Overview of Early Horse Drawn Coaches
Ever since the Neolithic period, man has developed ways of moving goods and people using horse power. In China there was the palanquin, ‘a kind of seat in a box.’ carried by two or more men. In Europe people rode on un-sprung and very uncomfortable carts, usually owned by farmers.The horse drawn coach as we know it, was developed in Europe from around the 16th century.The name coach comes from Hungary. A farmer in the small Hungarian village of Kocs developed a cart with suspension that coped well with the rugged unmade roads. It was comfortable enough for the family to take a Sunday afternoon drive. It‘s fame quickly spread throughout Europe, and with it’s fame went the name of the village where it originated from. The Hungarian name of Kocs became coche in French, and thencoachin English.With the development and mass production of steel from the 17th century in Europe, steel suspension springs and hardened steel for wheel rims and bearings were amongst the new materials available to the engineers. The popularity of carts and coaches spread, and soon they were being made in or near most towns. They were a simple means of transportation for goods and people. While mills and factories made goods, business owners and salesmen were able to travel around to sell their wares. With this new movement of customer driven consumption came banking and insurance.With the need for people to travel long or short distances, with or without large amounts of luggage, coaches were adapted to their needs. From heavily laden carts carrying passengers and goods that lumbered their way along at just a few miles an hour, came the stagecoaches that took people at speeds they never thought possible before. The design of stagecoaches was incorporated into a similar machine, but one that was lighter and faster, and able to carry mail and valuables securely.Royal households throughout Europe had their own luxuriously appointed coaches built. They were richly furnished in silk, velvet and braided gold. Some even had silver or gold monogrammed door handles. Like Royalty, the aristocracy soon flaunted their wealth with their own coaches. While some Royal households, along with the aristocracy, may have come to an end through such shows of wealth, the coach was to go on from strength to strength.The United States of America led the way with coach development, in particular with Stagecoaches. Travelling vast distances, reliability and comfort were vital. Ongoing development within the coach building industry was important. Along with the stagecoaches were the secure money carrying coaches, notably those operated by Wells Fargo.Horse drawn coaches are immortalised on Broadway with “The Deadwood Stage” and “The Surrey With A Fringe On Top.”The ‘Deadwood stage’ was a four horse stagecoach and the ‘Surrey’ was a covered carriage pulled by two horses.The popular ballad of the Californian gold rush days was called, “The California Stage Company,” although not meant to be serious, it gives an insight as to how conditions were for travellers.Still in America, passengers were being carried by horse drawn carriages in New England as early as 1744, and by 1756 there was a passenger service between New York and Philadelphia. In 1829, Boston was the hub for 77 stagecoach lines, by 1832 there were 106.
The most popular American stagecoach was the model namedConcordbuilt by the Abbot Downing Company. Their coaches employed leather strap braces which gave the coach a slight swinging, rather than a jolting up and down movement.It can be said that by the 1850’s, the horse drawn coach had peaked in popularity. The American stagecoach was slowly replaced by the motor car, while in Britain and Europe it was the growing of the railways that brought the demise of mail-coaches.
