This incident illustrates how different the world was when motive power came from animals who sometimes made their own decisions.

“Everyone who knows the North Road is familiar with the bridge at Wansford which is an awkward one, being very old and narrow.

One fine summer's evening, my two brothers and I were returning from school in London at the end of the summer term. We pulled up at the Haycock Inn in Wansford, which was kept by Mr Percival at the time. He horsed the coach and was quite young when this incident happened.

A very smart team of four red roans was put into the harness and Young Percival himself got up onto the box. The horses were quite showy and pretty fresh and things did not go according to plan. 

First of all, they didn’t start very well and Percival, being more full of valour than skill, ‘dropped into them,’ * which made matters worse.

Then, when they reached the bridge - only fifty yards away - the horses wouldn’t face it.

What possessed them as they approached the bridge I know not, but they whipped round all of a sudden, and after playing sundry antics — and a most nervous performance it was — we found ourselves back at the door of the Haycock with the horses’ heads pointing to London instead of to Stamford! 

How we got there without the coach being turned over no-one could ever make out. According to all the rules of accidents, and one may almost say of common sense, this was a case in which we ought to have been upset.

Young Percival, with most praiseworthy pluck, proposed to ‘tackle them’ again, but Old John Barker, an experienced driver, said, “Come, come, old friend, this will never do. You'll have us over. I’m sure you will — I'm sure you’ll have us over.” 

And so he took the whip and reins and waited a short while at the door to give the horses time to come to their senses. To a certain extent, they had lost in the ‘skrimmage’ and so, after a short while, we started afresh. Under the guidance of Old John we made it safely over the bridge and reached Stamford without further incident. But it was a real touch-and-go business and I only wonder we were not all ‘spilt.’ ”

- C Birch Reynardson, 1888

* * *

* “Dropped into them” is the phrase used by the author. I’m told by an elderly farmer that it means using the whip and is, unsurprisingly,  not wise with fresh horses.


Next: Charlies and Hackneys

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.

______________________

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