The Finest Pianoforte Saloon in the Kingdom. Nearly 400 Instruments to Select from. ARCHIBALD~RAMSDEN'S pianofortes, Organs and Harmonmms. SOLE IMPORTICR OK Tin: lA.MOUS Schiedmayer, & Knauss & Sohne's Pianofortes His Three Years' System is the fairest nn d most equitable in use. See Archibald Ramsden's Specialitc Piano, in beautifuUvalnut case, good check action, for cash, £19 lOs., or 12/9 per month. 12, PARK ROW, LEEDS. THE OLD COACHING DAYS I N YO R KS H I RE nv 7 TOM BRADLE\ ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR Yorkshire Conservative Newspaper Co. ("The Yorkshire Post"), 23, Albion Street. 18S9. PREFACE The original articles which constitute this small work appeared from time to time in The Yorkshire Weekly Post. During their progress came numer- ous demands from many and various places tor their re-publication in a concise and collective form, and those demands are chiefly responsible for the present issue. The work has been con- siderably augmented, the main object being to keep some record of the old Yorkshire coaching times, before the few remaining men who were connected with them shall have put on the "skid" for the last time and have passed off the road of life for ever. 1146105 CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAGE Down the Road ; The Progress of Coaching before 1786 ; Early Travelling; Stage Waggons; State of the Roads IN the 17TH Century ; First York and Hull Coach ; First York, Wakefield, and London Coaches ; Old Coaching Bill ; Thoresby on Coach Travelling ; Turnpike Riots ; First North Mails 1 CHAPTER II. The Blue Bell at Barney Moor ; Amateur Coachmen ; George Clarke of Barnby Moor ; His Fame as a Breeder of Blood Stock; His Courtesy as a Yeoman Innkeeper; From Barney Moor to Bawtry ; Old Scrooby Inn ; The Swan at Bawtry ; The Crown ; The Highflyer ; From Bawtry to Doncaster; The Finest Road in England; The Gipsy King ; Rossington Bridge ; Flying Childers ; Doncaster .., 15 CHAPTER III. Doncaster ; The Old Angel Inn ; Corporation Feastings thereat ; The Red Lion Inn ; The New Angel Inn ; The Ram and the Reindeer Inns ; The Black Boy Inn ; Thomas Pye; "Dickey" Wood; Number of Daily Coaches from Doncaster; John Frederic Herring; His Arrival at Doncaster ; His Career as a Coachman and Sign Painter ; His Ultimate Success as an Artist ; Old Postboys ; The Father of the Yorkshire Postboys 25 VIU. CHAPTER I.V. I'AGK From Doncastf.r to Ferrybridge ; York Bar ; Red House Inn ; Robin Hood's Well; The New Inn; The Robin Hood; Barnsdale Bar; Wentbridge ; The Bay Horse; Scotch Drovers ; The Old Blue Bell ; The Oldest Inn on the Road; Wentbridge Cutting; Ferrybridge; The Angel at Ferrybridge; The Swan and the Greyhound; Ferry- bridge Postboys ; Hoisting the Wellington Coachman ; The Three Jolly Postboys; The Boisterous Traveller ... 40 CHAPTER V. From Ferrybridge to Tadcaster ; The Old Fox at Brother- ton ; The Red Bear at Sherburn ; Messrs. Mathew Kidd, Father and Son ; The White Horse Inn ; William Back- house ; The Old Post Okfice, Tadcaster ; John Hartley ; The Royal Mails; The Alexander; The Rose and Crown Inn ; Mathew Kidd, Junior ; Tom Holtby and Mundig's Derby; Racing News; Tadcaster to York 56 CHAPTER VI. York ; Its Coaching Inns ; The York Tavern ; Cattle & Mad- docks ; Mr. Harker ; Tom Holtby ; His Career as a Coachman ; The Edinbro' Mail ; A Monthly Mail Settle- ment ; The Death of the Edinbro' Mail; The Black Swan ; James Barber ; List of Daily Coaches from York ; The Old George ; Etteridge's Hotel ; Tommy Etteridge ; The White Horse; The White Swan; Minor Coaching Inns 65 C H A P T E R VII. From York to Easingwold; Easingwold; The Rose and Crown; The New Inn ; Tommy Hutchinson, the Easingwold Postboy; His Feats in the Saddle; From Easingwold to Thirsk ; The Crown, Thirsk ; The Three Tuns ; The Fleece; William Hall; Peter Elliot and the Pig; Billy Baines, the Fleece Postboy 85 IX. CHAPTER VIII. PAGE From Thirsk to Northallertox and Croft Spa ; The Golden Lion, Northallerton ; The Black Bull ; Leeds and New- castle Diligence ; The King's Head ; The Old Golden Lion ; The Hero ; The Wellington ; Racing with Oppo- sition Coaches ; Thomas Layfield ; The Last Coach on THE Road ; The Blacksmith's Arms, Great Smeaton ; Enter Common; Croft Spa 99 CHAPTER IX. From Ferrybridge to Boroughbridge ; The Swan at Aberford The " Ferrybridge Gentleman " ; The Glasgow Mail Monthly Settlement ; Mail Coachmen ; Tom Medley Wetherby ; The Swan and Talbot Inn ; The Angel Mural Paintings thereat ; Fenton Scott and the Swearing Postboy ; The Old Fox ; The Half-way House to Edin- burgh ; The New Inn at Allerton ; Boroughbridge ; A Perfect Coaching Inn; The Crown; The Greyhounds ... ic CHAPTER X. Boroughbridge to Westmorland ; Watling Street ; Leeming Lane ; The New Inn, Leeming Lane ; The Oak Tree Inn, Leeming Lane ; The Telegraph ; Opposition Coaches ; The Joint Stock ; The Red Rover ; The Economist ; Catterick ; The Angel ; The Golden Lion ; Catterick Bridge Race Meeting ; The George at Catterick Bridge ; Dan Fer- guson ; " Cockings " at the Salutation ; The Herald ; Greta Bridge ; The George and the New Inns ; Mr. Wackford Squeers; The Express; Bowes; Jack Ainslie AND the Runaway Couple 11 CHAPTER XI. Leeds ; Map of its Coaching Inns ; Its Early Coaching History ; The Late Period at which Regular Coaches began to Run ; The Execrable State of the Roads ; Passing of the Turnpike Acts; The Turnpike Riots; The Mob at Yeadon and Oti.ey ; The Battle at Harewood X. PAGE Bridge ; The Assault on the King's Arms ; Rioters Killed AND Wounded ; The Improved State of the Roads ; Early Leeds Coaches ; The London and Leeds Old Stage Coach ; The New Fly ; Coaching Progress ; List of Leeds Coaches in the Best Days of its Coaching History 136 CHAPTER XII. Leeds (continued); The Old King's Arms; Flying Machines; Early London Coaches ; The Leeds Mail ; Other Old King's Arms Coaches ; The New King's Arms ; The Hotel ; The Royal Hotel Stables; The London Express; Peculiar Accident to the Express ; The Birmingham Pilot ; Old Tom Johnson and the Parsons ; Minor Royal Hotel Coaches 150 CHAPTER XIII. Leeds (continued) ; The Old George, Briggate ; The Saddle, Briggate ; Coaches from the Saddle ; The White Horse, ' Boar Lane; Early Coaches from the White Horse; The Hollings' ; The White Horse Stables ; The Union ; White Horse Coaches 165 CHAPTER XIV. Leeds (continued); The Rose and Crown; Its "Cockings"; Coachmen of the Old London Stage Coach ; Landlords AT THE Rose and Crown ; The Mails ; The York and Manchester Highflyers ; London Coaches ; Numerous other Coaches ; The Richmond Courier ; The Talbot Inn, Briggate; Its Sporting Characteristics; Its Coaches; The Star and Garter in the Calls ; Minor Coaching Inns IN Leeds 175 CHAPTER XV. Leeds (continued); The Bull and Mouth; The Old Stage Waggons ; Its Early Coaches ; The Bull and Mouth Stables ; The True Briton ; The Manchester Commercial Union; Newcastle Coaches; Sundry other Coaches ... iSS XI. CHAPTER X^'^I. PAGE Leeds (contin.ued) ; The Albion ; The Joint Stock Coach Company ; The Albion Coaches ; The Golden Lion ; Its Landlords ; The Paul Jones ; The Forerunner of the Rockingham; The Rockingham; Peter Mountain; Rocking- ham Coachmen ; Wm. Mortram ; Favourite Guard ; The Irishman and Chesterfield Church Spire; "Dickey" Wood; The Old True Blue; The Prince Blucher; The Lesser Lights; Rail v. Road 197 ILLUSTRATIONS, Old Coaching Uili, ... ... ... ... ... ... o Pacic-IIorses... ... . . ... ... ... ... 