Very little attention in the existing literature focuses specifically on England's road network and systems of communications in the early modern period. Although authors frequently mention improved travel and transportation as central to the processes of economic, political and cultural development that characterised the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, few provide substantial evidence regarding the precise nature of communications that existed in that period. It is not known, for example, precisely how fast (on average) an official letter could be carried from London to Edinburgh or from London to Calais, and how much it would cost. Authors often condemn the quality and state of repair of England's roads yet argue that better levels of 'contact' were a vital means of 'managing' the emerging nation state. Such contradictions and paradoxes are addressed in this book which explores in detail developments in road travel and communication in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The author's research, carried out during the past twenty or more years, is brought together and related to the wider context of political, economic and cultural changes that occurred in the early modern period. Evidence is introduced to reinforce the notion that easier, swifter and more efficient communications were gradually developed in the Tudor and Stuart period, and that roads (though far from ideal) were, on the whole, quite serviceable and certainly well used. The book is a wide-ranging study of all aspects of travel and communication and thereby fills a gap in the scholarly literature. Moreover, it places on record the advances made in recent years as a result of research on these twin themes
Preface Acknowledgements List of Illustrations List of Tables 1 Land travel and communications in the Tudor and Stuart state 2 The Tudor and Stuart highway network 3 Wayfinding and the means of travel 4 Travel by the ordinary users of the highways 5 Travel by elite users of the highways 6 Communication by messenger and post 7 Conclusion Appendix 1 Masters of the Posts, 1512-1685 Appendix 2 Posts of the Court and Posts of London, 1540s-1630s Appendix 3 Post Stages and Posts Serving on 1 April 1556 Appendix 4 Post Stages and Posts Serving on 1 April 1599 Appendix 5 The Post Office Establishment, 1695-1696 Appendix 6 Postal Services and Charges, England and the Colonies Abbreviations Notes Bibliography Index
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