30 THE BRIGHTON ROAD 



a coach that Cripps, a coachmaster of Brighton and 

 proprietor of the " Coronet," not only was overjoyed 

 to have him on the box, but went so far as to paint 

 his name on the coach as one of the licensees, for 

 which false declaration Cripps was fined in November, 

 1827. 



The parentage and circumstances of Harry Stevenson 

 are alike mysterious. We are told that he " went the 

 pace," and was already penniless at twenty-two years 

 of age, about the time of his advent upon the Brighton 

 Road. In 1828 his famous "Age' was put on the 

 road, built for him by Aldebert, the foremost coach- 

 builder of the period, and appointed in every way 

 with unexampled luxury. The gold- and silver- 

 embroidered horse-cloths of the " Age ' are very 

 properly preserved in the Brighton Museum. 

 Stevenson's career was short, for he died in February, 

 1830. 



Coaching authorities give the palm for artistry to 

 whips of other roads : they considered the excellence 

 of this as fatal to the production of those qualities 

 that went to make an historic name. This road had 

 become " perhaps the most nearly perfect, and 

 certainly the most fashionable, of all." 



With the introduction of this sporting and 

 irresponsible element, racing between rival coaches — - 

 and not the mere conveying of passengers — became 

 the real interest of the coachmen, and proprietors 

 were obliged to issue notices to assure the timid that 

 this form of rivalry would be discouraged. A slow 

 coach, the " Life Preserver," was even put on the road 

 to win the support of old ladies and the timid, who, as 

 the record of accidents tells us, did well to be timorous. 

 But accidents would happen to fast and slow alike. 

 The " Coburg " was upset at Cuckfield in August, 1819. 

 Six of the passengers were so much injured that they 

 could not proceed, and one died the following day 

 at the " King's Head." The " Coburg " was an 

 old-fashioned coach, heavy, clumsy, and slow, 

 carrying six passengers inside and twelve outside. 