13 The Old Swan Inn, Uaw irv . . ... ... ... ... 14 The Blue Bell Inn, Barney Moor ... ... ... ... 16 The White Horse Inn, Barnby Mooii ... ... ... ... 17 The Crown Inn, Bawiry ... ... ... ... ... 21 The Crown Inn Yard, Bawtky ... ... ... ... ... 22 RossiNGTON Bridge Inn and Toll Bar ... ... 23 The New Angel Inn, Doncaster .. ... ... ... 25 The Old Angel Inn, Doncaster ... ... .. ... 26 The Red Lion Inn, Doncaster ... ... ... ... ... 27 Thomas Pye... ... ... ... ... ... ... 29 The Ram .\nd the Reindeer Inns, Doncaster ... ... ... :;o The Black Boy Inn, Doncaster ... ... ... ... -i The Salutation Inn, Doncaster ... ... ... ... 34 Old Postboys ... ... ... ... ... ... 39 Robin Hood's Well ... ... ... ... ... ... 40 York Bar and Inn .. ... ... ... ... ... 41 The Red House Inn ... ... ... ... ... ... 42 The Robin Hood and New Inns, Robin Hood's Well ... 43 Barnsdale Bar ... ... ... ... ... ... ., 4.^ The Angel Inn, Ferrybkidge ... ... ... ... 48 The Swan Inn, Ferrybridge ... ... . ... ... 49 The Greyhound Inn, Ferrybridge ... ... ... ... i^o George Barker... ... ... ... ... ... ... ^j The Boisterous Traveller ... ... ... ... ... ^^ The Old Post Office, Tadcaster ... ... ... ... 56 The Old Fox Inn, Brotherton ... ... :;7 The Red Bear Inn, Sherburn ... ... ... ... ... 5s The Angel and White Horse Inns, Tadcaster ... ,. gg XIV. PAGE The Rose and Crown Inn, Tadcaster ... ... ... ... 6i Mail Coach... ... ... ... ... ... ... 64 Monk Bar, York ... ... ... ... ... ... 65 The York Tavern ... ... ... ... ... ... 67 Tom Holtby ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 69 The Edinbro' Mail ... ... ... ... ... ... 72 The Black Swan Inn, York ... ... ... ... ... 75 The George Inn, York ... ... ... ... ... 78 The White Horse Inn, York ... ... ... ... ... 80 The White Swan Inn, York ... ... ... ... 81 Old Entrance to the White Swan, Yokk ... ... ... 82 BooTHAM Bar, York... ... ... ... ... ... 85 The Rose and Crown and New Inns, Easingwoi.d ... ... 86 Tommy Hutchinson ... ••. ■■. ... ... ... 88 The Crown Inn, Thirsk ... ... ... ... ... 92 The Three Tuns, Thirsk ... ... ... ... ... 93 The Fleece Inn, Thirsk ... ... ... ... ... 94 The Fleece Inn Yard, Thirsk ... ... ... ... 95 Billy Baines .. ... ... ... ... ... ... 97 Old Postkoys ... ... ... ... ... .. 98 The Golden Lion Inn, Northallerton... ... ... ... 100 The Black Bull Inn, Northallerton ... ... ... loi The Old Golden Lion Inn, Northallerton ... ... ... ' 103 Thomas Layfield ... ... ... ... ... ... 106 The Blacksmith's Arms, Great Smeaton ... ... ... 107 The Old Fox, Wetherby ... ... ... ... ... 108 The Swan Inn, Aberford ... ... ... ... ... 109 The Swan and Talbot Inn, Wetherby ... ... ... 113 The Angel Inn, Wetherby ... ... ... ... ... 115 The New Inn, Allerton ... ... ... ... ... 119 The Greyhounds and Crown Inns, Boroughbridge ... ... 121 Royal Mail... ... ... ... ... ... ... 122 The Oak Tree Inn, Leeming Lank ... ... .. ... 123 The New Inn, Leeming Lane ... ... ... ... 124 The Angel and Golden Lion Inns, Catterick ... ... ... 128 The George Inn, Catterick Bridge ... ... ... 130 The George Inn, Greta Bridge ... ... ... ... 132 Coach Horse ... ... ... ... ... ... 135 Toll Bar ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 136 Map of Leeds ... ... ... ... ... ... 137 Harewood Bridge Bar ... ... ... ... ... ... 141 PAGE Meadow Road Bar .. ... ... ... ... ... 143 Travellers' Rest ... ... ... ... ... ... 1^0 The Old King's Arms Inn, Leeds ... ... ... ... 1^2 Briggate, Leeds... ... ... ... ... .. ... 1^6 The New King's Arms (The Royal Hotel), BRiuiiATE ... 158 The Old Commercial Buildings, Leeds... ... ... ... 16^ The Saddle and Old George Lnns, Leeds ... ... ... 166 The Old White Horse Inn, Boar Lane ... ... ... 16S Back of the Shambles, Leeds ... ... ... ... 175 The Rose and Crown Inn, Briggate ... ... ... ... 177 The Star and Garter, Leeds ... ... ... ... 185 Old Postboys ... ... ... ... ... ... .. 187 The Old Moot Hall, Leeds ... ... ... ... iss The Old Stage Waggon ... ... ... ... ... igo The Bull and Mouth and the Albion, Leeiv^ ... ... 194 Mail Cart ... . . ... ... ... ... ... 190 Leeds Old Bridge ... .. ... ... ... ... 197 The Rockingham Stage Coach ... ... ... ... .. 201 Mr. Richard Wood ... ... ... ... ... ... 204 The First Locomotive ... ... ... ... ... ... 20S THE OLD COACHING DAYS. CHAPTER I. Doivn the Road — The Progress of Coaching before iy86 — Early Travelling — Stage Waggons — -State of the Roads in the lyth Century — First York and Hull CoacJi — First York, Wakefield, and London Coaches — Old Coaching Bill — Thoresby o)i Coach Travelling — Turnpike Riots — First North Mails. ilHE coach was none of your steady-going coaches, but a [IS E 1 Jl I ^^^1 swaggering, rakish, dissipated '''^' f^'ra ~B.^.^=a= London Coach; up all night, and lying by all day, and leading 'a devil of a life.' It rattled noisily through the best streets, took the worst corners sharpest, *" "'""'' " went cutting in everywhere, making everything get out of its way; and spun along the open country road, blowing defiance out of its key-bugle, as its last glad parting legacy. " It was a charming evening : mild and bright. The four greys skimmed along as if they liked it ; the bugle was in as high spirits as the greys ; the coachman chimed in, sometimes, with his voice ; the wheels hummed cheerfully in unison ; the brass work on the harness was an orchestra of little bells ; and thus, as they went clinking, jingling, rattling B The Old Coaching Days. smoothly on, the whole concern, from the buckles of the leaders' coupling reins to the handle of the hind boot, was one great instrument of music. " Yoho, past hedges, gates, and trees ; past cottages and barns, and people going home from work. Yoho, past donkey-chaises, drawn aside into the ditch, and empty carts with rampant horses, whipped up at a bound upon the little water-course, and held by struggling carters close to the five- barred gate, until the coach had passed the narrow turning in the road. Yoho, by churches dropped down by themselves in quiet nooks, with rustic burial grounds about them, where the graves are green, and the daisies sleep — for it is evening — on the bosoms of the dead. Yoho, past streams, in which cattle cool their feet, and where the rushes grow ; past paddock- fences, farms, and rick-yards ; past last year's stacks, cut, slice by slice, away, and showing, in the waning light, like ruined gables, old and brown. Yoho, down the pebbly dip, and through the merry water-splash, and up at a canter to the level road again. Yoho ! Yoho ! " Yoho, among the gathering shades ; making of no account the deep reflections of the trees, but scampering on through light and darkness. Yoho, beside the village green, where cricket players linger yet, and every little indentation made in the fresh grass by bat or wicket, ball or player's foot, sheds out its perfume on the night. Away with four fresh horses from the Bald-faced Stag, where topers congre- gate about the door admiring ; and the last team, with traces hanging loose, go roaming off towards the pond, until observed and shouted after by a dozen throats, while volun- teering boys pursue them. Now, with clattering hoofs and striking out of fiery sparks, across the old stone bridge, and down into the shadowy road, and through the open gate, and far away, away, into the wold. Yoho ! " Yoho, behind there ; stop that bugle for a moment ! Come creeping over to the