Acarriage is a two- or four-wheeledhorse-drawn vehicle for passengers. In Europe they were a common mode of transport for the wealthy during theRoman Empire, and then again from around 1600 until they were replaced by the motor car around 1900. They were generally owned by the rich, but second-hand private carriages became common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriagesuspensions are by leather strapping or, on those made in recent centuries, steel springs. There are numerous names for different types. Two-wheeled carriages are usually owner-driven.
Coaches are a special category within carriages. They are carriages with four corner posts and a fixed roof. Two-wheeled war chariots and transport vehicles such as four-wheeledwagons and two-wheeledcarts were forerunners of carriages.[1][2]
In the 21st century, horse-drawn carriages are occasionally used for public parades by royalty and for traditional formal ceremonies. Simplified modern versions are made for tourist transport in warm countries and for those cities where tourists expect open horse-drawn carriages to be provided. Simple metal sporting versions are still made for the sport known as competitive driving.
The wordcarriage (abbreviatedcarr orcge) is fromOld Northern Frenchcariage, to carry in a vehicle.[3] The wordcar, then meaning a kind of two-wheeled cart for goods, also came from Old Northern French about the beginning of the 14th century[3] (probably derived from theLate Latincarro, a car[4]); it is also used forrailway carriages and in the US around the end of the 19th century, early cars (automobiles) were briefly calledhorseless carriages.
From antiquty, some of the earliest indications of horse-drawn vehicles were from clay models and excavated imprints of decayed vehicles similar tochariots and crude wagons.[1]: Cha.2 Four-wheeled wagons were used inBronze Age Europe, and their form known from excavations suggests that the basic construction techniques of wheel and undercarriage were established then.[5][6] The earliest archaeological evidence of chariots in China dates to the rule of KingWu Ding, circa 1250 BCE, and the Chinese use of chariots in warfare ran from the 8th to 5th centuries BCE.[7][8]
Towards the end of themedieval period the pivoting front axle came about, making turning four-wheeled vehicles easier. Suspension (on chains) is recorded in visual images and written accounts from the 14th century ("chars branlant" or rocking carriages), and was in widespread use by the 15th century.[9]: 41–53 Carriages were largely used by royalty, aristocrats (and especially by women), and were elaborately decorated. Such carriages were drawn by two to four horses depending on the carriage size and the status of the passenger. Carriages were primarily built using wood and iron.
One of the great innovations in carriage history was the invention of the suspended carriage or thechariot branlant (though whether this was a Roman or medieval innovation remains uncertain). The "chariot branlant" of medieval illustrations was suspended by chains rather than leather straps as had been believed.[10][9]: 45 Suspension, whether on chains or leather, might provide a smoother ride since the carriage body no longer rested on the axles, but could not prevent swinging (branlant) in all directions. It is clear from illustrations (and surviving examples) that the medieval suspended carriage with a round tilt was a widespread European type, referred to by any number of names (car, currus, char, chariot).[citation needed]
In 14th century England carriages, like the one illustrated in the Luttrell Psalter, would still have been a quite rare means of aristocratic transport, and they would have been very costly until the end of the century. They would have had four six-spoke six-foot high wheels that were linked by greased axles under the body of the coach, and did not necessarily have any suspension. The chassis was made from oak beam and the barrel shaped roof was covered in brightly painted leather or cloth. The interior would include seats, beds, cushions, tapestries and even rugs. They would be pulled by four to five horses.[11]
Under KingMathias Corvinus (1458–90), who enjoyed fast travel, the Hungarians developed fast road transport, and the town ofKocs betweenBudapest andVienna became an important post-town, and gave its name to the new vehicle type.[12][13] The earliest illustrations of the Hungarian "Kochi-wagon" do not indicate any suspension, a body with high sides of lightweight wickerwork, and typically drawn by three horses in harness. Later models were considerably lighter and famous for a single horse being able to draw many passengers.[14]
