Regency Travel: Aprons

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The Stagecoach, mid-19th century (litho) (b/w photo) by Adam, Victor (1801-66) (after); Bibliotheque des Arts Decoratifs, Paris, France; © Archives Charmet; French, out of copyright.

Following up from some questions from a recent post on Coachmen, I decided to dedicate an entire explainer to the word apron and how it relates to coaches and coachmen.  The below gives a thorough overview of the different types of apron and what they are made out of.  This modern site has some examples of different types of aprons now available that are illustrative of the general style that would have been relevant.

Essentially, the apron functions like a lap robe, but as it is fastened to the body with a strap and sometimes a buckle, it is widely referred to as an apron.  The apron also helped to keep other passengers warm as explained below, and was part of the reference in the recent Coachmen post.

APRONS Sometimes a small apron usually of some light stuff such as is used for linen horsecovers or of thin cloth is worn by the coachman
over the lap reaching from a little below the waist to the ankles and long enough the other way to tuck under the legs on both sides so as to be sat upon This is for the purpose of keeping dust and any dirt from the reins off the trousers When it is worn for warmth it must be of thicker material and fastened around the waist by a strap so that when the wearer stands up it is much like a skirt An apron of this kind does not however protect the feet from cold it is better to have one long enough to go under the feet In cold weather it is well for the box passenger to have a small soft rug to be wrapped round his legs in the same way under the box apron since from the position of the coachman's legs an opening letting in cold air is left necessarily at the side under any apron covering both persons The fashions of coaching having originated in a country where fur robes are but little used there seems to be a certain lack of appropriateness in using a fur robe on the box although there is of course no good reason against it but a thick drab cloth looks rather more coaching and if necessary it can be lined with fur For ordinary weather there is no better material for aprons than plain drab Bedford cord either hemmed on the edge or bound with cloth of the same colour The corners should be rounded with a radius of 4 or 5 inches The apron for the boxseat should be 4 ft 6 in wide and 6 ft 6 in long inches The

and should have a strap 30 inches long fastened to the underside 7 inches below the upper edge which can be passed round the rail of the box seat to keep the apron from slipping down This strap is passed through a ring fastened to a metal boss which shows on the outside of the apron Box aprons sometimes have sewed in the middle of the upper part a gusset which is supposed to go down between the two persons who are on the box but it is of doubtful utility since if the apron is wide enough its centre part will be well kept down by the strap without displacing the ends The box apron sometimes has two pockets near its upper edge and then there is a long flap over them unless there are pockets the flap is hardly necessary The aprons for the roof seats should be 4 feet wide and 9 feet long so as to cover all four passengers and there should be one for the rumble 4 feet wide and 6 feet long These sizes may seem excessive but it is a mistake to have aprons too small they cannot be tucked under at the ends and are always slipping about There should be an apron of a cloth the colour of the liveries for the men to use in the rumble For cold weather aprons made of heavy drab cloth waterproofed and lined with some check material are the proper thing They should not be bound but stitched on the edge with several rows of stitches The box seat apron is sometimes lined
along its lower edge inside with a band about 8 inches wide of pig skin so that the feet may be placed upon it without wearing it out This band should be only as long as the foot board say 40 inches and should not extend to the ends of the apron else it will be difficult on account of their stiffness to tuck them in The most comfortable apron for cold weather is a bag 4 feet long up and down and 27 inches wide 4 double that is made of stuff 54 inches wide The seam is not at the side but at the back in the middle and extends for a distance of about a foot from the bottom the rest being open The bag is pulled over the feet after sitting down and the sides tucked in so as to sit upon them The bottom of the bag is of course closed Against rain india rubber aprons should be provided and since it is not necessary that they should be thick the best and by far the cheapest material is ordinary rubber cloth which can be bought by the yard and merely cut to the proper length without any binding It comes about 48 inches wide Whether it is white or black is a matter of taste the white looks better but has a whitish powder on it which marks dark clothes The advantage of these thin aprons is that they are thin and can be folded and kept under the inside cushions while the regularly made rubber aprons are usually thick and stiff A Manual of Coaching, 1900

 

 

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2 Responses to Regency Travel: Aprons

  1. Susan Macdonald says:
    December 20, 2021 at 8:16 am

    Thank you. I had wondered, too.