"Buckinghamshire Coaching Inns"
A talk by Julian Hunt - August 2017
In light of the present frantic pace of travel and transport, this was a fascinating insight into the pace of life in the nineteenth century when the gentry moved around at a much slower pace stopping at coaching inns located throughout the country. We can recognize the buildings that were these former staging posts by their high entrance passageways leading to the stable yard at the rear of the premises where the horses were changed and rooms above the stables were made available for passengers to spend the night before the next leg of their journey.
The location of coaching inns was, to a great extent, influenced by the speed at which horse-drawn carriages could travel in a day without discomfort to its passengers. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the carriage itself was suspended from the frame by leather straps which made it very unstable and uncomfortable for passengers when travelling at more than seven miles per hour. The advent of steel springs in the nineteenth century brought greater stability to the construction and enabled the coachman to drive the horses at a greater speed without compromising the comfort of passengers. The inevitable consequence of being able to travel longer distances in a day was that fewer inns were needed and some went out of business. However, the location of coaching inns was also determined by the need for the horses to be fed and watered and the inns were therefore strategically placed with a yard and appropriate facilities for up to 30 horses and with an ostler and his grooms to take care of them.
Because of its distance from central London (approximately 30 milles), Buckinghamshire was an ideal location for a number of such coaching inns, particularly around Colnbrook, Beaconsfield and High Wycombe which were (vaguely!) on the route from London to Bath or Bristol. Others in the north of the county were located close to Watling Street (now the A5) in Stony Stratford and Buckingham, en route to Birmingham. Many of these former coaching inns have long since been divided up into separate dwellings and sold off.
However, one of the former coaching inns that remains intact and continues to operate as a high-class watering hole is the Royal Saracens Head at Beaconsfield, although it has apparently been re-built a number of times. (Note below the name the high entrance for carriages.)
The advent of the railways in the nineteenth century brought an end to travel by horse-drawn carriage and saw the demise of coaching inns generally throughout the country.
Thank you to Colin for finding this very interesting speaker.
Janet Cato – August 2017
The location of coaching inns was, to a great extent, influenced by the speed at which horse-drawn carriages could travel in a day without discomfort to its passengers. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the carriage itself was suspended from the frame by leather straps which made it very unstable and uncomfortable for passengers when travelling at more than seven miles per hour. The advent of steel springs in the nineteenth century brought greater stability to the construction and enabled the coachman to drive the horses at a greater speed without compromising the comfort of passengers. The inevitable consequence of being able to travel longer distances in a day was that fewer inns were needed and some went out of business. However, the location of coaching inns was also determined by the need for the horses to be fed and watered and the inns were therefore strategically placed with a yard and appropriate facilities for up to 30 horses and with an ostler and his grooms to take care of them.
Because of its distance from central London (approximately 30 milles), Buckinghamshire was an ideal location for a number of such coaching inns, particularly around Colnbrook, Beaconsfield and High Wycombe which were (vaguely!) on the route from London to Bath or Bristol. Others in the north of the county were located close to Watling Street (now the A5) in Stony Stratford and Buckingham, en route to Birmingham. Many of these former coaching inns have long since been divided up into separate dwellings and sold off.
However, one of the former coaching inns that remains intact and continues to operate as a high-class watering hole is the Royal Saracens Head at Beaconsfield, although it has apparently been re-built a number of times. (Note below the name the high entrance for carriages.)
The advent of the railways in the nineteenth century brought an end to travel by horse-drawn carriage and saw the demise of coaching inns generally throughout the country.
Thank you to Colin for finding this very interesting speaker.
Janet Cato – August 2017