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Section 2:
The Age of Coaching
The world of long-distance coach travel
A coach advertisement from 1706
Beginning to End
How long did the Great Age of Coaching Last?
Two Coaching Periods
The age of coach travel falls into two distinct phases
The First Coaching Period
Coaches in the early period were uncomfortable, slow and dangerous
Highwaymen
The scourge of the early coaching industry, these robbers eventually disappeared
Transition
The change from the early period to the late happened because life in Britain was altering
The Second Coaching Period
This is the Great Age of Coach Travel - surprisingly familiar; just slower and wetter
Facts and Figures
A look at prices, costs and numbers involved in coaching
Different Ways to Travel
There were stagecoaches and mail coaches, and more besides
The list of places you could go to is remarkably familiar to the modern traveller
We’re familiar with railway termini but what were the departure points like in the Age of Coaching?
Here are most of the coaching departure points in London, together withe here you could travel to from each one
An example of how politics influenced attitudes in some inns along the road
Not a war, just passengers trying to grab a bite to eat on the road
Coach drivers were an elite group, but as the coaching age declined, they lost their importance
The first half of the 19th century saw coaching at its peak
Who were the travellers and who owned the horses and coaches? Find out here
William Chaplin was one of the most successful coach proprietors - and he survived the move to railways
One of Chaplin’s Inn has an unusual name which comes from history
We complain about rail fares but coach fares were far higher
What did it cost to run a coaching business?
To understand coaching prices you must compare them with present day values
Coach travel was not without risk. Here are some reported coach accidents
This is the story of the Mail Coaches, how the mail evolved and what mailcoaches were like
A set of possible journeys that you might wish to make
The railways effectively killed the coaching industry very quickly. Here’s what happened
City inns had to change when the coaching trade dried up. Here’s how they coped
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Anecdotes written by people who actually travelled on the coaches
The coachmen, the inns, the coach proprietors - they’re all here. Come in and meet them
Britain’s roads were pretty impassable for most of our history. Coach travel was very difficult until they improved
Wheeled transport evolved over many years. Find out how coaches developed
Sources and information about how I came to create this website
Home Page of the Coaching Website
By the early 1800s, a world of high speed travel was available to all who could afford it. To illustrate the options available, here are some possible long distance itineraries comparing, where relevant, posting (travelling non-stop) with day-coaching (resting overnight). To keep track of days each journey starts on a Monday.
• Macclesfield to London, posting:
- 11:30 the Royal Mail from the Macclesfield Arms, arrive London 07:00 Tuesday.
• Macclesfield to London, day-coaching:
- 09:30 the Traveller from the Flying Horse, arrive Birmingham 18:10, overnight in the Albion,
- 06:45 the Crown Prince from the Albion, arrive London 20:15 Tuesday.
• Nantwich to Edinburgh, posting:
- 09:30 the Nettle from the Three Pigeons, arrive Manchester 16:15,
- 16:45 the Royal Mail from the Royal Hotel, arrive Carlisle 06:45 Tuesday,
- 07:00 the Royal Mail from the Bush Inn, arrive Edinburgh 01:00 Wednesday.
• Nantwich to Edinburgh, day-coaching:
- 09:30 the Nettle from the Three Pigeons, arrive Manchester 16:15, overnight in the Star,
- 04:45 the New Times from the Star, arrive Carlisle 20:00 Tuesday, overnight in the Bush,
- 07:00 the Royal Mail from the Bush, arrive Selkirk 17:00 Wednesday, overnight in Selkirk,
- 08:00 the Sir Walter Scott from Selkirk, arrive Edinburgh 18:00 Thursday.
• Stockport to Dublin, via Liverpool:
- 10:00 a market coach from the Buck and Dog, arrive the Talbot Manchester 11:00,
- 12:00 the Marshall from the Talbot, arrive Liverpool 16:00,
- 17:00 the Royal Mail Steam Packet from Liverpool, arrive Dublin approx 17:00 Tuesday.
• Stockport to Dublin, via Holyhead:
- 13:00 a market coach from the Buck and Dog, arrive the Talbot Manchester 14:00,
- 14:45 the Royal Mail from the Swan, arrive Jones Coach Office Chester 19:30,
- 19:45 the Royal Mail from Jones Coach Office, arrive the Eagle & Child Holyhead 07:00 Tuesday
- 08:00 the Royal Mail Steam Packet from Holyhead, arrive Dublin approx 20:00 Tuesday.
• Chester to Paris, posting:
- 08:00 the Royal Mail from the White Lion, arrive the Golden Cross London 07:30 Tuesday,
- 08:30 the Eagle from the Golden Cross, arrive Dover approx 19:30 Tuesday,
- An overnight Steam Packet, crossing time 3 hours, arrive Calais early Wednesday morning,
- A morning malle-poste from Calais, journey time about 24 hours, arrive Paris Thursday morning.
• Chester to Paris, day-coaching:
- 06:30 the Dispatch from Jones Coach Office, arrive Birmingham 18:30, overnight in the Albion,
- 06:45 the Crown Prince from the Albion, arrive London 20:15 Tuesday, overnight Golden Cross,
- 08:30 the Eagle from the Golden Cross, arrive Dover approx 19:30 Tuesday, overnight in Dover,
- A morning Steam Packet, crossing time 3 hours, arrive Calais Wednesday pm, overnight in Calais,
- A morning diligence, journey time about 12 hrs, arrive Amiens Thursday eve, overnight in Amiens,
- A morning diligence from Amiens, journey time about 12 hrs, arrive Paris Friday evening.
• Altrincham to York:
- 08:00 the Sir Oliver from the Bay Malton, arrive Manchester 09:00,
- 09:30 the Umpire from the Star Inn, arrive Leeds 14:30,
- 15:30 the Wellington from the Hotel, arrive York 19:00.
• Altrincham to New York:
- 6 hours before highwater, Bridgewater Packet from the Bay Malton, arrive Runcorn at highwater,
- At highwater, the Bridgewater Steamer from Runcorn, arrive Liverpool 3 hours after highwater,
- A passage from Liverpool to New-York, departures weekly, voyage duration about four weeks.
At that time, most of the population could not afford stage-coach fares. They rarely left their home village except for the occasional day visit to the local town. Those who had to travel walked. Their journeys may have been similar to the following:
• Macclesfield to Liverpool, for a young fit person:
- 05:00 leave Macclesfield, walk via Knutsford, Warrington, and Prescot, arrive Liverpool 18:00,
(40 miles at 3 mph = approx 13 hours walking).
• Macclesfield to Liverpool, for a family:
- 07:00 leave Macclesfield, 14 mile 8 hour walk via Knutsford, spend the night in a barn near Mere,
- 07:00 leave Mere, 17 mile 9 hour walk via Warrington, find shelter near Rainhill,
- 07:00 leave Rainhill, 10 mile 5 hour walk via Prescot, arrive Liverpool midday Wednesday.