front, along the coach roof, guard, Doiun tlic Road. to make one at this basket ! Not that we slacken our pace the while, not we ; we rather put the bits of blood upon their mettle, for the greater glory of the snack. Ah ! It is long since this bottle of old wine was brought into contact with the mellow breath of night, you may depend, and rare good stuff it is to wet a bugler's whistle with. Only try it. Don't be afraid of turning up your finger, Bill ; another pull ! Now, take your breath, and try the bugle, Bill. There's music ! There's a tone ! ' Over the hills and far away,' indeed. Yoho ! The skittish mare is all alive to-night. Yoho ! Yoho ! " See the bright moon ? High up before we know it ; making the earth reflect the objects on its breast like water. Hedges, trees, low cottages, church steeples, blighted stumps and flourishing young slips have all grown vain upon the sudden, and mean to contemplate their own fair images till morning. The poplars yonder rustle, that their quivering leaves may see themselves upon the ground. Not so the oak ; trembling does not become Jiini ; and he watches himself in his stout old burly steadfastness, without the motion of a twig. The moss-grown gate, ill poised upon its creaking hinges, crippled and decayed, swings to and fro before its glass, like some fantastic dowager ; while our own ghostly likeness travels on, yoho ! yoho ! through ditch and brake, upon the ploughed land and the smooth, along the steep hill side and steeper wall, as if it were a phantom hunter. " Clouds, too ! and a mist upon the hollow ! Not a dull fog that hides it, but a light, airy, gauze-like mist, which, in our eyes of modest admiration, gives a new charm to the beauties it is spread before, as real gauze has done ere now, and would again, so please you, though we were the Pope. Yoho? Why, now we travel with the moon herself Hiding this minute in a grove of trees ; next minute in a patch of vapour ; emerging now upon our broad, clear course ; with- drawing now, but always dashing on, our journey is a counterpart of hers. Yoho ! A match against the moon ! TJie Old Coaching Days. " The beauty of the night is hardly felt when day comes leaping up. Yoho ! The country roads are almost changed to a continuous street. Yoho, past market gardens, rows of houses, villas, crescents, terraces, and squares ; past waggons,, coaches, carts ; past early workmen, late stragglers, drunken men, and sober carriers of loads ; past brick and mortar in every shape ; and in among the rattling pavements, where a jaunty seat upon a coach is not so easy to preserve ! Yoho,. down countless turnings, and through countless mazy ways,, until an old inn yard is gained ! " How vividly the foregoing brilliant piece of word paint- ing, from " Martin Chuzzlewit," recalls the past glories of the road and the delights and pleasures of the good old coaching days. Although both the men and manners of those days have all but passed away, there are still left to us a few gentlemen of the old school, and numerous landmarks on the road, which form the last connecting link between the demise of the rattling pole-chain and splinter-bar and the long-drawn musical echoes of the " yard of tin " and the advent of the carbon-snorting steam horse and the shrill shriek of its demon whistle. Coachmen and coach-guards are almost extinct, the great majority of them have long ago worked their last stage, and are off the road for ever; coaches and chaises are demolished ; the old-fashioned postboy, with his high white choker, gorgeous yellow waistcoat, and won- drous pearl buttons, has disappeared, vanished, evaporated ; for, according to Sam Weller, no one ever yet saw a dead donkey or a dead postboy ; ancient hostelries have been converted into private residences ; old roadside inns into farmsteads ; pikes and their querulous keepers have long since ceased to be the traveller's bugbear ; whilst who shall say what has become of the vast army of horsekeepers and helpers that horsed the coach and worked the change at each successive stage. Stage coaching is not so old as is generally supposed. Early Modes of Locomotion. and the year 1786, when Mr. Palmer's system of carrying the mails was completed, saw the commencement of that era marking the real glory of the road, which reigned and fell in little more than half a century. Of course, coaches were running long before that date. The first coach of any description seen in England was in the year 1555, when the Earl of Rutland had a State carriage built for him by one Walter Rippon, but the progress of locomotion was so slow, and met with such a vast amount of opposition, that it was almost a century later before the advent of any public stage •coach. It was the custom for travellers, before setting out on a long journey, to assemble in gangs, and set forth together for company and protection. The modes of conveyance were various, horses being the principal, many of the travellers riding their own, although at one time there was a system of hiring horses in stages, somewhat similar to that pursued by the coaches at a later date, whilst the course followed by some speculators was to lend the horses, which they had stationed at different stages of the journey, free of charge, •conditionally that the traveller paid for the horse's keep and rested at such houses of entertainment on the road as the proprietor should nominate. For ladies who did not ride, or invalids, the old-fashioned horse litter was called into use, which was a kind of couch with a canopy, under which the rider reclined. The body was placed on two long poles, the two ends of which were fixed to the backs of the horses. Goods were carried by pack horses, a means of transit of which the poorer class of travellers also availed themselves. About the year 1600, the long, lumbering, broad-wheeled waggons came into use, and it was to these cumbersome pieces of locomotion that the name of stage was first applied. Goods and travellers who could not afford to ride post were their chief burdens ; but it was slow, tiresome work travelling by these stage waggons, the roads being execrable, and the great breadth of the wheels impeding the The Old Coaching Days. general progress, although it was the first and earliest step in the direction of the stage coach, or, as they were called, the flying machines, which followed half a century later. The waggons were usually drawn by a team of eight or ten horses, in charge of a driver, who was armed with a very long whip, and mounted on a sturdy pony, which was in no way attached to the waggon. Stage coaches did not commence to run until 1640, but their advent was not marked by any particular rapidity of progress, as more than twenty years later there were only six stages running in the whole of England. In showing the progress of stage coaching so far as the county of Yorkshire is concerned, the earliest mention to be found of stages running through Yorkshire dates from about eighteen years after their first introduction into Eng- land, as will be seen from the following copy of an old advertisement : — From the 26 April, 1658 there will continue to go Stage Coaches from the George Inn without Aldersgate London into the several Cities and Towns for the rates and at the times hereafter mentioned and declared Every Monday Wednesday and Friday. To Salisbury in two days for XX.s. and Exeter in four days for XI. s. To York in four days