CARRIAGES & COACHES
[Illustration]
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
BIOGRAPHICAL
ROBERT DODSLEY: POET, PUBLISHER AND PLAYWRIGHT
JOHN BASKERVILLE: A MEMOIR [with R. K. Dent]
NOVELS
THE PRISON WITHOUT A WALL
THE SCANDALOUS MR. WALDO
THE LITTLE GOD’S DRUM
THE MAN APART
PAMPHLETS
THE DUST WHICH IS GOD
5000 A.D.
CARRIAGES
& COACHES
THEIR HISTORY &
THEIR EVOLUTION
_By Ralph Straus_
FULLY ILLUSTRATED WITH REPRODUCTIONS
FROM OLD PRINTS, CONTEMPORARY
DRAWINGS & PHOTOGRAPHS
LONDON: _Published by_ MARTIN
SECKER _at Number Five
John Street_ ADELPHI _mcmxii_
PRINTED BY
WILLIAM BRENDON AND SON, LTD.
PLYMOUTH
[Illustration: _The State Coach of Great Britain_]
To
B. S. S.
_Contents_
CHAPTER PAGE
I. THE PRIMITIVE VEHICLE 17
II. THE AGE OF LITTERS 42
III. THE INTRODUCTION OF THE COACH 56
IV. INTERLUDE OF THE CHAIR 85
V. SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY INNOVATIONS 109
VI. EARLY GEORGIAN CARRIAGES 147
VII. THE WAR OF THE WHEELS 176
VIII. THE AGE OF TRANSITION 204
IX. INVENTIONS GALORE 227
X. MODERN CARRIAGES 255
INDEX 287
_List of Illustrations_
THE STATE COACH OF GREAT BRITAIN _Frontispiece_
TYPES OF PRIMITIVE CARTS _facing page_ 20
ASSYRIAN CHARIOT ” ” 22
CISIUM ” ” 30
CARPENTUM ” ” 30
PILENTUM ” ” 32
BENNA ” ” 32
_Fourteenth Century English Carriage_ ” ” 46
FOURTEENTH CENTURY REAPER’S CART ” ” 46
ELIZABETHAN CARRIAGES ” ” 70
NEAPOLITAN SEDAN-CHAIR ” ” 100
THE “SOCIAL PINCH” ” ” 104
SEDANS ” ” 104
COACH IN THE TIME OF CHARLES I ” ” 112
COACH IN THE TIME OF CHARLES II ” ” 112
EARLY FRENCH GIG ” ” 136
EARLY ITALIAN GIG ” ” 142
THE STATE CARRIAGE OF BAVARIA ” ” 148
THE DARNLEY CHARIOT ” ” 152
QUEEN ANNE’S PROCESSION TO THE CATHEDRAL OF S. PAUL ” ” 158
“THE CARRIAGE MATCH” ” ” 190
“PHAETONA, OR MODERN FEMALE TASTE” ” ” 196
“SIR GREGORY GIGG” ” ” 196
GEORGE III’S POSTING CHARIOT ” ” 206
THE LORD CHANCELLOR OF IRELAND’S COACH ” ” 208
“ENGLISH TRAVELLING, OR THE FIRST STAGE FROM DOVER” ” ” 216
“FRENCH TRAVELLING, OR THE FIRST STAGE FROM CALAIS” ” ” 218
EARLY AMERICAN SHAY ” ” 220
ENGLISH POSTING CHARIOT ” ” 220
BAROUCHE ” ” 232
LANDAULET ” ” 232
STANHOPE ” ” 234
TILBURY ” ” 234
CABRIOLET ” ” 234
“THE COFFIN-CAB” ” ” 246
LONDON CAB OF 1823 ” ” 246
DIOROPHA ” ” 252
BROUGHAM IN 1859 ” ” 252
EDWARD VII’S CORONATION LANDAU ” ” 258
DRESS COACH, 1860 ” ” 260
ENGLISH STATE CARRIAGE, 1911 ” ” 260
“PRINCESS VICTORIA IN HER PONY PHAETON” ” ” 266
CANOE-SHAPED LANDAU ” ” 268
DRAG ” ” 268
MODERN AMERICAN STATION WAGON ” ” 274
MODERN AMERICAN BUGGY ” ” 274
_Preface_
I am not a coachbuilder. Though such a pronouncement will seem entirely
superfluous to any coachbuilder who reads the following pages, it
is not perhaps a wholly unnecessary remark. For, with one or two
exceptions, such books upon the evolution or structure of vehicles as
have been written have been the work of industrious coachbuilders.
And I have not the least doubt that they are eminently the fit and
proper folk to carry out any such task. It is a melancholy fact,
however, that useful though these books may be to coachbuilders, they
lack, again with one or two exceptions, any general interest to the
layman. The language in which they are written is, to say the least,
peculiar, and the authors have obviously had small training in the art
of book-making. On the other hand, there is a whole library of books
dealing with the old stage and mail coaches, with all the romance and
adventure of the roads, packed with delightful anecdotes and personal
reminiscences. But such books hardly touch upon the structure of the
coaches themselves, and, so far as I know, there is no book entirely
devoted to a non-technical description of carriages in general, based
upon a chronological arrangement.
