82 Centattr * 



"When Richard II. fled from his rebellious subjects, his 

 mother was conveyed in a carriage. It was not, however, 

 till the time of Queen Elizabeth that coaches became common 

 in England. Probably those famous state journeys called 

 " Royal Progresses " — like the one to Kenilworth — of which 

 Her Majesty w^as rather fond, created a demand for carriages, 

 and gave an impetus to coach building, which, during her 

 reign, became a very important branch of industry, and 

 continued to flourish so rapidly that at the commencement 

 of the seventeenth century it was calculated that in London 

 alone there were upwards of 6,000 carriages. 



Hackney carriages were first introduced into France in 

 the beginning of the reign of Louis XIY. by one Nicholas 

 Sauvage. In 1650 Charles Vilmere secured the exclusive 

 right to hire out carriages in Paris, and for this privilege he 

 paid 5,000 livres. The first vehicle similar to our modern 

 omnibus commenced running in Paris on the 18th of March, 

 1662. The fare v/as five sous. Hackney carriages were 

 first established in London in 1625, twenty-five years before 

 their introduction into France. In 1634 there were about 

 20 such vehicles plying for hire from the '• May-Pole" ; in 

 1637 there were 50 ; in 1652 they had increased to 200 ; 

 and in 1654 to 300. In 1694 they were limited to 700, but 

 in 1715 the limit was extended to 800. The hackney 

 carriage maintained its place till superseded by the more 

 modern vehicle, the Cabriolet de place, better known by the 

 shorter title of " cab." In 1834, Mr. Hansom introduced 

 the vehicle which bears his name, and upon which several 

 improvements have been made. The oldest coach in the 

 kingdom is the Lord Mayor's coach, which was built in 1757 

 for Sir Charles Asgil, the Lord Mayor elect that year. The 

 next oldest is Her Majesty's state carriage, which was built 

 in 1761, from designs bj^ Sir William Chambers. From the 

 official description of this carriage, which is said to be the 

 most superb ever built, it appears the body of the carriage 

 is richly ornamented with laurel and carved work, and 

 beautifully gilt, 



Such, then, is a brief history of carriages from the earliest 

 ages to the present time ; but to give a detailed account of 

 all the various descriptions of vehicles would be impossible 

 m a work like the present. Indeed, to enumerate all the 

 improvements that have been made in coach building would 

 occupy our whole space. There are, however, two very im- 

 portant improvements which cannot be passed over. One of 

 the most useful improvements in connection with coach 



