Fragments of Two Centuries: Glimpses of Country Life when George III. was King — John Shaqi
Fragments of Two Centuries: Glimpses of Country Life when George III. was KingKingston, Alfred
History
Fragments of Two Centuries: Glimpses of Country Life when George III. was King
Kingston, Alfred
Country life -- England
Occasionally a rare sign-board at a way-side public-house bearing a
picture of the Pack-horse may be seen, but it is only in this way, or
in some old print, that a glimpse can now be obtained of a means of
locomotion which has completely passed away from our midst. But
besides the Pack-horses being a public institution, this was really the
chief means of burden-bearing, whether in the conveyance of goods to
market or of conveying friends on visits from place to place. As to
the conveyance of goods, we find that as late as 1789, even the farmers
were only gradually getting on wheels. A few carts were in use, no
wagons, and the bulk of the transit in many districts was by means of
Pack-horses; in the colliery districts, coals were carried by horses
from the mines; and even manure was carried on to the land in some
places on the backs of horses! trusses of hay were also occasionally
met with loaded upon horses' backs, and in towns, builders' horses
might be seen bending under a heavy load of brick, stone, and lime!
Members of Parliament travelled from their constituents to London on
horseback, with long over-alls, or wide riding breeches, into which
their coat tails were tucked, so as to get rid of traces of mud on
reaching the Metropolis! Commercial travellers, then called "riders,"
travelled with their packs of samples on each side of their horses.
Farmers rode from the surrounding villages to the Royston Market on
horseback, with the good wife on a pillion behind them with the butter
and eggs, &c., and a similar mode of going to Church or Chapel, if any
distance, was used on a Sunday. Among the latest in this district must
have been the one referred to in a note by Mr. Henry Fordham, who says:
"I remember seeing an old pillion in my father's house which was used
by my mother, as I have been told, in her early married days." [Mr.
Henry Fordham's mother was a daughter of Mr. William Nash, a country
lawyer of some note.]
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.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account