The nearest approach to such a book is Mr. G. A. Thrupp’s _The History
of Coaches_, published in 1877, a meritorious undertaking from which
I have freely quoted. Here, however, there are numerous gaps which I
have endeavoured to fill, and the various lectures from which it was
composed do not fit together so aptly as might be. As a whole, it is
diffuse. Sir Walter Gilbey’s two books, _Early Carriages and Roads_ and
_Modern Carriages_, have also been of great assistance, but here, too,
the ground covered is not so large as in the following pages. Other
pamphlets and small books have appeared in this country, but seemingly
owe a great deal of their information to Mr. Thrupp’s work. Indeed, I
notice that some of the authors have been almost criminally forgetful
of their inverted commas. For purely technical details there are, of
course, many books and trade papers to consult; but with these I have
not been concerned.
In the present book there are, indeed, large gaps, and it is not to be
taken either as a manual of the art of coach-building or as a history
of locomotion. It is merely a book about carriages, in which particular
regard has been paid to chronological sequence, and particular
attention to such individual carriages as have at all withstood the
test of social history. And it is written by a layman who, until he
enquired into the subject, had never looked at a carriage with any
particular emotion. The result of his labours, therefore, is not meant
for the expert, but for the general reader, who may have pondered over
the various vehicles he has seen, and idly wondered how they may have
been evolved.
Where possible, I have endeavoured to quote from contemporary authors
and documents. Most of such quotations are now included in a carriage
book for the first time.
I wish to thank the various publishers and authors who have given me
permission to reprint illustrations of carriages in books published
or written by them. Also I am obliged to Messrs. Maggs Bros., the
well-known booksellers, for permission to photograph a rare print
entitled _The Carriage Match_, in their possession.
RALPH STRAUS.
BADMINTON CLUB, _August, 1912_.
_Chapter the First_
_THE PRIMITIVE VEHICLE_
“This is a traveller, sir, knows men and
Manners, and has plough’d up sea so far,
Till both the poles have knock’d; has seen the sun
Take coach, and can distinguish the colour
Of his horses, and their kinds.”
_Beaumont and Fletcher._
It has been suggested that although in a generality of cases nature
has forestalled the ingenious mechanician, man for his wheel has had
to evolve an apparatus which has no counterpart in his primitive
environment—in other words, that there is nothing in nature which
corresponds to the _wheel_. Yet even the most superficial inquiry
into the nature of the earliest vehicles must do much to refute such
a suggestion. Primitive wheels were simply thick logs cut from a
tree-trunk, probably for firewood. At some time or another these logs
must have rolled of their own accord from a higher to a lower piece of
ground, and from man’s observation of this simple phenomenon must have
come the first idea of a wheel. If a round object could roll of its own
accord, it could also be made to roll.
Yet it is to be noticed that the earliest methods of locomotion, other
than those purely muscular, such as walking and riding, knew nothing of
wheels. Such methods depended primarily upon the enormously significant
discovery that a man could drag a heavier weight than he could carry,
and what applied to a man also applied to a beast. Possibly such
discovery followed on the mere observation of objects being carried
down the stream of some river, and perhaps a rudely constructed raft
should be considered to be the earliest form of vehicle. From the raft
proper to a raft to be used upon land was but a step, and the first
land vehicle, whenever or wherever it was made, assuredly took a form
which to this day is in common use in some countries. This was the
sledge. On a sledge heavy loads could be dragged over the ground, and
experience sooner or later must have shown what was the best form of
apparatus for such work. As so often happens, moreover, in mechanical
contrivances, the earliest sledge of which there is record—a
sculptured representation in an Egyptian temple—bears a remarkable
resemblance to those in use at the present time.[1] Then, as now, men
used two long runners with upturned ends in front and cross-pieces to
unite them and bear the load. Such sledges were largely used to convey
the huge stones with which the Egyptians raised their solemn masses
of masonry and, incidentally, also as a hearse. In time, however, it
was found that better results were obtained by the use of another and
rather more complicated apparatus which had for its chief component—a
wheel. This second discovery that to roll a burden proved an easier
task than to drag it was fraught with such tremendous consequences as
altered the entire history of the world.
It remained to find a better fulcrum than that afforded by the rough
turf over which such logs, when burdened, were rolled. What probably
followed is well described by Bridges Adams.[2] “The next process,”
he thinks, “would naturally be that of cutting a hole through the
roller in which to insert the lever. The convenience of several holes
in the circumference of the roller would then become apparent, and
there would be formed an embryo wheel nave. It could not fail to be
remarked also, that the larger the roller, the greater the facility
for turning it, and consequently the greater the load that could be
borne upon it.” Owing to the difficulty of using such large logs, he
goes on to suggest, a time would come when it was found that a roller
need not bear upon the ground throughout its length, but only at its
extremities. So from the single roller would be evolved two rough
wheels joined by a beam, square at first though afterwards rounded,
upon which could be fixed a frame for the load.
Such axle and wheels would revolve together and keep the required
position by means of pieces of wood which may be compared with the
thole-pins of a boat. And it is a remarkable fact that until last
century such primitive carts were in use in Portugal and parts of South
America. The chief drawback to a vehicle of this kind is its inability
to turn in a small space, and the pioneers, whoever they were, finally
discovered the principle of the fixed axle-tree, the wheels revolving
upon their own centre. So, “instead of fixing the cross-beam or axle
in a square hole,” these pioneers “would contrive it to play easily
in a round one of a conical form, that being the easiest form of
adjustment.” Such a car as this, with solid wheels and a rude frame,
was used by the Romans, and is still to be seen in parts of Chili. The
next process in the evolution of the wheel doubtless followed upon the
necessity of economising with large sections of wood, and there was
finally invented a wheel made of three portions—a central pierced
part, the nave, an outside circular piece, the rim or felloe, and two
or more cross-pieces, joining the two, the spokes. Of these the felloes
would tend to wear soonest, and a double set would be applied to the
spokes, as was the case until recently in the ox-carts of the Pampas,
or _barcos de tierra_, as they were called by the natives.