The Hungarian coach spread across Europe, initially rather slowly, in part due toIppolito d'Este of Ferrara (1479–1520), nephew of Mathias' queenBeatrix of Aragon, who as a very junior Archbishopric ofEsztergom developed a taste for Hungarian riding and took his carriage and driver back to Italy.[9]: 51 Then rather suddenly, in around 1550, the "coach" made its appearance throughout the major cities of Europe, and the new word entered the vocabulary of all their languages.[15] However, the new "coach" seems to have been a fashionable concept (fast road travel for men) as much as any particular type of vehicle, and there is no obvious technological change that accompanied the innovation, either in the use of suspension (which came earlier), or the adoption of springs (which came later). As its use spread throughout Europe in the late 16th century, the coach's body structure was ultimately changed, from a round-topped tilt to the "four-poster" carriages that became standard everywhere by c.1600.[9]: 41–53
The coach had doors in the side, with an iron step protected by leather that became the "boot" in which servants might ride. The driver sat on a seat at the front, and the most important occupant sat in the back facing forwards. The earliest coaches can be seen atVeste Coburg, Lisbon, and the Moscow Kremlin, and they become a commonplace in European art. It was not until the 17th century that further innovations with steel springs and glazing took place, and only in the 18th century, with better road surfaces, was there a major innovation with the introduction of the steelC-spring.[16]
Many innovations were proposed, and some patented, for new types of suspension or other features. It was only from the 18th century that changes to steering systems were suggested, including the use of the 'fifth wheel' substituted for the pivoting fore-axle, and on which the carriage turned. Another proposal came fromErasmus Darwin, a young English doctor who was driving a carriage about 10,000 miles a year to visit patients all over England. Darwin found two essential problems or shortcomings of the commonly used light carriage or Hungarian carriage. First, the front wheels were turned by a pivoting front axle, which had been used for years, but these wheels were often quite small and hence the rider, carriage and horse felt the brunt of every bump on the road. Secondly, he recognized the danger of overturning.
Apivoting front axle changes a carriage's base from a rectangle to a triangle because the wheel on the inside of the turn is able to turn more sharply than the outside front wheel. Darwin suggested a fix for these insufficiencies by proposing a principle in which the two front wheels turn (independently of the front axle) about a centre that lies on the extended line of the back axle. This idea was later patented in 1818 asAckermann steering. Darwin argued that carriages would then be easier to pull and less likely to overturn.
Carriage use in North America came with the establishment of European settlers. Early colonial horse tracks quickly grew into roads especially as the colonists extended their territories southwest. Colonists began using carts as these roads and trading increased between the north and south. Eventually, carriages or coaches were sought to transport goods as well as people. As in Europe, chariots, coaches and carriages were a mark of status. The tobacco planters of the South were some of the first Americans to use the carriage as a form of human transportation. As the tobacco farming industry grew in the southern colonies so did the frequency of carriages, coaches and wagons. Upon the turn of the 18th century, wheeled vehicle use in the colonies was at an all-time high. Carriages, coaches and wagons were being taxed based on the number of wheels they had. These taxes were implemented in the South primarily as the South had superior numbers of horses and wheeled vehicles when compared to the North. Europe, however, still used carriage transportation far more often and on a much larger scale than anywhere else in the world.
Carriages and coaches began to disappear as use of steam propulsion began to generate more and more interest and research. Steam power quickly won the battle against animal power as is evident by a newspaper article written in England in 1895 entitled "Horseflesh vs. Steam".[17][18] The article highlights the death of the carriage as the main means of transportation.
Carriages are still used for day-to-day transport in the United States by some groups such as theAmish, and they are used in urban centers around the world for tourists and sightseeing. TheRoyal Mews in London holds a large collection of coaches and carriages regularly used by theRoyal Household, particularly during ceremonial events such as the carriage processions at the beginning of each day ofRoyal Ascot.
Carriages may be enclosed or open, depending on the type.[19] The top cover for the body of a carriage is called thehead orhood, and is sometimes flexible and designed to be folded back when desired. Such a folding top is called abellows top orcalash. Ahoopstick forms a light framing member for this kind of hood. The top, roof or second-story compartment of a coach was called animperial. A closed carriage may have side windows calledquarter lights (British) as well as windows in the doors, hence a "glass coach". On the forepart of an open carriage, a screen of wood or leather called adashboard intercepts water, mud or snow thrown up by the heels of the horses. The dashboard or carriage top sometimes has a projecting sidepiece called awing (British). Afoot iron orfootplate may serve as a carriage step.