for XI. s. Once every fortnight to Edinburgh for IV.l. apeece. The roads throughout the entire country were in a frightful condition, which was probably the principal cause of the slow progress of stage coaching. The following extract from a letter written in 1663 by Mr. Edward Parker to his father, at Browsholme, Bolton-by-Bowland, Lancashire, gives some idea of the state of the roads and the hardships of travelling in the early coaching days. Writes Mr. Parker : — " My journey was noe ways pleasant, being forced to ride in the boote all the waye. Ye company yt came up with mee were persons of great quality as knights and ladyes. My TJioresby on CoacJi Travelling. journey's expense was 30s. This travel hath so indisposed mee yt I am resolved never to ride up againe in ye coatche. I am extremely hott and feverish. What this may tend to I know not. I have not as yet advised my doctor." As early as 1678 there was a coach running between York and Hull in the summer time, which same coach is mentioned by Ralph Thoresby, the historian, in his diary, on his arrival from Holland, as follows: — "Nov., 1678. From Hull we came by coach to York, and thence on horseback to Leeds. The stage coach being over for the winter," his father, who met him on his arrival at Hull, hired one to conduct him safe through. " It proved a mortification to us both that he was as little able to endure the effeminacy of this way of travelling as I was to ride on horseback." In 1683 there was a London coach running from York, through Tadcaster, Ferrybridge, and Doncaster ; and Leeds passen- gers were obliged to ride on horseback to either York or Ferrybridge to join the coach. After this coach was estab- lished it continued to run regularly, and is the same coach mentioned in the fac-simile coaching bill given on the adjoining page. Thoresby described his journey to Town and back by this coach at some length: — "Feb. 19, 1683. — Up pretty timely preparing for a journey, and somewhat concerned about company, and fearful of being confined to the coach for so many days with unsuitable persons." They stayed at Doncaster the first night, Newark the second, Stamford the third, Bugden the fourth, Stephenage the fifth, and London the sixth, and it must have been an awfully slow concern to have taken six days to do the journey ; but we find him returning on April 4th in the same year, the return journey occupying only four days, the difference being due probably to better weather as the year advanced, and therefore better roads and an improved rate of travelling. "Ap. 4, 1683, Morning. Up pretty early making preparations for journey 8 The Old Coaching Duys. home. About six or seven took places in stage coach. Route : — Highgate, Barnet, Welwyn (dined) ; Stephenage, Baldock, Biggleswade (slept ist night); Thaneford, Eaton, St. Neots, Bransford, Huntingdon (dined) ; Stilton, Stamford (slept 2nd night) ; Bridge Casterton, Grantham, Newark (dined) ; Tuxford, Sherwood Forest, Barnby-on-the-Moor (slept 3rd night) ; Bawtry, Doncaster, Wentbridge, Ferry- bridge (dined), and thence not finding a horse according to expectation through Sherburn to Tadcaster, where left the coach and rode to Healey for my sister with whom returned safe though very late to Leeds." Sir Walter Calverley, of Calverley, also mentions in 1691 and several other occasions riding to Ferrybridge to meet this coach, the journey between that place and London occupying times varying from three to six days. In 1695 he also mentions another regularly-established coach which ran from Wakefield, through Barnsley, Sheffield, &c., to London, Sir Walter made repeated journeys by this coach, the Wake- field and London coach being the most patronised in the early coaching days. In 1695-6 the journey by this route occupied seven days, but in 1697-8 we find the coach doing the journey in five days. In 1662 the first Act of Parliament was passed for making turnpike roads, and from that date a slight improve- ment may be said to have set in, as very shortly after there were additional coaches running between London, York, Chester, and Exeter, each having forty horses on the road, but still the roads remained very bad, ratepayers being strongly opposed to the Turnpike Act. According to Sir Walter Calverley's diary in 1694, it took about four days to go from Doncaster to London, and the state of perfection to which coaching was brought, when in the height of its glory, will be seen from the fact that in 181 5 the Leeds Union did the distance between London and Doncaster (one hundred and sixty-two miles) in sixteen-and-a-half hours, which Old Coachinsr Bill. included two hours for stoppages. There was no improve- ment made in the rate of travelHng up to the year 1706, as will be seen from the following copy of an old coach bill which was preserved at the Black Swan at York : — YORK Four Days Stage-Coach. ^i/i5 ari m Coney peet in Torl\^ At both which Places, ihey may be received ma Suec Coach every MonAaf, W^ednejdsrf and Friday, wToich performs the whole Journey in Four Days, {jf Cod permiis.) And fets forth dl Five m 'heMommg. And returns from Torh^ to Stamjord in two days, ana. from Stamford by Huntington lo London m two days more. And the lite Stages on their retiinu ABonnng eacK PilfeagcT i4l> weight, and all Above ^d. a foand. " Benjamm Kingmm, Performed By » Henry Harrifoa,. Wabcr Sayne's, Alfo this gives Notice that Ncwcafllc Stage Coach , fcts out from York, every Monday, and Friday, and from TScwcaflle every Monday and Friday. There is no mention of any Leeds coach running in •connection with either of the above London coaches until 1708, when a coach appears to have been started between Leeds and London or Leeds and York in connection with the lo The Old Coaching D'nys. London coach, which Thoresby says was so popular that all the places were sometimes booked a fortnight in advance. A few years later there seems to have been another coach started from Leeds in connection with the Wakefield coach,, and touching these coaches we give the following extracts from Thoresby 's Diary, "May 17, 1708. — Preparing for a journey to York. Lord, grant thy favourable presence from sin and all dangers. We found the way very deep, and in some places dangerous for a coach (that we walked on foot), but the Lord preserved us from all evil accident, that we got to our journey's end in safety, blessed be God." On the return journey from York, Thoresby tells us that he had to rise between three and four in order to catch the coach, which was hastened on its journey by Captain Crome, who happened to be travelling by the same coach on the Queen's business, so that they " got to Leeds by noon, blessed be God for mercies to me and my poor family." "May 2, 1714. — Surprised by a message from Wakefield that the coach could not reach this town (Leeds)." The state of the roads around Leeds must have been something frightful, as it is clear that in bad weather the coaches could not get to and from Leeds. On this occasion Thoresby, who was going to London, sent his clothes on to Wakefield by the messenger and himself rode forward to that place, where he joined the coach, which did not travel the usual route of the Wakefield coaches, by Barnsley and Sheffield, but came on to- the Great North Road at Red House and went forward by way of Doncaster and Barnby Moor, where they slept. Thoresby continues: — "May 4, 1714. We dined at Gran- tham, Had the