And indeed, the first carriages of which we have particular
information, the chariots of the Egyptians and their neighbours,
differ essentially from such primitive carts only in the delicacy and
ornamentation of the carriage body.
[Illustration: _Types of Primitive Carts_]
Various vehicles are mentioned in the Bible, though one must be chary
of differentiating between them merely because the translators have
given them different names. Both waggons and chariots are mentioned in
Genesis. Jacob’s family were sent to him in a waggon. Joseph rode
in the second chariot of Pharaoh as a particular mark of favour. At
the time of the Exodus, war-chariots formed an important part of the
Egyptian army, and indeed, right through the various dynasties, there
is an almost continuous mention of their use.[3] “The deft craftsmen of
Egypt,” says Breasted,[4] “soon mastered the art of chariot-making, and
the stables of the Pharaoh contained thousands of the best horses to be
had in Asia.” About 1500 B.C. Thutmose III went forth to battle in “a
glittering chariot of electrum.” He slew the enemy’s leader, and took
captive their princes and “their chariots, wrought with gold, bound to
their horses.” These barbarians also had “chariots of silver,” though
this probably means that they were built of wood and strengthened or
decorated with silver. At the dissolution of the Empire the Hittites
had increased wonderfully in power, and it is told of them that they
excelled all other nations in the art of chariotry. The Hittite chariot
was larger and more heavily built than that of the Egyptians, as it
bore three men, driver, bowman, and shield-bearer, while the Egyptian
was satisfied with two. The enormous number of chariots used in warfare
is shown by the fact that in the fourteenth century before Christ, when
the Egyptians defeated the Syrians at Megiddo, nearly a thousand were
captured, and against Ramses II the Hittites put no less than 2500 into
the field.
“The Egyptian chariots,” says H. A. White,[5] “were of
light and simple construction, the material employed being
wood, as is proved by sculptures representing the manufacture
of chariots. The axle was set far back, and the bottom of
the car, which rested on this and on the pole, was sometimes
formed of a frame interlaced with a network of thongs or
ropes. The chariot was entirely open behind and for the
greater part of the sides, which were formed by a curved rail
rising from each side of the back of the base, and resting
on a wooden upright above the pole in front. From this rail,
which was strengthened by leather thongs, a bow-case of
leather, often richly ornamented, hung on the right-hand side,
slanting forwards; while the quiver and spear cases inclined
in the opposite direction. The wheels, which were fastened on
the axle by a linch-pin secured with a short thong, had six
spokes in the case of war chariots, but in private vehicles
sometimes only four.[6] The pole sloped upwards, and to the
end of it a curved yoke was attached. A small saddle at each
end of the yoke rested on the withers of the horses, and was
secured in its place by breast-band and girth. No traces are
to be seen. The bridle was often ornamented; a bearing-rein
was fastened to the saddle, and the other reins passed through
a ring at the side of this. The number of horses to a chariot
seems always to have been two; and in the car, which contained
no seat, only rarely are more than two persons depicted,
except in triumphal processions.
[Illustration: _Assyrian Chariot_
(_From Smith’s “Concise History of English Carriages”_)]
“Assyrian chariots did not differ in any essential points
from the Egyptian.[7] They were, however, completely
panelled at the sides, and a shield was sometimes hung at
the back. The wheels had six, or, at a later period, eight
spokes; the felloes were broad, and seem to have been formed
of three distinct circles of wood, sometimes surrounded by a
metal tyre. While only two horses were attached to the yokes,
in the older monuments a third horse is generally to be seen,
which was probably used as a reserve. The later chariots
are square in front, not rounded; the car itself is larger
and higher; the cases for the weapons are placed in front,
not at the side; and only two horses are used. The harness
differs somewhat from the Egyptian. A broad collar passes
round the neck, from which hangs a breast ornament, the whole
being secured by a triple strap under the belly of the horse.
As in Egypt there are no traces visible; two driving-reins
are attached to each horse, but the bearing-rein seems to
be unknown. In addition to the warrior and the charioteer,
we often see a third man who bears a shield; and a fourth
occupant of the chariot sometimes appears.
“The Hittite chariots, as represented on Egyptian monuments,
regularly contain three warriors. In construction they are
plainer and more solid than the Egyptian, and the sides are
not open. The chariots on Persian sculptures closely resemble
the Assyrian.”
There is still preserved in the Archæological Museum at Florence an
Egyptian chariot, a light, simple, two-wheeled affair with a single
shaft and four spokes to the wheels. From the number of spokes it may
be supposed that this particular chariot was not used in war. In New
York, too, there is preserved the wheel of an Egyptian chariot found
at Dashour. The particulars of this bear out Mr. White’s description.
The wheel itself is three feet high, with a long axle arm, six spokes,
tapering towards the felloe, and a double rim. “The six inner felloes
do not meet as in modern wheels,” says Thrupp,[8] “but are spliced one
over the other, with an overlap of three inches.”
