There was a right to levy tolls on travellers through Wychbold; a right which was usually associated with entry into more urban places. Since a lot of the wood, which was the fuel for salt production at this time, must have been transported from the Bromsgrove area along the road from the north (now the A38), the mediaeval tolls would have been very profitable. It must have been tempting to take the ridgeway if you were lightly loaded, and this may be one reason why this route has survived, as at least a footpath, to the present-day. In the 1220s there are records of various complaints to the royal court about tollkeepers of Wychbold illegally charging pilgrims travelling through the area. It was also alleged that two carts of books belonging to the Dean of Worcester were kept for 6 weeks by local inhabitants.

The site of the toll-point in Wychbold is thought to be the junction of Crown Lane and the Bromsgrove to Droitwich road, and it is possible that a mediaeval chapel was built at or near the toll since later names of two adjoining fields suggest this. Wealthy fraternities sometimes made themselves responsible for the care of roads and bridges, collecting offerings from travellers in return for prayers, and so a chapel would be placed on or near the bridge or road where tolls were collected.

More about Milestones, Waymarkers and Turnpikes in our Transport section