Thecoaching inn (alsocoaching house orstaging inn) was a vital part of Europe's inland transport infrastructure until thedevelopment of the railway, providing a resting point (layover) for people and horses. Theinn served the needs of travellers, for food, drink, and rest. The attached stables, staffed byhostlers, cared for the horses, including changing a tired team for a fresh one. Coaching inns were used by private travellers in theircoaches, the public ridingstagecoaches between one town and another, and (in England at least) themail coach. Just as withroadhouses in other countries, although many survive, and some still offer overnight accommodation, in general coaching inns have lost their original function and now operate as ordinarypubs.
Coaching inns stabled teams of horses forstagecoaches andmail coaches and replaced tired teams with fresh teams. In America,stage stations performed these functions. Traditionally English coaching inns were seven miles (11 km) apart but this depended very much on the terrain. Some English towns had as many as ten such inns and rivalry between them was intense, not only for the income from the stagecoach operators but for the revenue for food and drink supplied to the passengers.Barnet,Hertfordshire still has an unusually high number of historic pubs along its high street due to its former position on theGreat North Road from London to Scotland.
The Black Lion inCardigan (established 1105) is probably the oldest Welsh coaching inn.[3][better source needed] Other historic inns in Wales include theBlack Boy Inn (built 1522) and the Groes Inn (1573).[citation needed]
The Bear, Oxford, was founded in 1774 as 'The Jolly Trooper' from the house of the stableman to the coaching inn 'The Bear Inn', onHigh Street. It acquired the name The Bear, and the history of the coaching inn, when The Bear Inn was converted into a private house in 1801.[4]
There were many coaching inns in what is nowcentral London. The only remaining one with the galleries to the bedrooms above isThe George Inn, Southwark, owned by theNational Trust and still run as a pub.[5] Many have been demolished and plaques mark their location. TheNomura building close to theMuseum of London onLondon Wall commemorates the "Bull and Mouth" Inn. The Golden Cross House, oppositeSt Martin's in the Fields recalls the Golden Cross, Charing Cross coaching inn.
Other coaching inns lost their customers when the railway replaced the mail coach routes, and were closed down.Chockerup Inn in Western Australia is one example: it was abandoned when theGreat Southern Railway opened in 1889, replacing the coach route between Albany and Perth.
A pair of coaching inns alongWatling Street inStony Stratford are claimed to have given rise to the term "cock and bull stories". The claim is that stories by coach passengers would be further embellished as they passed between the two hostelries, "The Cock" and "The Bull", fuelled by ale and an interested audience. Hence any suspiciously elaborate tale would become a cock and bull story. However, there is no evidence to suggest that this is where the phrase originated.[6] The phrase, first recorded in 1621, may instead be an allusion toAesop's fables, with their incredible talking animals.[7]