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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
The “Swan with Two Necks” was a very famous coaching inn, but it’s a curious name and one wonders whether two-headed swans were common in the past. In fact, the name is a corruption of ‘swan with two nicks’ and its origin lies back in history.
Since the 12th century, the English king or queen has owned all unmarked mute swans in England. In those days swans were a common food source for royalty. In practice, it’s only on certain reaches of the River Thames that the ownership was enforced.
In a 15th century Royal Charter, two Livery Companies of the City of London - the Vintners’ and the Dyers’ - were given permission to share the Sovereign’s ownership of the swans so a way to count the swans and identify their ownership was needed. They established an annual census which continues to this day. It’s known as ‘swan upping’.
The annual swan upping takes place during the third week of July, and during the ceremony, the Queen’s, the Vintners’ and the Dyers’ Swan Uppers row up the Thames in skiffs. Swans caught by the Queen’s Swan Uppers under the direction of the Swan Marker are ringed. Those caught by the Dyers and Vintners are identified as theirs by means of a second ring on the other leg. The two Companies use their own rings. Today, only swans with cygnets are caught and ringed and it gives a yearly snapshot as to how well Thames swans are breeding.
Originally, the two companies would identify their birds by marking their beaks with a knife - one nick for a dyers’ bird and two for a vintners’. Swans with one nick or two on their beaks became a common sight and also a popular name for pubs and to this day, there are many pubs across England called “The Swan with Two Nicks”. I haven’t been able to find any pubs called the “Swan with One Nick” however. It doesn’t have the same ring somehow, does it?
To return to the name of the famous coaching inn, the word “nick” also meant “neck” back in the 16th century pun, and so, in a long-forgotten pun, you’ll also find many pubs called “The Swan with Two Necks”. It had nothing to do with two headed swans after all!