Back in coaching days, people who could afford to travel by coach were not only wealthy enough to afford it but also generally well educated. This was before the 1870 Education Act which introduced ‘Education for all.’ Although many people were taught basic reading and writing in small local schools, the vast majority of the population was illiterate.

The writers of books about coaching were clearly well educated, and their education was more classical than today. Latin expressions often appear in their writings are very rarely translated. Clearly, readers in those days were expected to be familiar with basic Latin.

Here’s an example from the book ‘Stagecoach and Mail in Days of Yore’:

“In illustration of the usual speed of travelling in 1766, Lord Eldon states that when he left school in that year to go to Oxford, he came up from Newcastle to London in a coach which was called ‘a fly,’ on account of its quick travelling, as it was then thought, but he was three or four days and nights upon the road. 

There was no such velocity as to endanger overturning or other mischief; and as a sort of apology for its pace there was printed on the panel of the carriage the phrase: ‘Sat cito, si sat bene’. 

The impression made by this sentence upon the mind of the embryo chancellor was heightened by a circumstance which occurred upon the journey. 

A Quaker fellow-traveller called the chambermaid to the coach door and gave her sixpence, telling her that he forgot to give it to her when he slept there two years before. 

Young Scott, who was not characterised by overmuch bashfulness, said to him : “Friend, have you seen the motto on this coach?’ ‘No!’ ‘Then look at it, for I think giving her only sixpence now is neither ‘sat cito,’ nor ‘sat bene.’ ”

Next: Red Kites


N.B. The translation is roughly “Fast enough is good enough.” 

Section 1:

Living Memories

Introduction
Introducing the real life stories collected in the late 1800s

London to Stamford

What was it like to travel by coach on a winter’s day? Come on the first stage of a journey from London to Stamford.

Driving a Mail Coach
Mail coaches were the high speed elite. What was it like to drive them?

Then and Now

Comparing rail and coach travel in 1888!

An Incident at Wansford

Things didn’t always go smoothly and this amusing incident took place on the Great North Road.

Charlies and Hackneys

A recollection of life in London before taxi cabs, policemen and even electricity.

Perils by Water

One of the many hazards that could be encountered was flood water. This is near St Neots.

Latin

The people who could afford to travel were educated in - among other things - Latin!

Red Kites

Yes, they were common in the early 1800s. They’d all gone by the 1880s. Attitudes were different then!

The Cost of Travel by Coach

What did it cost to make a long distance coach journey?

The Desire to Drive a Coach

Young gentlemen often fancied themselves as coachmen. Unlike today, you could often ‘have a go’ with the reins.

Two Short Videos
Although we have no films from the time, modern producers have imagined coach travel for us.

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Part 1: Living Memories

Anecdotes written by people who actually travelled on the coaches

Part 2: The Age of Coaching

The coachmen, the inns, the coach proprietors - they’re all here. Come in and meet them

Part 3: The Roads

Britain’s roads were pretty impassable for most of our history.  Coach travel was very difficult until they improved

Part 4: The Coaches

Wheeled transport evolved over many years. Find out how coaches developed

Background

Sources and information about how I came to create this website

Home Page

Home Page of the Coaching Website