annual solemnity (this being the first time the coach had passed the road in May) of the coachman and horses being decked with ribbons and flowers, the town music and young people in couples before us. We lodged at Stamford, a scurvey dear town." Turnpike Riots. ii "May 5, 1714. — Had other passengers, which, though females, were more chargeable in wine and brandy than the former part of the journey, wherein we had neither, but the next day (May 6) we gave them leave to treat themselves." In the first half of the last century progress seems to have been very slow indeed. Roads continued in a bad state, and all attempts to improve them were strenuously opposed by the ratepayers ; and although parliament did its best to improve the condition of things, the violent nature of the opposition was difficult to contend with. The mobs as- sembled, and, armed with hatchets and crowbars, broke dosvn the turnpike gates and burned down the toll-houses. Along the main roads the opposition was of course the greatest, and news came from all parts of the destruction they caused. On the i8th June, 1753, the mobs from Otley and Yeadon joined their forces and destroyed over a dozen toll-bars on different parts of the road. The people held that it was the narrow-wheeled waggons which cut up the roads, on account of their heavy loads ; ruts could be found everywhere a foot deep, and they looked upon it as a great hardship that they should be called upon to make good these damages. The question came before parliament, which imposed fines on all narrow tires, and thus the old - fashioned broad - wheeled waggon, with its team of eight or ten horses and tires nine or ten inches wide, came into use. The controversy con- tinued to tax the resources of parliament for many years, and between 1763 and 1774 no less than four hundred and fifty-two acts were passed for the improvement of turnpike roads. In 1754 there was introduced a coach with springs, which was described as a two -end glass coach machine, exceedingly light and easy, to go from Edinburgh to London in»ten days in summer and twelve in winter. And now the roads commenced to improve and the speed of coaches began to be greatly accelerated. In 1768 a new coach called "The 12 TJie Old Coaching D-ays. Fly " commenced running between Leeds and London, and actually performed the whole journey in two-and-a-half days ; and a year later there was yet another coach started, doing the same distance in the same time : whilst in 1775 there was no less than four hundred on the road in different parts of the country. But in the following year (1776) a very great improvement on the old time seems to have been made, as we find a coach running from the Old King's Arms, Leeds, to London, in thirty-nine hours. Sheffield and other towns followed, the average speed being about eight miles an hour. In 1780 the velocity attained by stage coaches far exceeded that of the post, and Mr. John Palmer, the originator of mail coaching, commenced those parliamentary exertions which ultimately transferred the mails to the coaches in 1786, which year marked the commencement of the real glory of the road. On July 24th, 1785, the first Royal Mail ran from London to Yorkshire, through Shefifield, Barnsley, and Wakefield, to Leeds. On the 1 6th October, 1786, the first mail coach from London, by the Great North Road, set forth on its journey. The first change of horses in Yorkshire was at Doncaster. The coach was horsed from Barnby Moor to Doncaster by Mr. Stanuel, who, at that time, kept the Red Lion Inn, in Scott Lane. Quite a crowd assembled to meet it, and it was horsed on the stage between Doncaster and Ferrybridge by Mr. Woodcock, of the Old Angel Inn, Frenchgate, the oldest established posting house in Doncaster. From the latter part of the last century and the beginning of this, coaching made rapid strides, and when at its height, about 1835, there were no less than seven hundred mail coaches running in Great Britain and Ireland, whilst the stage coaches had increased in equal proportion. By a superior and more durable system of road making, brought into vogue by Mr. McAdam, the speed of the mails was greatly increased, the Rates of Travelling. 13 best coaches doing their regular average of ten miles an hour; indeed, in 1836, the London and Edinburgh Mail did the whole distance of four hundred miles in forty-five-and-a- half hours, which included all stoppages. These being deducted left the average time at close on ten miles an hour, and this coach did the one hundred and ninety-seven miles from York to London in twenty hours, which time included stoppages. CHAPTER II. The Blue Bell at Barnby Moor — Amateur Coachmen — George Clarke of Barnby Moor — His Fame as a Breeder oj Blood Stock — His Courtesy as a Yeoman Innkeeper — From Barnby Moor to Baivtjj — Old Scrooby Inn — The Swan at Baivtry — TJie Crozun — TJie HigJi flyer — From Bazvtry to Doncaster — The Finest Road in England — The Gipsy King — Rossington Bridge — Flying Childers — Doncaster. N dealing with the old coaching days, so far as Yorkshire is concerned, it is proposed to pursue the great or head line of posting as it ran through the county, giving some ac- count of the old coaching houses thereon, and the coaches that were worked from those inns. The great tide of traffic which, when the century was young, rolled continuously along the Great North Road, between the south and the north, had its main inlet into Yorkshire at Bawtry, which place at one time was the change for the Bawtry and Doncaster and Bawtry and Retford stages ; although at a later period, when stage coaching was in the zenith of its fame, the Doncaster stage was lengthened to Barnby Moor, and only a few of the fast Amateur Whips. 15 <;oaches were horsed from Bawtry, for which reason we may be excused if we commence our Yorkshire tour in Not- tinghamshire with the stage that ran between Barnby Moor and Doncaster. The erstwhile inn and posting-house situate on the east side of the Great North Road at Barnby Moor, in Not- tinghamshire, but a few miles over the Yorkshire border, is at the present time used as the private residence of a gentleman who was not unknown on the road in the old coaching days as an amateur whip of no mean order. When stage coaching was at its height, and it was fashionable, although against the rules laid down by the Post Office authorities and the men who horsed the coaches, for young noblemen and country gentlemen to drive the Royal Mails and other coaches, it was no uncommon thing to see, in possession on the box seat, such county family representatives as Mr. Foljambe, of Osberton Hall ; the " Old Squire " ; Mr. George Lane Fox, of Bramham Park, who used to drive the London and Carlisle Mail ; the late Sir Chas. Ibbotson, a real good whip, who once drove one of the York coaches from London to York at •one sitting, the four regular coachmen taking the box seat beside him in turn ; the late Mr. John Milton would often take the ribbons, paying the coachman well for the privilege ; and many others equally well known. These irregularities were very often " winked at " by the men who horsed the Mails, whilst a douceur to guard and coachman, one of their special perquisites, made things all right in that quarter, and if in starting on an up journey, the amateur coachman should sling the lamp irons with hares and other game until they stand out a full yard, many a horsekeeper and helper