Carriages & Coaches: Their History & Their EvolutionStraus, Ralph
History
Carriages & Coaches: Their History & Their Evolution
Straus, Ralph
Carriages and carts
Accordingly on the following Sunday, “Mr. Povey sent his coach for
my wife and I to see, which we liked mightily, and will endeavour to
have him get us just such another.” Mr. Povey thought that his own
coachmaker had a replica for sale. Pepys thereupon went down into the
neighbourhood of Lincoln’s Inn Fields, found the man, but learnt to his
disgust that the coach had been sold that very morning. At the end of
the week, however, in company with his friend, he “spent the afternoon
going up and down the coachmakers in Cow Lane, and did see several, and
last did pitch upon a little chariott, whose body was framed, but not
covered, at the widow’s, that made Mr. Lowther’s fine coach; and we are
mightily pleased with it, it being light, and will be very genteel and
sober; to be covered with leather, but yet will hold four. Being much
satisfied with this, I carried him to White Hall. Home, where I give my
wife a good account of the day’s work.”
Having bought the coach, it was necessary to complete the arrangements
about a coach-house, and in the same week Pepys fared forth again for
the purpose.
“This afternoon I did go out towards Sir D. Gauden’s, thinking
to have bespoke a place for my coach and horses, when I
have them, at the Victualling Office; but find the way so
bad and long that I returned, and looked up and down for
places elsewhere, in an inne, which I hope to get with more
convenience than there.”
This not proving satisfactory, Sir Richard Ford was persuaded to lend
his own coach-yard. Then follow in quick succession the other entries:—
“_28th November, 1668._—All the morning at the Office, where,
while I was sitting, one comes and tells me that my coach is
come. So I was forced to go out, and to Sir Richard Ford’s,
where I spoke to him, and he is very willing to have it
brought in, and stand there: and so I ordered it, to my great
content, it being mighty pretty, only the horses do not please
me, and, therefore, resolve to have better.”
“_29th November._—This morning my coachman’s clothes come
home and I like the livery mightily.... Sir W. Warren ...
tells me, as soon as he saw my coach yesterday, he wished that
the owner might not contract envy by it; but I told him it was
now manifestly for my profit to keep a coach, and that, after
employments like mine for eight years, it were hard if I could
not be thought to be justly able to do that.”[32]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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