Toll Cottage
This toll house stands at the entrance to the Weald and Downland Museum, in West Sussex.
The Weald and Downland Museum is a showcase of old English buildings. The exhibits are all genuine period pieces which were moved from their original locations and rebuilt on the museum's land. Some of the farm buildings were simply ruinous and in dire need of tender loving care, but the houses were all "listed buildings" which, nevertheless, had to be demolished to make room for new roads or other modern development.
First time visitors to the toll house often get the fright of their lives when they peep into the bedroom and find Mr and Mrs Toll-keeper lying there in bed! To be more exact, Mr T is just climbing out of bed having been woken up by a traveller - or so one infers. A board outside the cottage lists the tolls due from every different kind of cart or wagon, according to their load, and the turnpike gate would not be opened to let the vehicle pass until the money had been paid.
The Weald and Downland Museum is at Singleton, near Chichester, in the county of West Sussex (England).