Artificial roads seem to have existed at an early period in Palestine,
but the country was hardly suitable for vehicles, and one first hears
of waggons in the flatter wastes of Egypt and the level plains of
Philistia. Agricultural carts these were, though no doubt early used
for passenger traffic. Some of these carts were most probably covered,
though no coverings seem to have been fixed to the chariots. The
Assyrians, however, occasionally took into their private chariots an
attendant, who was provided with a covering shaped somewhat like a
modern umbrella. This covering was held over the owner’s head, and was
sometimes provided with a curtain which hung down at the back.
Details of the private carriages in use during these Biblical times
filter through the chronicles. In Syria the merchants despatched by
Solomon to buy chariots had to pay 600 shekels each for them. Solomon
in his quest for luxury seems to have been the first man to build a
more elaborate car than satisfied his contemporaries. One to be used
on state occasions was built of cedar wood and had “pillars of gold.”
Probably it was some form of litter. The number of private cars was
increasing enormously in all these Eastern cities. The prophet Nahum
in lamenting the future woes of Nineveh speaks of “the noise of the
whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the prancing
horses, and of the jumping chariots,” which will no longer bear witness
to the city’s prosperity. The absence of wide roads, however, militated
against great changes of form in the carriages, which maintained their
simple shape until many centuries later.
The war-chariot (ἄρμα or δίφρος) of the early Greeks was curved in
front, and loftier than that of the Egyptians. The entrance was at the
back. It was never covered, but frequently bore a curious basket-like
arrangement, the πείρινς, upon or in which two people could sit. The
ἄντυξ, or rim, in most cases ran round the three sides of the body, but
occasionally there was only a curved barrier in front. The body itself
was often strengthened by a trellis-work of strips of light wood or
metal. The barrier was of varying height; in some chariots it did not
reach above the driver’s knee; in others it came up to his waist, but
in war-chariots never higher than that. The axle was of oak, ash, elm,
or even of iron, and precious metals, according to the legend, were
used for the chariots of the gods. So of Juno’s car we read:—
“The whirling wheels are to the chariot hung.
On the bright axle turns the bidden wheel
Of sounding brass: the polish’d axle steel.
Eight brazen spokes in radiant order flame;
The circles gold, of uncorrupted frame,
Such as the heavens produce; and round the gold
Two brazen rings of work divine were roll’d.
The bossy naves of solid silver shone;
Braces of gold suspend the moving throne.”
The last line suggests an innovation which was certainly not followed
for some considerable time.
The chariot in general was about seven feet long, and could be lifted
by a strong man like Diomed. Indeed, it could be driven over the bodies
of dead warriors. The pole sloped sharply upwards, and sometimes ended
in the head of a bird or animal. It emerged either from the floor of
the car or from the axle. Towards its end the yoke for the horses was
fastened about a pin fixed into it. Though the Lydians used chariots
with two or even three poles, the Greeks never had more than one; and
as with the Egyptians, there were no traces. If the pole broke, the
horses must have dashed away with part of it, leaving the chariot at a
standstill. Occasionally, too, a third horse was used, upon which sat a
postilion.
At a later period several Grecian carriages were in common use,
though not in warfare. Representations of such cars are to be found
on the Elgin Marbles. And, as was the case a dozen or more centuries
afterwards, the carriage became the outward sign of luxury. It
invariably appeared in the state processions, and was made the
receptacle for the most gorgeous ornamentation. Gold, ebony, copper,
ivory, and white lead were all used for this purpose, while the
interiors of the cars were made comfortable with soft cushions and fine
tapestries. They appeared, too, in great numbers at the famous chariot
races, at which four or more horses were driven abreast. Often the same
man was rich enough to possess more than one carriage. So we read of
Xerxes changing from his ἄρμα to his ἁρμάμαξα, or state-carriage, at
the end of a march. Besides these, there were also the ἀπήνη, a kind of
family sociable, the ἅμαξα, a waggon, the κάναθρον, and the φορεῖον, or
litter.
The ἁρμάμαξα was a large four-wheeled waggon, enclosed by curtains and
provided with a καμάρα or roof. Four or more horses were required to
draw it. It was so large that a person could lie in it at full length,
and, indeed, on many occasions it acted the part of a hearse. By far
the most extraordinary hearse ever built was a ἁρμάμαξα used to convey
the body of Alexander the Great—himself the possessor of numerous
carriages—from Babylon to Alexandria.
“It was prepared,” says Thrupp, “during two years, and was
designed by the celebrated architect and engineer Hieronymus.
It was 18 feet long and 12 feet wide, on four massive wheels,
and drawn by sixty-four mules, eight abreast. The car was
composed of a platform with a lofty roof supported by eighteen
columns, and was profusely adorned with drapery and gold and
jewels; round the edge of the roof was a row of golden bells;
in the centre was a throne, and before it the coffin; around
were placed the weapons of war and the arms that Alexander had
used.”
The ἁρμάμαξα was also largely used by the ladies of Greece, who when
they drove forth were careful to see that the curtains completely
enclosed them. The ἅμαξα, also a four-wheeled waggon, was probably
similar to the ἁρμάμαξα, though built upon a less imposing scale. The
ἀπήνη was a still lighter carriage. It is described by Herodotus, and
seems to have been a covered vehicle surrounded by silken curtains
which could be pulled back when required. Its interior was generally
furnished with cushions of goat leather. Two wheels were more frequent,
but four were sometimes found. It was said that Timoleon, an old blind
man, drove upon one occasion into the senate house and delivered a
speech from his ἀπήνη. In some cases a two-wheeled carriage of this
kind was not furnished with curtains, but enclosed in an oval-shaped
covering of basket-work. Hesiod objected to such a conveyance because
of its inability to keep out the dust. Little is known of the κάναθρον,
but it was a Laconian car made of wood, with an arched, plaited
covering, used chiefly by women. Doubtless it was little different from
the ἀπήνη.
