In the 18th century, Richmond was the seat of a court of quarter sessions, it was a chief market in the area for goods and it was also the export point for metals and ores mined and quarried in Swaledale and Wensleydale.

[1] In addition to this, the Court of Archdeaconry extended quite far westwards beyond the Lancashire border, but all the major roads in the area bypassed Richmond to either the north or the east.

One petitioner stated that the roads through Wensleydale were "so bad, ruinous, narrow and rocky that it is totally impassible at some Times of the Year for any kind of Wheel Carriages[sic] ...".

[5] Fothergill was not able to ride the entire course of the road until 1774, when the trustees of the turnpike were dissatisfied with his work and accused him of dishonesty in his financial affairs.

[7] Much of the route had already existed in one form or another, it was down to the Turnpike Trust to remediate all the surfaces and then charge tolls which they set about doing as soon as the bill was passed in May 1751.

Over this, the turnpike went in a rough south westerly direction encountering its first tollbar at Slee Hill where the edge of Richmond was.

[18] Prices for transit along the route to Lancaster were initially quite high (typically 4 Shillings and 6 pence [4s, 6d]), which was later relaxed when in 1756, an Act of Parliament allowed the turnpike trusts to charge for the carriage of coal.

[21] Besides the droving of animals, which had been going on via the Cam High Road for centuries anyway, goods taken to Richmond were groceries, drink, mahogany and other timber, with corn and butter going westwards from Swaledale and Wensleydale.

[24] In early 1796, the combination of suspected Jacobite uprisings, the Corn Laws and the high price of food, resulted in rioting breaking out through Wensleydale.

At least 300 people were rioting within 1 mile (1.6 km) of Bolton Castle, which made the authorities dispatch a "troop of Horse" to deal with the issue.

[26] The eastern end of the turnpike; that which ran through Ribblesdale, Wensleydale and Swaledale, was operated by the trust until 1868, when it was closed by an Act of Parliament.

[32] The road then took the same course as the present B6271 along the north bank of the River Swale into Richmond, which at its western end is called Maison Dieu.

[35] The route went in a south westerly direction over the moor avoiding Leyburn and going just past Bellerby and on to Carperby and eventually, Askrigg.

[41] By the 1750s, only the section from Bainbridge to Ingleton still survived from the original Roman Road, and it is believed it went further south west towards Low Bentham.

[43] This diversion accelerated the demise of Askrigg as a market town and meant a prosperous growth in Hawes which also became the place of coaching inns and hostelries.

[50] The road then continued on pre-existing trackways through Caton, Quernmore and Brookhouse, all on the south side of the River Lune, until it reached Lancaster.

[61] In 1836, barring short extensions, the last major turnpike to be built in the Yorkshire Dales was constructed between Richmond and Reeth.

[63] The route of Cam High Road between Bainbridge and Gearstones is now a popular walking track and hosts both the Pennine Way and the Dales Way along parts of its length.