down the road could account for them before the end of the journey was reached. Many a time has Mr. Henry Beevor, the present occupant of what was once the celebrated Blue Bell, at Barnby Moor, put them along over Scarthing Moor or raced for the post at Stilton, where the mails were sorted. i6 TJie Old CoacJiing jDays. This noted inn has undergone but Httle change since the time when the late George Clarke ruled its destinies. The actual building is virtually the same to-day as it was at the beginning of the century. The old stucco front has been replastered and painted, and the old archway leading into the The Blue Bell Inn, Barney Moor. spacious court yard in the interior converted into a reception The four magnificent elms no longer rear their room. majestic heads on the opposite side of the road, and shield the house from the wintry winds or the scorching summer The Blue Bell at Barnby Moor. 17 sun. Two of them were blown down a few years back by a hurricane, and the remaining two were removed for fear of accident. The horse pond which formerly stood in front of the inn and stables has for many years been filled up, and a luxuriant shrubbery now marks the spot where the ablutions of coach and chaise were once performed. When the Blue Bell ceased to be an inn the old signboard which stood over the passage was removed, but it is still in the possession of Mr. Beevor. These are the only alterations on the side facing the road, save that the stables have been converted into cottages, as have many others of the very numerous buildings situate at the back of the premises, which at one time formed stable accommodation for one hundred and twenty horses. Not only from the Blue Bell were the Mails horsed in Mr. Clark's time, but he like- wise horsed coaches from an- other though a much inferior hostelry a little lower down the village. This house, which is still in existence and occupied as an inn, is known as the White Horse, and is the same to-day (a small, plain red-brick building with a red tiled roof) as it was in the old coaching days. White Horsf. Inn, Barnby Moor. ^j^.^ ^j^^j^ ^3^^ ^^ ^^^^^ his horses at the pretty extensive stabling at the back. There are those living who can still remember the long rows of stables, the numerous paddocks crowded with young stock, and the extensive farm which supplied the stables with hay and corn. Few men were better aquainted with all matters appertaining to farming than the courteous C Tlie Old Coaching Days. landlord of the Blue Bell Inn, and his valued opinion was sought by numerous travellers from distant places as to the rotation of crops and the science of manuring. As a breeder of blood stock and hunters he was equally famous, and a visit to the renowned Barnby Moor stables was a fashionable treat periodically indulged in each recurring season by the noblemen and gentlemen throughout the country who were in search of genuine horse flesh which could get them through the quick bursts across the Leicester- shire grass lands or over the stiff ploughs of the Yorkshire hunting countries. Of the great number of horses that he had in training with the late John Scott, the Wizard of the North, there were few that made any great mark on the scroll of turf fame, but as a breeder of thoroughbreds Mr. Clark had his peculiar advantages, inasmuch as those that were not fast enough for the racecourse were relegated to the road The long stages over which he horsed some of the coaches, such as that from Barnby Moor to Doncaster, a distance of fourteen miles, required the very best of cattle, and in re- marking on those lengthy stages to the son of a late coach proprietor who assisted his father with the posting business at Bawtry in those days, he replied, " Ah ! Mr. Clark's cattle were of an exceptional character ; he kept the right sort for doing the distance." For the first forty years of the century this kind and courteous gentleman kept up what was probably the largest posting establishment in the north of England. Though stern and exacting with his servants he was none the less kind and just to them, and " Sylvanus " speaks of him as " a true sportsman, gentleman and roadside landlord of his own school ; for without disparagement to the worthy order of Boniface, I have seldom if ever met a man in the same walk of life actuated by views so enlarged or possessed of manners so perfectly unobjectionable as the gentleman landlord at whose house we remained half a day and night. I never J/r. Geo7-ge Clark. 19 ■enjoyed a dinner or a rest more in my life than upon this occasion. We dined in Mr. Clark's own room, and had everything that hospitality could suggest and good cooking provide, with a bottle of the primest port that man ever tossed over a grateful tongue. George Clark was famed for anecdote and conversational powers, and when free from gout was a tough customer over the mahogany. I have already •described poor Frank Maw, of York, as a perfect specimen of a yeoman horse dealer ; my friend Dallas as a gentle or aristocratic yeoman ; and now am happy to give George Clark, of Barnby Moor, the palm as the yeoman innkeeper, par excellence. The mental bias and disposition of all were above anything petty, mean, un-English, or unmanly. The very manners of the publican and the horse dealer exalted these men so far above their respective occupations as to render them an honour to the society of which they were members." With at times something like two hundred horses standing at the Blue Bell and the White Horse there would be plenty of stirrings in the now sleepy village in the •old coaching days. In electioneering times, when every con- vertible mode of conveyance was called into requisition, or the eve of the York or Doncaster meetings, and before the shooting season opened, postboys slept with spur on heel, and all was bustle and commotion at Barnby Moor. In 1842 Mr. Clark was carried off by the gout, to which he had long been a martyr, and although he lived over the border he was at heart a Yorkshireman, and his loss was ■deeply felt throughout the country by all who knew him We are told that he disposed of his posting business shortly before his death, as with characteristic foresight he believed that the advent of railways, then in their infancy, had sealed the doom of stage coaching. His successor was a Mr. Inett, a v^ry gentlemanly man, tall, slender, and aristocratic looking, but when he took charge of the Barnby Moor Inn the road had virtually received its death-blow. 20 TIic Old Coaching Days. A short sharp rise from the Barnby Moor Inn brings us on to an almost level road, bordered by small green sloping banks^ topped with flourishing hedgerows redolent of flowering ma}^ leading by Torworth : a mere handful of farm buildings ; through Ranskill : a very dwarf of a village perched on a slight eminence, and glowing in its embodiment of red brick and tile. With a gentle fall the road leads past Scrooby,. dipping to the diminutive river Ryton. A short rise from the bridge and a stretch of level brings us to Bawtry, where in olden times it was customary for the High Sheriff of the County, with all the pomp and pageantry of his office, to- meet Royal personages and conduct them over the border. There is little of note on the five-and-a-quarter miles of road over which we have travelled before entering Yorkshire save the one time Old Scrooby Inn, long ago converted into a pretty extensive farmstead. In