Coachman mid 1800's Ireland

[Cog]

Can any kind soul tell me what a Coachman would be doing to earn a crust around the time of 1880 in Wexford, Ireland ? Dont want to appear dim but suspect it had something to do with coaches, but wondered if it would be for the upper class ? or was there a much simpler version.   

thanks in advance

Carol

[Christopher]

Hi Carol,

The coachman may have been driving stagecoaches prior to the introduction of the railways. Even when there were railways there were areas tbat they did not cover so coaches, Hansom cabs and wagons were certainly still in use. I remember Hansom cabs and jarveys outside Amiens Street (Connolly) station in Dublin when going to school in the early 1950s.

Christopher

[Cog]

Hi Christopher

So glad we have someone keeping tabs on our messages, its a year since I posted that one ! Thanks for the reply.  My Grandmothers marriage cert says that her father Patrick Furlong was a "coach driver" around 1880 in Wexford.  These "coaches" - would they have been used like our modern day taxis ?  If so would they have had anything like a licence to run a taxi like today ?

Carol

[Christopher]

Hi Carol,

I've just checked Coachman on GenDoc which describes Ranks, Professions, Occupations and Trades ... "Coachman / Coach Driver - A person who drove any horse-drawn coach."

Mike Horne's metadyne.co.uk website says that ... "In the UK vehicle registration numbers began to be issued following the Motor Car Act 1903."

I'm certain there was some form of registration for horsedrawn vehicles prior to that date but it may take some googling to get confirmation that there was registration. I can't see a government or even a town council missing an opportunilty to make a little bit of income.

Christopher

[Cog]

Hey your right there !  I will take some time out and have a bit of a google, will let you know if I come up with anything interesting.  Thanks Christopher

Carol

[Christopher]

I've entered "Registration for carriages and coaches in Victorian times" in the Google search box. It's offered me Horses in Victorian Times. It's an interesting article but I can't see any mention of them being registered. 

Click here for pictures of a Hansom Cab, a Dog-Cart, a Trap, a Brougham, a Clarence, a Landau, a Wagonette, a Drag, an Omnibus and a Van. 

I 've found licences were required for horse drawn vehicles in Vienna in the late seventeenth century and early eighteenth century ... now all that's needed is to see what the situation was in Ireland.

The well researched article in Laura Peel's website titled Horse-Drawn Cabs,Their Drivers and Their Times refers to licences being required for Hackney Cabs in London in the seventeenth century. Generally what happened in England also happened in Ireland.

Christopher

[Angela Weston]

Just spotted your message re Coachman Ireland...... My great grandfather is down as being a Coachman I believe in Dublin.....however I have just tracked their eldest daughter as being born around the Blessington, Cullen area where I believe there were not only barracks but also the area where they had the horse breeding.