Coming to the Romans, we find a far greater variety of vehicles, though
the descriptions that have come down are meagre and not particularly
distinctive. That the Romans early realised the enormous importance,
both military and otherwise, of carriages, is shown by their amazing
roads. Such roads had never before been constructed. They were, says
Gibbon, “accurately divided by milestones, and ran in a direct line
from one city to another, with very little respect for the obstacles,
either of nature or private property. Mountains were perforated, and
bold arches thrown over the broadest and most rapid streams. The
middle part of the road was raised into a terrace, which commanded the
adjacent country, consisted of several layers of sand, gravel, and
cement, and was paved with large stones, or, in some places near the
capital, with granite.” Probably the most famous of these roads was the
Appian Way, connecting Rome with Capua. It was wide enough, according
to Procopius, who marched along it in the sixth century, for two
chariots to pass one another without inconvenience or delay, a matter
certainly not possible, for instance, in most of the Eastern cities
at that time. And so, with the finest engineers the world had seen
linking up various cities, cross-country travelling in a carriage, from
being well-nigh impossible, became comparatively easy. Gibbon mentions
in this connection the surprising feat of one Cæsarius, who journeyed
from Antioch to Constantinople, a distance of 665 miles, in six days.
The Roman war-chariot, or _currus_, was practically the same as the
Greek ἄρμα, though certain modifications were introduced. More than two
horses were driven, and from their number came several words, such as
_sejugis_, _octojugis_, and _decemjugis_, which sufficiently explain
themselves. It appears, moreover, that the _currus_ was occasionally
driven by four horses without either pole or yoke, and it has been
suggested that in such a case the driver probably stopped the car by
bearing all his weight on to the back of the body, so that its floor
would touch the ground, thus forming a primitive brake. Besides the
_currus_, and even before their marvellous roads had been laid down,
the Romans possessed other cars. The earliest of these seems to have
been a long, covered, four-wheeled waggon, called _arcera_, which was
mainly used to carry infirm or very old people. In this the driver sat
on a seat in front of the body, and drove two horses abreast. Though
the most ancient of the Roman carriages, the _arcera_, as seen on
monuments, has a very modern appearance. In more luxurious times the
_lectica_, a large litter, seems to have led to its gradual extinction.
The _essedum_, at one time very popular in Italy, was brought in the
first place to Rome by Julius Cæsar. It was the war-chariot of the
Britons, and was entirely unlike the Roman or Egyptian cars. The wheels
were much larger, the entrance was in front and not at the back,
there was a seat, and the pole, instead of running up to the horses’
necks, remained horizontal, and was so wide that the driver could step
along it. The British charioteers could drive their cars at a very
great rate, and were exceedingly agile on the flat pole, from the
extremity of which they threw their missiles. The cars were purposely
made as noisy as possible to strike dismay into the enemy’s lines. At
times the wheels were furnished with scythes, which projected from the
axle-tree ends, and helped to maim those unfortunate enough to be run
down.[9] Cicero, hearing good opinions of it, besought a friend to
bring him a good pattern from Britain, and took occasion to add that
the chariot was the only pleasing thing which that benighted country
produced. The _essedum_ speedily became popular in Rome, though not as
an engine of war. Decorated and constructed of fine materials, it was
the fashionable pleasure carriage. Curiously enough, however, the seat
which had been so conspicuous a feature of the chariot in its native
place was not used in Rome. The owner drove the _essedum_ himself, and
yoked two horses to the pole. There was some opposition to its use on
the grounds of undue luxury, and a tribune who rode abroad in one was
on that account considered effeminate. Seneca put the _esseda deaurata_
amongst things _quæ matronarum usibus necessaria sint_. Emperors
and generals used them as travelling carriages, and they were to be
hired at regular posting-stations. A somewhat similar carriage, the
_covinus_, was also in use in various countries at this date. This was
covered in except in front; like the _essedum_, it had no seat for
the driver, and in times of war it seems to have had scythes attached
to the axle in the British fashion. Little, however, is known of it,
and it may be dismissed here with a mere mention of its existence.
[Illustration: _Cisium_
_The Primitive Gig_
(_From a Roman Inscription_)]
[Illustration: _Agrippina’s Carpentum_
(_From a Roman Coin_)]
The _essedum_ is of particular importance insomuch as it may be
considered to be the prototype of all the vehicles of the curricle
or gig type. The first of these in use amongst the Romans was the
_cisium_, whose form is well shown on a monumental column near Treves.
It was surprisingly like the ordinary gig of modern times. The body
at first was fixed to the frames, but afterwards seems to have been
suspended by rough traces or straps. The entrance was in front, there
was a seat for two, and underneath this a large box or case. Mules were
generally used to draw it, one, a pair, or, according to Ausonius,
three—in which case a postilion sat on the third horse. They were
built primarily for speed, and were in common use throughout Italy and
Gaul, though the ladies, unwilling to be seen in an uncovered carriage,
drove in other conveyances. The _cisium_ on the whole must have been
comfortable and light. Seneca admits that you could write a letter
easily while driving in one. And in due course the new carriage became
so popular that it could be hired, and the _cisiarii_, or hackney
coachmen, could be penalised for careless driving. Indeed, so very
modern were the Roman ideas upon the question of travel, that there
were certain places at which the _cisium_ was always to be found—a
kind of primitive cab-rank.
