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Locating Three Colt Street was easy - it's still there, west of Limehouse Basin, though barely a building remains from the 19th century.  But Stepney Gate proved elusive - until our colleague Andrew Behan researched the Barretts.  He found the address where Thomas died, 599 Commercial Road, which is on the north-west corner with White Horse Road (2022: a supermarket with flats above) and on an we found "toll-gate" marked just to the east of the junction, now a traffic island. We have found Stepney Gate.  And Andrew even found a which might actually be Stepney Gate - the railway bridge in the background fits the location.

But we've retained our previous researches below, since they are interesting if you are interested in toll gates.

The  has a photo of a ticket sold at Stepney Gate, captioned: "This numbered clearing ticket or receipt was issued for cash paid at the Stepney toll-gate for access to a number of roads in east London operated by the Commercial Road Trust. The ticket notes that the toll paid also authorised the holder to clear a number of other gates and roads in east London from Whitechapel to the West India Docks. Toll and turnpike fees were first introduced when the large-scale building and repair of roads began in the early 19th century. Acts of Parliament permitted private firms to maintain specific roads and impose charges for access. The system flourished until the 1860s when unpopularity together with the trend to centralise control over roads made it no longer tenable." 

Commercial Road was constructed in 1802-6 and the Commercial Road Trust were allowed to raise funds by levying tolls - hence the toll gates. These tolls were abolished in the 1860s and the gates, including the toll-houses, were removed. has some photos of some nearby toll gates. And here's a drawing of the .

shows a Limehouse Toll Bar but we could not see Stepney Gate on Commercial Road.

A line found at the is helpful: "Ellis's stables are in the Commercial-road, near Stepney Gate; about two miles from the Bank".  Assuming this means the Bank of England in Threadneedle Street, then that puts Stepney Gate near what is now the junction with White Horse Road.

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