Regency Trivia – Coaches

Regency Trivia – Coaches

 

Traveling Coaches

 

Of all the privately owned coaches and carriages these were the largest. Bear in mind that every coach was bespoke. There are accounts of traveling coaches having seats that made in to beds, built in shelves and tables, hidden compartments, holders for hot bricks in the floor, and storage under the seats, just to name a few amenities.

 

A traveling coach was driven by a coachman and would have been powered by a team of four or six horses. If the owner made frequent trips to the same places, they’d post horses along the route in order to ensure they wouldn’t be held up waiting for replacements.

 

The body of the coach was large and enclosed. Glass windows were generally set in the doors and sides of the coach and covered with either leather or cloth shades or curtains. Velvet was a common covering for the benches and cushions, although, leather was also used.

 

Ladies or the most ranking person was seated in the forward facing seat. Gentlemen or lesser ranking persons sat in the backward facing seat. An unmarried lady could not ride alone in a coach with a gentleman who wasn’t either her guardian or a close (brother, father, uncle, grandfather) relative without courting ruin. However, a betrothed lady could ride in one alone with her betrothed for very short distances.

 

If the owner was a peer or a widow of a peer, a crest would be drawn out on the side panels, generally in gold.

Some of these photos are from coaches that were slightly later than the Regency, but the’ll give you and idea.

 

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