Regency Travel: Coachmen (Part 2)

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After we shared some tidbits about Regency coachmen, we received some great questions of readers wanting more!  One question about aprons we split into a full post here.

Here are some questions:

How many horses were usually hitched?

The answer depends entirely on the type of carriage.  Our post on different conveyances tells you a bit about the typical number of horses for different carriage types and which would be more likely to be driven by a coachmen.  Most professional coachmen drove a coach, or a four wheeled carriage enclosed with windows.  It could be driven by a team of two or more horses, and would depend on the size and weight of the coach.  Louise Allen (2014) tells us by the mid 18th century, most paid passengers would expect to their coach hitched to four horses.

Here are some reminisces about the impact of the railway on horses:

COACH HORSES It was one of the early objections to the introduction of railways that horses in consequence would be but little required that it would no longer pay to bring up good animals and that the splendid breed of horses must necessarily die out I find that the price of coach horses say 50 years ago was For wheelers required to measure at least fifteen one from 22 to 25 per head on the average but never more than 30 Lighter horses were used as leaders and could be bought for a few pounds less per head Most of the horses came from Ireland and were picked up at the large fairs held at Rossley Hill and Brough Hill If we compare the general price of horses in the old coaching days with that of the present time we find they are now much dearer and the same class of animals as were used half a century ago for coaching purposes are now worth from 10 to 15 a head more than then Thus we see that instead of spoiling that branch of trade horses have gradually become dearer since the time of railways and really good animals will at all times command a market Coaching, past and present, 1885

How long would a coachman journey for?  How often would they be changed?

This depended on whether he was a driver in private service or part of a company that ran mail coaches.

Most accounts I found had a coachman driving all day, between 6 to 12 hours, with some rests included for changing horses or eating (Coaching, past and present, 1885;  Coaching Days and Coaching Ways, 1888; A Manual of Coaching, 1899; Coaching: With Anecdotes of the Road, 1876).    An Old Coachman’s Chatter with Some Practical Remarks on Driving (1890) states an average day of work was nine or ten hours.

Based on the guidebooks and other information I was able to glean, public or company coachmen drove mainly certain portions of a road (kind of like a commercial airplane pilot might ferry folks between Chicago and Los Angeles).  If you check out our coaching database, you will see many of the mail coaches ran every other day, with return trips sometimes opposite.  There might be two drivers doing the back and forth or one depending on the length of the shift.

Private coachmen seemed subject to the whims of their employer, but generally most private coaches would not travel at night due to the dangers.  And frankly, it would be exhausting to sleep in a coach as a passenger.

How long did a coachman have their career?  What was their social position?

This varied by the individual, but of the accounts I read many continued into their twilight years. An Old Coachman’s Chatter with Some Practical Remarks on Driving (1890) tells us many sons followed their fathers into the career of coaching, but that being such a “lucrative post, a considerable number of men were gradually attracted to it from superior positions in life” (p. 173).

A coachmen, especially a skilled one, could make really great money.  This was a trade off for the general place in Society as a servant or worker.  Public company coachmen were similar, in that way, to modern lorry or truck drivers.  In private service, they were staff and in public they were more similar to tradesmen.  Most books about coaching from the 19th century stress the skill, temperament, and toughness required for a coachmen, so I think they were much admired (at least many of them).

What did coachmen wear?

A public or company coachman would typically wear the following: two moderately thick coats (to better keep dry/warm) rather than one thick coat; an upper neck cloth to keep out the rain and cold; coachman’s cuffs for keeping chills from going up the sleeves; gloves; a hat; an apron and of course shirt, trousers, socks and boots.

The coachman’s cuff was:

employed These consisted of a piece of cloth about six inches in length which buttoned over the sleeve of the ordinary coat and when over these were added first a strong cloth coat and over that a waterproof cape with sleeves and ample enough to spread well over the apron no wet and little cold could penetrate An Old Coachman’s Chatter with Some Practical Remarks on Driving (1890)

A private coachman would typically wear livery.  Here is a recommendation for the coachman’s livery from the 1827 Traveller’s Oracle:
Red & c Coachman's Livery Those who affect an elegant Equipage usually give their Coachman annually say Two handsome Suits of what is termed the best Second Cloth what is called Livery Cloth is a little cheaper but much coarser and not half so serviceable d Brought forward 240 8 6 Light Blue Cloth Double breasted Coat edged with Crimson and lined with Shalloon same colour as the Coat with Gold laced Collar and Button Holes Waistcoat Blue Kerseymere with Shalloon Sleeves Plush Breeches lined and gilt Knee Buckles 14 14 0 Carried forward 255 26
S d Brought forward 255 2 6 30 Large and 18 Small Buttons with Crests and Motto & c thereon 013 6 Working Dress once a Year Drab Cord Breeches Coat Waistcoat and Overalls Drab Fustian lined & c 3 13 0 259 9 0

A new livery was either given annually or every other year.  This resource has some additional information about the cost of horses, coachman wages, carriage, stables, etc.

What was the ideal driving position?

Well the ideal coachman is now on his box and I hope with straight knees feet close together and well out in front of him shoulders well thrown back and arms hanging naturally and without any effort to his sides The left arm should be straight or nearly so and hand lightly resting against the outside of the left thigh with the wrist slightly rounded and the thumb a little turned up that is to say when the horses are drawing The difference between his hand when in this position and when the elbow is bent and the hand brought up towards the body should be just the difference between slack and tight pole chains When more power is wanted the hand will be raised and the wrist turned so as to bring the back of the hand to the front This will throw the elbow a little forward which will add greatly to the strength of the arm and by this time the right hand would most probably have taken hold of the off side reins which of itself lends much to the power of the other An Old Coachman’s Chatter with Some Practical Remarks on Driving (1890)

If you are looking for more on  Stagecoach Travel, you might be interested in Louise Allen’s primer.

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