the road, The Stamford Hill Turnpike Trust was formed in 1713 and was in charge of the road from Enfield in the north to Shoreditch in the south. The Turnpike Trust erected tollgates at the top end of Kingsland Road and at Stamford Hill. They were supposed to maintain the road and the drainage of the area. However, in 1776 a commission was informed, 'the waters are frequently out in the said road so as to prevent passengers from travelling and have continued so for some hours; that the mail has been stopped several times ... [and] that no money has ever been laid out or method taken by the Trust to carry off the said waters'. The bad road was not the only hazard faced by travellers along the road. Highwaymen and robbers, most famously Dick Turpin, operated along Stamford Hill. Having held up a coach, they would quickly retreat to the Hackney marshes only a short distance to the east. Things became so bad that in 1774 an application was made to Parliament for an act to establish a proper watch, and to water the parish in the summer season. Tollgates were abolished in 1864. The local residents, however, fought to save the income from the gates claiming that it was grossly unfair that the upkeep of the road should be placed on the local rates. They argued that the road offered 'benefit merely of great carrying companies, and other persons keeping vehicles'. And, having been one of the first tollgates, Stamford Hill's was not removed for a further six years -one of the last in the country to do so. In part two, the story will continue as land reforms allowed the property developers to rapidly move into the area and begin the development of the busy High Street we know today.
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