Coming to the larger waggons and carriages, there were the _sarracum_,
the _plaustrum_, the _carpentum_, the _pilentum_, the _benna_, the
_reda_, the _carruca_, the _pegma_—a huge wheeled apparatus used for
raising great weights, particularly in theatrical displays—and a
mule-drawn litter, the _basterna_. Of these the _sarracum_ was a common
cart used by the country folk for conveying produce. It had either two
or four wheels, and was occasionally used by passengers, though, as
Cicero observed, as a conveyance the _sarracum_ was very vulgar. It was
not confined to Italy, but was common enough amongst those barbaric
tribes against whom Rome was so often victorious. It was in _sarraca_,
moreover, that the bodies were removed from Rome in times of plague.
Rather lighter than this carriage, though heavy enough to our modern
ideas, was the _plaustrum_,[10] an ancient two or four-wheeled waggon
of rude construction. This was, in its primitive form, just a bare
platform with a large pole projecting from the axle; there were no
supporting ribs at all, and the load was simply placed on the platform.
Upright boards, or openwork rails, however, were used to make sides,
and at a later period a large basket was fastened on to the platform
by stout thongs. The wheels of the _plaustrum_ were ordinarily solid,
of a kind called _tympana_, or drums, and were nearly a foot thick.
Such a cart was but a slow vehicle, and could turn only with great
difficulty. It was drawn by oxen or mules, and like the _sarracum_ was
also used to carry passengers.[11]
[Illustration: _Pilentum_
_The State Carriage of the Romans_]
[Illustration: _Benna_]
The _carpentum_, though two-wheeled, bore resemblance to the Greek
ἁρμάμαξα. It had an arched covering. It was in use during very early
times at Rome, though only distinguished citizens were privileged to
ride in it. The _currus arcuatus_, given by Numa to the Flamines,
was no doubt a form of _carpentum_, which was also the travelling
carriage of the elder Tarquin. It seems to have been evolved from
the _plaustrum_, being originally little more than a covered cart;
but in the days of the Empire it became most luxurious, and was not
only furnished with curtains of the richest silk, but seems to have
had solid panellings and sculptures attached to the body. Agrippina’s
_carpentum_, for instance, had fine paintings on its panels, and its
roof was supported by figures at the four corners. Like the ἁρμάμαξα,
it was also used as a hearse. Two mules were required to draw it.
The _pilentum_ was a carriage of a more official character. It may be
called the state coach of the Romans—a four-wheeled becushioned car
with a roof supported by pillars, but, unlike the _carpentum_, open
at the sides. It was always considered to be the most comfortable of
the Roman carriages, and may indeed have been hung upon “swing-poles”
between the wheels. The social difference between the _pilentum_ and
the _carpentum_ may be deduced from one of the many carriage laws
passed by the Senate. The Roman matrons were allowed to drive in the
_carpentum_ on all occasions, but might use the _pilentum_ only at the
games or public festivals. Such “sumptuary laws” were constantly being
passed, and a special vote was even required to enable the mother of
Nero to drive in her carriage in the city itself. It was not until the
fourth century A.D. that all such restrictions were banished.
Pliny mentions another carriage of imperial Rome—the _carruca_, which
had four wheels and was used equally in the city and for long journeys.
Nero travelled with great numbers of them—on one occasion with no
less than three thousand. In Rome itself the fashionable citizen drove
forth in a _carruca_ that was covered with plates of bronze, silver, or
even gold. Enormous sums were spent upon their decoration. Painters,
sculptors, and embroiderers were employed. Martial speaks of an _aurea
carruca_ costing as much as a large farm. The _carruca_, indeed, may
be said to correspond with the phaeton, which was so fashionable in
England towards the end of the eighteenth century. As with the phaeton,
so with the _carruca_—the higher it was built the better pleased
was its owner. Various kinds of _carruca_ existed. The _carrucæ
argentatæ_ were those granted by Alexander Severus to the senators.
There is also mention of a _carruca domestoria_. Unfortunately,
however, no contemporary representation of a carriage can definitely
be said to be a _carruca_. Little enough, moreover, is known of the
two other waggons, the _reda_ and the _benna_. The _reda_ was a large
four-wheeled waggon used mainly to convey agricultural produce. It
seems to have been brought into Italy from Wallachia. The _benna_ was a
cart whose body was formed entirely of basket-work. There is a drawing
of it on the column of Antoninus at Rome. A similar vehicle persists to
this day in Italy, South Germany, and Belgium, and bears a similar name.
Under the Empire, then, carriage-building flourished, particularly
after Alexander Severus had put an end to all the older restrictions.