Thedrivers seat for acoachman was in front of the carriage body, whilefootmen stood on a footboard or sat on a seat behind the body. If either seat was raised on an iron frame and not built as part of the carriage body, it was given the name ofdickey-seat. Originally, the dickey was in the rear, but by the early 1900s the front seat was being called a dickey. Aboot was a place for luggage or other storage, and was sometimes built under a driver's or footman's seat, unlike the raised dickey seats. The earliest boots were projections wherein passengers put their feet, hence the nameboot. When a boot was constructed under the driver's seat, it was called abox seat. The modern terms for the seat upon which the driver sits arebox andbox seat, even when the carriage style is owner-driven[a] rather than coachman-driven.[20]: 337 [21]: 32, 33, 105 [22]: 184
Passenger seating in carriages include the following terminology and arrangements:[20]: 382–383
The shafts of a carriage were calledlimbers in English dialect.Lancewood, a tough elastic wood of various trees, was often used especially for carriage shafts. Aholdback, consisting of an iron catch on the shaft with a looped strap, enables a horse to back or hold back the vehicle. The end of the tongue of a carriage is suspended from the collars of the harness by a bar called theyoke. At the end of atrace, a loop called acockeye attaches to the carriage.
In some carriage types, the body is suspended by several leather straps calledthoroughbraces orbraces which serve as springs.
Beneath the carriage body is theundergear orundercarriage (or simplycarriage), consisting of the running gear and chassis.[23] The wheels and axles, in distinction from the body, are therunning gear. The wheels revolve upon bearings or a spindle at the ends of a bar or beam called anaxle oraxletree. Most carriages have either one or two axles. On a four-wheeled vehicle, the forward part of the running gear, orforecarriage, is arranged to permit the front axle to turn independently of the fixed rear axle. In some carriages adropped axle, bent twice at a right angle near the ends, allows for a low body with large wheels. A guard called adirtboard keeps dirt from the axle arm.
Several structural members form parts of the chassis supporting the carriage body. The fore axletree and the splinter bar above it (supporting the springs) are united by a piece of wood or metal called afutchel, which forms a socket for the pole that extends from the front axle. For strength and support, a rod called thebackstay may extend from either end of the rear axle to the reach, the pole or rod joining the hind axle to the forward bolster above the front axle.
A skid called adrag,dragshoe,shoe orskidpan retards the motion of the wheels. A London patent of 1841 describes one such apparatus: "An iron-shod beam, slightly longer than the radius of the wheel, is hinged under the axle so that when it is released to strike the ground the forward momentum of the vehicle wedges it against the axle". The original feature of this modification was that instead of the usual practice of having to stop the carriage to retract the beam and so lose useful momentum the chain holding it in place is released (from the driver's position) so that it is allowed to rotate further in its backwards direction, releasing the axle. A system of "pendant-levers" and straps then allows the beam to return to its first position and be ready for further use.[24]
A catch or block called atrigger may be used to hold a wheel on an incline.
A horizontal wheel or segment of a wheel called afifth wheel sometimes forms an extended support to prevent the carriage from tipping; it consists of two parts rotating on each other about the kingbolt or perchbolt above the fore axle and beneath the body. A block of wood called aheadblock might be placed between the fifth wheel and the forward spring.
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The basic parts of a wheel are nave (or hub), spokes, felloes (felly) and tyre (tire).[25][21]
In a wooden-wheel, thenave is the central block. It acts as thehub. One end of each spoke is set into the nave with amortise and tenon joint. In older wheels, the nave had a 6-inch sleeve that fit over the axle to keep the wheel from wobbling; it required frequent greasing. Modern wheels usemetal bearings in the hub.[21]: 197 [25]: 232
Spokes are the pieces that fit into the nave or hub at the center, radiate outwards, and join into the felloes at the outer edge.[21]: 251 [25]: 233
In a wooden-wheel, afelloe is one of several curved pieces of wood that are pieced together in a circle to make the rim of a wheel. They are fitted onto the outer ends of the spokes. Sometimes spelled "felly".[21]: 119 [25]: 231 The number of felloes required to make a circle varied by region, era and size of wheel—with a minimum of two half-circles of bent wood, to multiple felloes per wheel with at least two spokes per felloe.[25]: 83 Felloes are part of woodjoinery and are only seen in wooden wheels, not modern metal carriage wheels.
