Regency Trivia – Sporting Carriages

As I mentioned in the last post, both ladies and gentlemen drove sporting carriages. The one thing sporting vehicles all had in common was that they were driven by the lady or gentleman, not by a coachman. Therefore, a lady did not require a groom or other chaperone.

Sporting carriages were divided into two groups, those that were typically driven in the country and those usually driven in Town. We’ll discuss Town carriages first.

The most fashionable, and hardest to drive properly, was the high-perched phaeton. It had no convertible top like many of the other carriages had. The frame was light and hung over two large wheels in the back and two smaller wheels in the front. The distance to the floor of the carriage could easily be five feet. The carriage could be driven by one horse, but if one wished to be known as a “notable whip”, one drove the carriage with a pair. High-perched phaetons were notorious for being easy to tip over, especially when rounding corners.

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