Smith had ordered every book he could find about the roads and road transport in England and retreated to his study to immerse himself in the subject. As a seaman, he admitted his ignorance about horses, coaches and the land but resolved to become as knowledgeable as any coach operator in Kent. William Foreman had dealt his original idea a blow by rejecting his partnership offer, but he had not given up yet.
As he read, Smith learned that most of the existing roads in England were centuries old, and the ancient Romans had built some of them. Every road, even the three royal roads of Watling Street, Fosse Way, and Ermine Street, were in bad repair, while the more minor roads were quagmires in autumn and winter and dust bowls after only a week of dry weather.
For centuries, the monasteries
