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The Age of Coaching can be divided into two distinct periods. There isn’t a clear line of demarcation between them but changes in politics, agriculture and technology mean that two types of coaching can be clearly distinguished.
The first period - from that first coach in 1657 to around the middle of the 18th century - is characterised by heavy, uncomfortable coaches. They had no springs and no glass in the windows. Journeys were extremely slow and must have been very uncomfortable.
The transition between the two periods came during the 18th century when changes to agriculture produced abundant food for the first time is human history. This led to increased industry, technology and travel. The result was a period of innovation in which led to improvements in coaches, roads and infrastructure.
Coaches in the second period were a far cry from their earlier counterparts. Lightweight “glass coaches” with springs ran swiftly along roads which were managed by Turnpike Trusts who collected tolls and kept the roads in good condition using techniques developed by two surveyors - Telford and McAdam. Horses were changed for a fresh team every eight or ten miles, comfortable inns serviced the coaches and their passengers, and roads were smoother than at any time since the Romans departed in 410 AD.
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