Comments on: Travelling in style

By: Jolie Beaumont (@JolieBeaumont)

Jolie Beaumont (@JolieBeaumont) — Sat, 05 May 2012 17:56:24 +0000

Thanks so much for checking out the food situation ‘on board.’ It seems our airlines have taken the cue from those earlier days, when they serve only peanuts and a soft drink in today’s “coach.”

By: Emile de Bruijn

Emile de Bruijn — Sat, 05 May 2012 14:24:49 +0000

Thanks for telling me – now corrected.

By: ldm

ldm — Fri, 04 May 2012 21:42:16 +0000

Fascinating post. Thanks

PS Small typo – 1830s not 1730s

By: Emile de Bruijn

Emile de Bruijn — Fri, 04 May 2012 10:20:47 +0000

According to Demelza Parker-Williams, the curator at Arlington Court, it often seems to have been a case of either ‘starving or stopping’ The challenges of keeping food and drink fresh in cramped and bumpy carriages would only have allowed for very small and simple snacks ‘on board’. When abroad travellers would often hire a local guide who would know the route and where the inns were situated where one could stop and refresh.

This reminds me of the travelling scenes in Visconti’s wonderful film ‘The Leopard’, in which the Prince of Salina’s family makes it’s way in a group of carriages across the parched and dusty Sicilian landscape, en route from their house near Palermo to one of their other estates. At one point they stop to stretch their legs and have a picnic provided by a local innkeeper, who knows the family from previous occasions. Later they spend the night at another inn which is shown as picturesquely primitive and awful. The whole trip is presented more as an example of aristocratic duty, being seen to visit one’s estates, rather than as a ‘holiday’ in our sense of the word.

By: Emile de Bruijn

Emile de Bruijn — Fri, 04 May 2012 08:28:01 +0000

Jolie, I will try to find out if these vehicles had ‘snack compartments’.

By: Jolie Beaumont (@JolieBeaumont)

Jolie Beaumont (@JolieBeaumont) — Thu, 03 May 2012 19:18:41 +0000

Thanks so much for the link to the NT Carriage Museum online guide. I also wondered what the difference was between a chariot and a coach, and they explained it. But where was the food and drink stored? Under the cushions?

By: Emile de Bruijn

Emile de Bruijn — Wed, 02 May 2012 10:49:49 +0000

Well, considering the section next to where the passengers’ heads would be has been copiously upholstered, they seem to have anticipated some fairly major bumps

By: Mark D. Ruffner

Mark D. Ruffner — Tue, 01 May 2012 20:47:18 +0000

I don’t know the condition of the roads that Mr. Antrobus traveled, but the chariot interior looks amazingly comfortable. Thanks for sharing this find.