THE DOVER ROAD 225 



copy of a time bill marks probably the beginning of 

 its development. 



"LONDON EVENING POST. March 28. 1751. 

 " A Stage Coach 



" WILL SET OUT 



"For Dover every Wednesday and Friday from Christopher Shaws the 

 Golden Cross at four in the morning to go over Westminster Bridge to 

 Rochester to dinner to Canterbury at night and to Dover the next morning 

 early ; will take up passengers for 



"Rochester, Sittingbourne, Ospringe, and Canterbury — and returns on 

 Tuesdays and Thursdays. 



-r, fThos : Hartcup. 

 y \ Robt : Legeyt. 



p f Richd : Stradwick. 



^ICath : Pordage." 



And I wish the four could have got up some better 

 grammar and punctuation amongst them. 



To advance from this barbaric attempt of our ancestors 

 to induce credulous people to go to Dover, the fastest 

 coach which ran on this road in the golden age of 

 coaching was Chaplin's Tally-ho, which was driven by 

 Clements — the fine old coachman whom I have already 

 mentioned, and wmose interesting personal experiences 

 given to myself I shall deal with when I get to Canter- 

 bury, where he lives. The Tally-ho used to run from 

 the Spread Eagle in Gracechurch Street to Sittingbourne 

 — forty miles — every day, including Sunday, and (as Mr. 

 Stanley Harris tells all w r ho will learn how their fore- 

 fathers travelled in The Coaching Age) was largely 

 patronized by the Kentish farmers, who could leave 

 their homes at five or six o'clock on Sunday afternoon, 

 get their night's rest — acrobatic, somewhat, I fear — and 

 be on the spot for the early markets in London. 



To get along on our way to Rochester the Dover 

 Road (which is measured from the Surrey side of London 

 Bridge) after going through New Cross, where in coaching 

 days there was a turnpike, runs into Deptford, where 



Q 



