MacAdam: The McAdam Family and the Turnpike Roads 1798-1861

by William Joseph Reader

This lively historical biography of J.L. McAdam and his male descendants offers an informative and, at times, dramatic view of the construction of turnpike roads at the height of the coaching age. McAdam (1756-1836) is best known for a method of building roads which brought the word 'macadam' into the language, meaning a hard, smooth surface over which carriages and wagons could travel as fast as horses could be made to draw them. A great pioneer, McAdam introduced modern methods of professional management into the turnpike trusts and effectively lobbied peers, MPs and other influential public men in support of his ideas. It was his misfortune that macadamized roads were quickly rendered obsolete by the development of railways. Three sons, four grandsons and assorted other relations were involved in publicising McAdam's methods and putting them energetically into practice; their influence was widespread throughout England, Wales and Scotland. Over 100 miles of roads and streets in London were greatly improved by J.L. McAdam's second son, Sir James McAdam. This colourful account lifts the McAdams from relative obscurity and fills a gap in the studies of the Industrial Revolution. W.J. Reader was educated at Taunton School and Jesus College, Cambridge, where he was a scholar. After serving with the Royal Signals during the Second World War, he worked as research assistant to C.H. Wilson (later Professor of Modern History at Cambridge) on his history of Unilever. From 195o-65 he worked for Unilever in advertising, market research and public relations. Since 1965, Dr Reader has been a freelance historian, and has written books on a variety of topics, including life in Victorian England, the rise of the professional classes, a study of volunteer enlistment during the Great War, and histories of ICI, Metal Box and Unilever. He is currently working on a history of the Bowater Corporation.

241 pages, Hardcover

First published May 19, 1980