Carriages & Coaches: Their History & Their EvolutionStraus, Ralph
History
Carriages & Coaches: Their History & Their Evolution
Straus, Ralph
Carriages and carts
The etymology of this hammercloth, which was simply a covering over
the coach-box, seems to have puzzled people considerably. Most
coachbuilders consider that the box beneath the seat used to contain
a hammer and other tools necessary in case of a breakdown, whence
the name. The anonymous author of the coach-building articles in the
_Carriage Builders’ and Harness-Makers’ Art Journal_ scouts this idea,
and suggests that it is merely a corruption of hamper-cloth—the box
or chest having originally contained a hamper of provisions. The last
advertisement quoted above gives hammock-cloth, which vaguely
suggests suspension of a kind. It is perhaps not a very important
question.
[Illustration: _Queen Anne’s Procession to the Cathedral of S. Paul_
(_From Pennant’s “London”_)]
Advertisements also mention a “_Curtin Coach for 6 People_,” and “a
_Chasse marée Coach_,”[38] which was some form of covered waggon; but,
unfortunately, I have not been able to discover any information about
them.
The State Coaches of this time were as handsome as ever. George I, Mrs.
Delaney has recorded, rode in a coach that was “covered with purple
cloth; the eight horses the beautifullest creatures of their kind were
cream colour”—the custom of using cream-coloured horses still obtains
in the State Coach of Great Britain—“the trapping purple silk, and
their manes and tails tied with purple riband.” Luttrell in his Diary
for May 20th, 1707, says of a foreign coach:—
“Yesterday the Venetian Ambassadors made their public entry
thro’ this citty to Somerset House in great state and
splendour, their Coach of State embroidered with gold, and
the richest that ever was seen in England: they had two with
8 horses, and eight with 6 horses, trimm’d very fine with
ribbons, 48 footmen in blew velvet cover’d with gold lace, 24
gentlemen and pages on horseback, with feathers in their hats.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account