Various forms of carriages were to be seen on the roads, and there was,
as I have hinted, even an attempt at a spring. One of the carriages
of this period is definitely described as “borne on long poles, fixed
to the axles.” “Now a certain amount of spring,” says Thrupp, “can be
obtained from the centre of a long, light pole. The Neapolitan Calesse,
the Norwegian Carriole, and the Yarmouth Cart were all made with a
view to obtaining ease by suspension on poles between bearings placed
far apart. In these the seat is placed midway between the two wheels
and the horse, on very long shafts, which are there made into wooden
springs.” And in the old Roman carriages, he goes on to say, “the
weight was carried between the front and hind axles, on long poles or
wooden springs. The undercarriage of the later four-wheeled vehicles
used by the Romans was, in all probability, the same as is in use at
the present day, both in this country and on the Continent, and indeed
in America, for the under-carriages of agricultural waggons.” Even with
such splendid roads as the Romans possessed, however, the streets of
their towns do not seem to have been very wide, and this must be one of
the reasons for the early appearance of another kind of conveyance, the
litter, which, during the dark ages, was practically the only carriage
to be used.
These litters came from the East. The Babylonians in particular
preferred to be carried about in a chair or couch rather than to be
jolted in a carriage. Ericthonius, a lame man, is supposed to have
introduced them into Athens, where they were known as φορεῖα or
σκιμπόδια. Speedily they became popular, especially with the women.
Magnificently decorated, the φορεῖον was constantly carried along
the narrow streets, and on being brought over to Rome proved no less
agreeable to the Romans. The _lectica_, or, as it was called at a later
period, the _sella_, may in the first instance have been used to carry
the sick, but in a short time became a common form of conveyance. This
palanquin had an arched roof of leather stretched over four posts.
The sides were covered by curtains, though at a later period it would
seem that crude windows of talc were used. The interior was furnished
with pillows, and when standing the litter rested upon four feet. Two
slaves bore it by means of long poles loosely attached. In Martial’s
time these _lecticarii_ wore red liveries, and were sometimes preceded
by a third slave to make way. Julius Cæsar restricted their numbers,
and in the reign of Claudius permission to use them was granted only
as a particular mark of the royal favour. Several varieties of litter
appeared. The _sella portatoria_ or _gestatoria_ was a small sedan
chair. Some, however, were constructed to hold two. The _cathedra_,
which was probably identical with the _sella muliebris_ mentioned by
Suetonius, was mostly used by women. The _basterna_ was a much larger
litter, also used by women under the Empire, which was carried by two
mules. In this carriage the sides might be opened or closed, and the
whole body was frequently gilded.
A few other primitive carriages here call for mention. The Dacians, who
inhabited parts of what is now Hungary, used square vehicles with four
wheels, in which the six spokes widened towards the rims. The Scythians
used a peculiar two-wheeled cart consisting of a platform on which was
placed a conical covering, resembling in shape a beehive, and made of a
basket-work of hazelwood, over which were stretched the skins of beasts
or a thatching of reeds. When camping out these people would lift this
covering bodily from the cart and use it as a tent. Much the same
custom was followed by the wandering Tartars. “Their huts or tents,”
says Marco Polo, “are formed of rods covered with felt, and being
exactly round and nicely put together, they can gather them into one
bundle, and make them up as packages, which they carry along with them
in their migrations, upon a sort of car with four wheels.” “Besides
these cars,” he continues, “they have a superior kind of vehicle upon
two wheels, covered likewise with black felt, and so effectually as to
protect those within it from wet during a whole day of rain. These
are drawn by oxen and camels, and serve to convey their wives and
children, their utensils, and such provisions as they require.” The
same traveller described the carriages of Southern China. Speaking of
Kin-sai, then the capital, he says, “The main street of the city ...
is paved with stone and brick to the width of ten paces on each side,
the intermediate part being filled up with small gravel, and provided
with arched drains for carrying off the rain-water that falls into the
neighbouring canals, so that it remains always dry. On this gravel it
is that the carriages are continually passing and re-passing. They are
of a long shape, covered at top, having curtains and cushions of silk,
and are capable of holding six persons. Both men and women who feel
disposed to take their pleasure are in the daily practice of hiring
them for that purpose, and accordingly at every hour you may see vast
numbers of them driven along the middle part of the street.” To this
day such carriages as are here described can be had for hire in China,
though in general they are of a smaller size. In some respects they
resembled what is called in this country a tilted cart.
The Persians used large chariots in which was built a kind of turret
from whose interior the warriors could at once throw their spears and
obtain protection. One, taken from an ancient coin, is thus described
by Sir Robert Ker Porter in his _Travels in Georgia, Persia, and
Ancient Babylon_ (1821):—
” ... a large chariot, which is drawn by a magnificent pair of
horses; one of the men, in ampler garments than his compeers,
and bareheaded, holds the bridle of the horses ... [which]
are without trappings, but the details of their bits and the
manner of reining them are executed with the utmost care. The
pole of the car is seen passing behind the horses, projecting
from the centre of the carriage, which is in a cylindrical
shape, elevated rather above the line of the animals’ heads.
The wheel of the car is extremely light and tastefully put
together.”