the old coaching days this roadside inn and posting house was kept by Thomas Fisher,, who was contemporary with George Clark, of Barnby Moor. Fisher, before going to Scrooby Top, had previously carried on the posting business at the Swan, at Bawtry, one of the oldest coaching houses on the road, its existence probably dating back beyond the time when Mail coaches were first introduced and coaching became general, and was then looked upon as a most marvellous and advanced mode of travelling. When the Swan set up as a coaching inn it would be the only hostelry of that description in Bawtry, and must have in itself and the buildings connected with it constituted almost the whole village, so numerous were its stables and domiciles for postboys and helpers, and so vast its premises, extending as they did to the full depth of Swan Lane, and lying con- tiguous thereto. Although before the end of the last century posting business was carried on at the Crown, on the other side of the market place, none of the stage or post coaches were horsed from that place until a much later period, proba- bly about the time when the business of the Swan was. The Croii'ii at Ban'try. 2i transferred to Scrooby Top, possibly to enable Fisher to compete more favourably with his stupendous rival, George Clark, of Barnby Moor. With the demise of the Swan came an increase of business to the Crown, and although most of the coaches on the direct road passed through Bawtry without changing horses, nevertheless a few of them were horsed from the Crown. William Adams, the proprietor, stood a great num- ber of horses at the Crown, but the coaches that he horsed ran principally on the cross roads. Adams likewise acted in The Crown Inn, Bawtry. the capacit)' of postmaster. The post office, or rccei\i ng house, as it was more generally called, was up the yard, which has undergone but little change up to the present day. The long covered way open to the yard is still the same, with its rows of stone pillars, the numerous low brick stables, and the wide-spreading tree at the top of the yard, beneath whose branches the quaint old postboys exchanged the gossip of the road whilst awaiting the cry of " next pair out." The march of improvement has not done much to alter the appearance of the old posting houses at Bawtry. The 22 The Old CoacJiiiig Days. Crown, save that the front has been disguised in plaster and white paint, and embelHshed with green palings, is still the same as when the Royal Mails rattled through the wide market place ; the Swan has undergone but little alteration beyond being unoccupied and having tumbled into disuse ; whilst the Angel possibly stands to-day as it did when the Leeds Rockingham and the Highflyer changed horses before its open front. William Stephenson horsed these coaches from the Angel, but^he stood his horses behind the Bull Inn. The Highflyer was one of the oldest and most popular coaches on the road. It began to run before the mails were relegated to the coaches in 1786, and con- tinued on the road without interruption until the end of the coaching days. Leav- ing the White Horse, Fetter Lane, London, each morn- ing at half-past eight, it ran through Buckden, Newark,. Bawtry, Doncaster, Ferry- bridge, Tadcaster, and York,, where it arrived the next day at two. Thence it pro- ceeded, by way of Eas- The Crown Inn Yard. Bawtrv. j^g^^-oid, through Thirsk, Northallerton, Darlington, Durham, to Newcastle and Edin- burgh, returning the same route. There is probably no finer stretch of road throughout the length and breadth of England than the nine miles that lie between Bawtry and Doncaster. The fine smooth road- way, flanked on either hand by broad grass borders of greater width than the road itself, presents a very different appear- TJie Finest Road in England. 23 ancc to what it did in the old coaching days, when its broad white macadamised surface stretched from hedgerow to hedgerow, and gave racing space to any number of coaches. A sh'ght rise from Bawtry and a sudden fall and rise which follow bring us on to a two miles stretch of dead level past Rossington Park, whose thickly - wooded demesne lends a peculiar charm to a scene that gladdens the heart of the weary traveller. How fresh and invigorating are the sur- roundings in the early summer time ; tall chestnuts laden with bloom; labur- num and hawthorn and purple beech giving an ever-va- RossiNGTOx Bridge In\ and Toll Bar. rying colour to the flitting scene, as the scent of the lilac and wild hyacinth floats towards you on the air. Many are the times that opposition coaches have raced over this beautiful bit of road. No fear of any collision here, for the roadway is wide enough for six coaches to drive abreast, and no better opportunity can offer for a team to make up its lost ground or gain an advantage over its opponent, and so we are quickly whirled past the park and down the long avenue of elms which brings us to Rossington Bridge, in whose little village church- 3'ard hard by is laid " The Gipsy King," a " Bohemian " of 24 The Old Coaching Days. the first water, a well-to-do, well-educated, and cultivated L,^cntleman. Charles Bosvile led that wandering- kind of life which endeared him to the hearts of a now almost extinct race ; he made their unwritten laws, and the gipsies were well known on the road in the old coaching days as " Bosvile's people." The Old Toll House and the Old Inn at Rossington Bridge have undergone but little change since the old times, although the inn, like so many of its contemporaries, has been converted into a private residence, whilst the bar-house has become the cottage dwelling of some farm labourer. The gates were removed when the tolls were abolished, and a quantity of the stabling connected with the inn has been pulled down. A few of the coaches were horsed from the Rossington Bridge Inn, and the stages that they worked were from Rossington Bridge to Barnby Moor on the one hand and Red House on the other. There was also a galloping stage over the almost dead level four-and-three-quarter miles between Rossington Bridge and Doncaster, which was worked in and out by the same team. Leaving Rossington Bridge and crossing the Wadworth Drain by the bridge, a slight rise running through what was in the coaching days open moor, but is now skirted by luxuri- ant plantations, brings us on to an almost dead level to Doncaster, sweeping through a graceful country, whose vast expanse can be viewed for miles spreading its broad green mantle o'er the bosom of the earth. Past peaceful looking cottages and homely farmsteads ; past better class dwellings ; past Carr House, built by Hugh Childers, and where " Flying Childers " was bred and reared, and into that long avenue of elms which commences quite two miles out of Doncaster and leads without break or interruption right into the town. 