COACHING. The loth century witnessed in its first quarter the passing of a style of conveyance which was at one time uni versal, and has inspired the artist, the poet and the author to work that will remain long after the last coach has ceased to be seen on the roads. To say that four-in-hand driving will die out entirely is to take an extreme view, but while railways and motor cars hold their own there will be little chance for the art on our country roads—at any rate in comfort.
The reader need hardly be told that in early days the roads were so bad in Great Britain that wheeled traffic literally made slow progress, and nearly everybody rode ; but towards the end of the Commonwealth period social life had demanded a better means of communication from place to place. Accordingly the stage coach made its general appearance, and in spite of a good deal of opposition, and the usual charge of effeminacy, remained. As might be expected the pace for many years was not great, and at first the coaches travelled only by day, the "flying coaches," as they were called, covering between forty and fifty miles in the day of 12 hours—in fine weather.
It must be remembered that coaching even in its palmiest days had its detractors, for the weather had to be taken into considera tion, while the roads themselves till the days of Telford and Ma cadam left much to be desired, and accidents were much more numerous than is the case to-day with railways. Still its utility was beyond argument, but the question of speed arose, and it should also be borne in mind that the slowness of the pace ren dered the stage coach an easy prey to the highwaymen, who then abounded. The post office at the time favoured the plan of mounted "expresses," and the slowness of the postal service was especially noticeable on the Great North Road, it being said that "every common traveller passes the King's Mail on the first road in the kingdom." Indeed at that time the stage coach itself was a speedier conveyance than the ordinary postal system.
The moment brought the man, and it was John Palmer, the proprietor of the theatre at Bath, who in 1784 put the first mail coach on the road, running from Bristol to London at the rate of about seven miles an hour. The mail coach speedily found favour, and, as its name implies, it may be termed the special protégé of the post office; of course it did not exterminate the stage coach, the two existing side by side till the advent of rail ways drove them both off the road together.
The driving of four horses appealed to the sporting gentlemen of the day, who drove their own vehicles, or who would take a stage or two on the regular coaches, with the connivance of the professional driver. Some well-known amateur coaching clubs were formed, including the Four Horse and the Bensington driv ing clubs, both of which in due course passed away. It was in 1856 that the Four-in-Hand driving club was formed and lasted down to 1927, while in 1870, owing to the Four-in-Hand driving club only receiving a limited number of members, the still exist ing coaching club was established. Though its members do not turn out in as great numbers as they did, it still keeps the spirit of the pastime alive at the meets at the Magazine in Hyde Park. Here, however, the pleasure of driving four horses is the only consideration and no "passengers" are taken for remuneration.
Later on a number of what may be termed subscription coaches were placed upon the road, which usually ran to various places within a radius of something like 5o miles of London, and till the appearance of the motor car they were very popular. They have, however, practically disappeared, with the death of the last of the London enthusiasts who was able to indulge his hobby, though two roads were kept open in 1927.
In the past many private gentlemen, especially masters of hounds, would indulge in driving tours through various parts of the country, and in 1926 one well known master in the North afforded his friends and subscribers a very pleasant afternoon's outing. At the holding of some of the great horse shows, notably Richmond and Olympia, coaching classes are popular and often well patronised, for it must be remembered that the regimental coaches, that is coaches kept up by various regiments in the service, have not yet gone out of fashion. Indeed it will probably be very many years before the art of driving four horses is lost entirely in Great Britain. (See DRIVING.) The great enemy of the harness horse to-day is the motor car, to assist which tarred roads have been laid down. This undoubt edly adds to the discomfort of driving, and horse vehicles of all descriptions are becoming scarcer every year, except for slow work or where constant stoppage is necessary. Still, the coaching period has been a brilliant one, and its passing will be regretted by every lover of the horse.