Here, too, it is to be noticed that the driver is shown with his
arms over the backs of the animals. In another chariot, which most
probably was Persian, the body seems to be made of a “light wood, as of
interlaced canes. Similar chariots are seen in the Assyrian bas-reliefs
and others, somewhat resembling this, on Etruscan and Grecian painted
vases. A chariot thus constituted must have been of extreme rapidity
and of scarcely any weight.”[12]
The Persians also had an idol-car, which was a kind of moving platform,
and their chariots were at one period armed with scythes. These
scythes, generally considered to be the invention of Cyrus, do not seem
to have hung from the axle-ends, as was the case in Britain, but from
the body itself, “in order,” thinks Ginzrot, who wrote on these early
carriages, “to allow the wheels to turn unobstructed. In this way,”
he says, “the scythes had a firm hold, and could inflict more damage
than if they had been applied to the wheels or felloes and revolved
with them. Nearly all writers treating on this subject are of this
opinion, and Curtius says: _Alias deinde falces summis rotarum orbibus
hærebant_ [thence curving downwards]. The scythes could easily have
been attached to the body ... and, notwithstanding, it might be said
they extended over the felloe, for Curtius said, not that the scythes
revolved with the wheels, but _hærebant_.”[13]
Early Indian carriages were probably not very different from some of
those now in use amongst the natives. The common _gharry_ is certainly
built after a primitive model. In this there are two wheels, “a high
axle-tree bed, and a long platform, frequently made of two bamboos,
which join in front and form the pole, to which two oxen are yoked.” In
Arabia there was the _araba_, a primitive latticed carriage for women,
which possessed “wing-guards”—pieces of wood shaped to the top of the
wheels and projecting over them—a feature also to be found in the
early Persian cars.
Taking these early carriages as a whole one may be inclined to feel
surprise at the varieties displayed, yet there were not after all
very great differences between them. They were two-or four-wheeled
contrivances with a long pole in front, and it is only in mere size and
decoration that discrimination can properly be made. “The Egyptians,”
says Thrupp, “with all their learning and skill, appear to have made
no change during the centuries of experience; as at the beginning, so
at the end, the kings stand by the side of their charioteers, or hold
the reins themselves. The Persians and Hindoos introduced luxurious
improvements, and in lofty vehicles elevated the nobles above the
heads of the people, and secluded their women in curtained carriages.
The Greeks introduced no new vehicles, but perfected so successfully
the useful waggon, that their model is still seen throughout Europe,
without change of principle or structure. The Romans, on the other
hand, in their career of conquest, gathered from every nation what was
good, and, wherever possible, improved upon it.” After the fall of the
Roman Empire, however, there was little further progress for several
centuries. In the general retrogression, which, rightly or wrongly, one
associates with those dark ages, the wheeled carriage, in common with a
multitude of other adjuncts to civilisation, was to suffer.
_Chapter the Second_
_THE AGE OF LITTERS_
“There is a litter; lay him in ’t and
drive toward Dover, friend!”
_King Lear._
As roadmakers, the Romans, if they can be said to have had successors
at all, were succeeded by the monks. On the assumption that travellers
were unfortunate people, as indeed they were, needing help, religious
Orders were founded whose chief work was that of building bridges and
repairing the roads. Other Orders likewise performed such tasks, though
possibly for more selfish reasons, being as they were large owners
of cattle, and immersed as much in agricultural as in theological
occupations. So in many parts of Europe the _Pontife_ Brothers, or
bridge-makers, were to be found. There were also Gilds formed to
repair the roads, such as the Gild of the Holy Cross in Birmingham,
founded in the reign of Richard II, which “mainteigned ... and kept
in good reparaciouns the greate stone bridges, and divers foule and
dangerous high wayes, the charge whereof the towne of hitsellfe ys not
hable to mainteigne.” In _Piers the Plowman_, too, the rich merchants
are exhorted to repair the “wikked wayes” and see that the “brygges
to-broke by the heye weyes” may be mended “in som manere wise.” The
maintenance of the roads in England, says M. Jusserand,[14] “greatly
depended upon arbitrary chance, upon opportunity, or on the goodwill
or the devotion of those to whom the adjoining land belonged. In the
case of the roads, as of bridges, we find petitions of private persons
who pray that a tax be levied upon those who pass along, towards
the repair of the road.” So in 1289, Walter Godelak of Walingford
is praying for “the establishment of a custom to be collected from
every cart of merchandize traversing the road between Jowemarsh and
Newenham, on account of the depth, and for the repair, of the said
way.” Unfortunately for him—and doubtless he was no exception to the
rule—the reply came: “The King will do nothing therein.”
Indeed the roads were in a truly abominable condition. As often as
not, deep ruts marred what surface there had ever been, and here
and there brooks and pools rendered easy passage an impossibility.
There is a patent of Edward III (Nov. 20, 1353) which ordered “the
paving of the high road, _alta via_, running from Temple Bar”—then
the western limit of London—“to Westminster.” “This road,” says M.
Jusserand, “had been paved, but the King explains that it is ‘so full
of holes and bogs ... and that the pavement is so damaged and broken’
that the traffic has become very dangerous for men and carriages. In
consequence, he orders each proprietor on both sides of the road to
remake, at his own expense, a footway of seven feet up to the ditch,
_usque canellum_,” and see to it that the middle of the road is well
paved. In France matters were just as bad. “Outside the town of
Paris,” runs one fourteenth-century ordinance, “in several parts of the
suburbs ... there are many notable and ancient high-roads, bridges,
lanes, and roads, which are much injured, damaged or decayed and
otherwise hindered by ravines of water and great stones, by hedges,
brambles, and many other trees which have grown there, and by many
other hindrances which have happened there, because they have not been
maintained and provided for in time past; and they are in such a bad
state that they cannot be securely traversed on foot or horseback, nor
by vehicles, without great perils and inconveniences; and some of them
are abandoned at all parts because men cannot resort there.” Wherefore
it was proposed that the inhabitants should be compelled, by force if
necessary, to attend to the matter.