History

THE EXPERIENCE OF STAGECOACH TRAVEL Cindy Chant, Blue Badge Guide

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So, what was it like to travel in a coach in the 18th century? Well, we know that in 1588, when Elizabeth I came to the throne, she used a carriage brought over from Holland. These early carriages were most uncomfortable, and Elizabeth complained that coach travel gave her many aches and bruises. So, when her retinue went to Norwich in 1570, she rode alongside on horseback.

There are many descriptions of coach travel by wellknown writers, like Samuel Pepys, Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy, just to name a few; I have read stories describing journeys as ‘lurching into potholes,’ ‘freezing to the bone,’ ‘jolted and jarred’ and ‘carriages stuck axle-deep in the mud.’ So, these were just some of the ‘excitement’ experienced by coach travellers.

In my extensive research for this article, I did find an interesting extract from ‘Letters on the English and French Nation’ by J.B. LeBlanc, 1747. It regales the experiences of a passenger: ‘The carriage was already full up, so I was obliged to ride on the outside. That meant clambering up and was at the risk of one’s life! I was told to just sit in the corner of the coach, with nothing to hold onto but a sort of little handle fastened at the side. To preserve my balance, all I could do was to take a fast hold of the handle. The carriage rolled along with enormous rapidity, over the stones and through the town, and every moment we seemed to fly. It was almost a miracle that we all stuck to the coach and did not fall.’

Even a short journey in one of the better coaches, and in decent weather, might just be bearable for those who had an inside seat.

Various dangers of coach travel included the many horrific accidents which I have already mentioned and in view of this, many travellers made their Last Will and Testament before starting on a long journey.

Travelling in winter was always a particular problem, and in the early years, many coach services operated only in summer. The worst coaching winter was in 1837-38 when heavy snowstorms closed down most routes in the country for nearly a week. Samuel Coleridge records enduring a three-hour storm whilst travelling by coach from London to his home in Nether Stowey, North Somerset.

Another story was that one coach driver arriving in Bath, found two of his passengers had frozen to death, and another one was dying!

Straw, foot warmers, heavy clothing, blankets and sacks were all essential on coach excursions during periods of severe cold, and the occasional nip of brandy from a flask provided a welcome restorative!

So how did stagecoach passengers amuse themselves during the long hours cooped up in the coach? Pepys typically described one such journey, when he invited one of his fellow passengers, who was an attractive lady, to read aloud a passage from the book she was reading. So reading was probably fairly common. Other than that, most travellers just gossiped with each other!

At stops made only to change horses, there might only be enough time for new passengers to climb on board, or to alight for what we nowadays call a ‘comfort break,’ but facilities, as you can imagine, were pretty basic. Longer daytime rests might be anything from ten to forty minutes. The passengers would only have time to alight, refresh themselves with a coffee, a cup of China tea or a glass of ale. Sometimes, a longer break involved a meal. Menus were limited since very little time was allowed, but there were choices of cold meats, pies, ham, venison, buttered toast and muffins.

There would be China tea to drink or after 1830, Indian tea. For stronger tastes, there would be a punch made of claret and brandy. Beer would have been on tap.

All the inns were known for the little tricks that they could use to ensure a maximum profit. Since the stops were short, and if the food was slow in coming, then the passengers had little time to eat or drink, so any leftovers would go to the staff. As passengers had paid for it when ordering, this was a bonus for the innkeeper, and it was well known that bills were adjusted ‘to the passenger’s ability to pay.’

At the end of the rest period, the horn was blown to warn the passengers that time was up, and they should all board the coach. Drivers were not inclined to wait for late-comers and often late passengers were left behind.

Alcohol and drunkenness were serious problems and often were to blame for delays. There were frequent warnings about stopping at ale houses on the excuse of watering the horses and the guards seem to have been the hardest drinkers!

Next month, I will write about our local coaching inns.

sherbornewalks.co.uk

LOST DORSET NO.2: FONTMELL MAGNA David Burnett, The Dovecote Press

Viewed through the current requirement for children to keep apart, the outstretched arms in this photograph of schoolchildren at Fontmell Magna in 1913 might be mistaken for early social distancing. In fact the 1902 Education Act had added regular physical education to the curriculum, and the 140 children lined up in the photograph were doing their daily exercises – principally, I suspect, for the benefit of the photographer. One of the treasures of the Dorset History Centre are the school log books, which legally had to be kept by the schoolmaster or mistress. Rural education largely consisted of the three Rs, and there were high levels of illiteracy. Children provided extra hands in the field. Boys helped with ploughing and carting. Girls picked stones, weeded crops. The log books regularly list absences for potato planting, haymaking and harvest. The beginning of the autumn term was often delayed by a late harvest. Fontmell Magna school opened in 1864, and flourishes today on the same site as St Andrew’s Church of England Primary School with about 180 pupils.

Lost Dorset: The Villages & Countryside 1880-1920, by David Burnett, is a large format paperback, price £12, and is available locally from Winstone’s Books or directly from the publishers.

dovecotepress.com