Therim is the outer edge of a wheel, although some refer to the tyre as rim.[25]: 233
Thetyre ortire is a protective strip that goes outside the felloes. Tyres were make of iron or steel, usually as a hoop and fitted hot around the rim. As it cooled and shrank it tightened the joints of the spokes-to-felloes and spokes-to-nave, strengthening the wheel and making it more rigid.[21]: 158 Metal tyres are very noisy on hard road surfaces, so many carriages wheels were made with solid rubber tyres fitted into a metal channel.[21]: 71, 162, 298
Modern sport carriages such as themarathon carriage have hard rubber tires and all metal wheels. Some lightweight carriages, such as thesulky, have metal "bicycle spokes" and pneumatic tires.
Due to age or dry climate, a wooden wheel would shrink and metal hoop tyres would become loose. Routinely, the hoop would be removed by awheelwright, 'shrunk', heated and refitted to make the wheel tight again. Tools to shrink the hoops were called "tire upsetters" or "tire shrinkers".[26][27]
Originally, the wordfittings referred to metal elements such as bolts and brackets,furnishings leaned more to leatherwork and upholstery or referred to metal buckles on harness, andappointments were things brought to a carriage but not part of it, however all of these words have blended together over time and are often used interchangeably to mean the smaller components or parts of a carriage or equipment.[21]: 7 All the shiny metal fittings on a vehicle should be one color, such as brass (yellow) or nickel (white), and should match the buckle color of any harness used with the vehicle.[21]: 130 Early bodies ofhorseless carriages were constructed by coachmakers using the same parts used in carriages and coaches, and some horse carriage terminology has survived in modern automobiles.
"We must not forget that the early railway carriages were basically mail-coaches on iron wheels, and the early motor-cars differed from the horse-drawn wagonette or coupe only in so far that there was no horse tied to it." —László Tarr inThe History of the Carriage[1]: 295
The carriage driver is called awhip. A person whose business was to drive a carriage was acoachman. A person dressed inlivery is called afootman. An attendant on horseback called anoutrider. Acarriage starter directed the flow of vehicles taking on passengers at the curbside. Ahackneyman hired out horses and carriages.
Upper-class people of wealth and social position, those wealthy enough to keep carriages, were referred to ascarriage folk orcarriage trade.
Carriage passengers often used alap robe as a blanket or similar covering for their legs, lap and feet.
A horse especially bred for carriage use by appearance and stylish action is called acarriage horse; one for use on a road is aroad horse. One such breed is theCleveland Bay, uniformlybay in color, of good conformation and strong constitution. Horses were broken in using a bodiless carriage frame called abreak orbrake.
Acarriage dog orcoach dog is bred for running beside a carriage.
A roofed structure that extends from the entrance of a building over an adjacent driveway and that shelters callers as they get in or out of their vehicles is known as acarriage porch orporte cochere. An outbuilding for a carriage is acoach house, which was often combined with accommodation for agroom or other servants.
Alivery stable kept horses and usually carriages for hire. A range of stables, usually withcarriage houses (remises) and living quarters built around a yard, court or street, is called amews.
A kind of dynamometer called apeirameter indicates the power necessary to haul a carriage over a road or track.
Driving is a competitive equestrian sport. Manyhorse shows have driving competitions for a particular style of driving, breed of horse, or type of vehicle. Show vehicles are usually carriages,carts, orbuggies and, occasionally,sulkies orwagons. Modern high-technology carriages are made purely for competition, often calledmarathon carriages.
Internationally, there is intense competition in the all-round test of driving calledcombined driving or horse-driving trials, an equestrian discipline regulated by theInternational Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) with national organizations representing each member country.World championships are conducted in alternate years, including single-horse, horse pairs and four-in-hand championships. TheWorld Equestrian Games, held at four-year intervals, also includes a four-in-hand competition. Forpony drivers, theWorld Combined Pony Championships are held every two years and include singles, pairs and four-in-hand events.
Numerous varieties of horse-drawn carriages existed, Arthur Ingram'sHorse Drawn Vehicles since 1760 in Colour lists 325 types with a short description of each. By the early 19th century one's choice of carriage was only in part based on practicality and performance; it was also a status statement and subject to changing fashions.