'Neath their majestic shade we sweep past the Town Moor and the racecourse ; past the Salutation and the Reindeer, both celebrated coaching houses, and through the High Street to the Angel. CHAPTER III Doncaster — The Old Angel Inn — Corporation Feas tings thereat — The Red Lion Inn — TJie New Angel Inn — The Ravi and the Reindeer Inns — TJie Black Boy Inn — TJiomas Pye — " Dickey " Wood — Number of Daily Coaches from Doncaster — fohn Frederic Herring — His A rrival at Don- caster — His Career as a CoacJiman and Sign Painter — His Ultimate Siiccess as an Artist — Old Postboys — The Father of the YorksJiirc Postboys. XE of the oldest inns on the road was the Old Angel at Doncaster, which was 7 connected with coaching from its in- troduction to its fall, and when stage coaching fell this celebrated old post- ing house fell with it. Royalty on several occasions honoured it with their presence. In 1603 James I. stayed within its walls, while in 1778 His Royal Highness the Duke of York remained at least one night, and a week later the Prince of Wales was an occupant of the state rooms ; both rested here on their return journey in the same month, and the Duke of York again slept here in 1795, whilst noblemen and gentlemen innumerable availed themselves of its excellent ac- X?''^'^ commodation. ^ In its earlier days the Old Angel 26 Tlie Old CoacJiing I) ays. was known by the sign of the Bear, though the names of any of the landlords in those early days do not transpire ; but long before post-chaises were known we find that the mails were conveyed on horseback from this place, and we likewise find that the postmastership at Doncaster was in one family from 1588 to 1725, and on the 2nd of February, 1623, there died a member of this family, William Hayford, innkeeper and postmaster at Doncaster, so that it is quite possible that he was landlord of the Old Angel or the Bear, as it would then be called. The Old Angel Inn, Doncaster. At the beginning of the last century Richard Whitaker kept this famous hostelry, which was undoubtedly the chief house of entertainment at that time. At assize time it was customary for the mayor and corporation to receive the judges at the boundary of the borough and conduct them with all due ceremony as far as Rossington Bridge, at the completion of the law business. The corporation voted £\2. out of the Landlords at the Ansccl. -^r funds to be paid to Whitaker at each assize for brisket and sack when the judges, aldermen, and twenty-four men were entertained by the host of the Angel, except such of the councillors as failed to put in an appearance at the ceremony of attending on the judges. Richard Whitaker seems to- have been a man of considerable moment in his time (but the innkeepers of that day were altogether of superior calibre),. Red Liox Inx, Doncaster. and he was elected mayor of Doncaster in 1728. He was succeeded at the Angel by his son James Whitaker, who was likewise elected mayor in 1760 or 1761. Mr. Woodcock was the next landlord of the Angel, and he was at the house and had charge of mails when the first Mail coach came along the road in 1786. This coach, never- theless, was worked from the Red Lion, in Scot Lane, which 28 The Old Coaching Days. at that time was a coaching house. The mayor and corpora- tion seem to have "kept it up" pretty considerably in those days, as we find their names and the Angel in constant collision, and some of our municipal ratepayers would open their eyes if they found such items paid out of the rates as : the ringers when the Marquess of Rockingham dined at the Angel, ;^i ; the waits playing at the Angel, 5s.; to extra music at the Angel during Alderman Whitaker's year of ofifice, £6 6s.; to say nothing of the various sums voted for sack and brisket, and we can now easily understand the source of inspiration which prompted the following : — - The Doncaster mayor sits in his chair, His mills they merrily go, His nose doth shine with drinking wine, And the gout is in his great toe. In Mr. Woodcock's time the Leeds and London Dili- gence, and the Paul Jones (the forerunners of the Rocking- ham), and the old York and London coach were all worked from the Old Angel. Towards the end of last century Mr. Woodcock was succeeded by a Mr. Day, who remained for .a few years, when the house was purchased by Robert Bel- cher, who came to Doncaster from the Sun Inn, Bradford, and prior to his going to the Old Angel kept the Red Lion Inn, in Scot Lane. Mr. Belcher, like his predecessors, was also an alderman, but the inn had seen its best days, and the bulk of the coaching and posting business had gone over to the New Angel, on the opposite side of the way, which was opened in 18 10. In 1842 railways had completely sealed the doom of the road, and the old hostelry that had seen so much in its time was at last without an occupant. For four years it remained empty, when it was purchased by the Corporation and pulled down to make room for the Guildhall, which now stands on the old site. The New Angel, now called the Royal, was a busy house from its opening to the demise of coaching, and the house as Thomas Pye. it stands at present is but little altered since those times, a remark which equally applies to the other coaching inns in Doncaster : the Reindeer, the Ram, the Red Lion, the Black Boy, and the Salutation. The coach offices at the New Angel were kept by Mr. Dunhill, and the principal coaches starting from that inn were the Royal Mails, which left for London every forenoon at eleven o'clock and half-past respectively, the former going by way of Bawtry, Tuxford, Newark, Huntingdon, Ware, and Waltham Cross ; the latter pursuing the same route to Alconbury Hill, thence by way of Biggleswade, Hatfield, and Barnett ; and the Welling- ton, which left the New Angel every evening at six o'clock, and arrived in London early the follow- ing afternoon. The Leeds Union was still worked from the Old Angel across the way. Mr. Dunhill was succeeded at the New Angel by Thomas Pye, who remained at the house long after the coaches had gone off the road. He used to drive the Edinbro' Mail between Doncaster and Stamford, and beingf a good-sized well-made man, when he donned his brown great-coat he looked the very type of an old stage coachman. His father was a coachman before him, and although he ap- prenticed his son to a joiner, his inclinations were always with the horses. Breed will tell, so the jack-plane was ultimately exchanged for the box seat. He still continued to drive the Mail after he became the landlord of the New Angel ; in fact, he and George Leach, another Doncaster coachman of steady habits, who succeeded in saving ^2jOOC,. were the two last men to drive the Edinbro' Mail between Doncaster and Stamford. Pye's family carried on the Ne v Thomas Pye. TJie Old Coaching Days. Angel long after he was dead, and it was not until 1851, when the Queen stopped at this house, that its name was changed to the Royal. Two other well - known posting houses in Doncaster which lay in close proximity to each other were the Reindeer .and the Ram, at both of which places Mr. Richard Wood had his coach offices, and when stage coaching was at its height and there was an increasing demand for accommodation, Mr. Wood also stood some of his horses and horsed some of The Ram and Tiiii Reindeer Inns, Doncaster. the coaches from the Black Boy Inn, in Frenchgate, the Highflyer amongst others. He was succeeded at the Black Boy by Mr. Wilkinson, who remained until the coaches went off the road. " Dickey " Wood as he was familiarly called, was the principal coach proprietor in Doncaster, and worked many of the stages both on the main and the cross roads. He horsed the Rockingham and the Highflyer, and had over two hundred horses engaged in the business. He ''Dickey'' Wood. 31 likewise horsed several pair-horse coaches which ran between Doncaster and Sheffield, Nottingham, Wakefield, Thorne, Hull, Lincoln, Stamford, Gainsborough, &c. Some of the heavy luggage waggons and post-chaises were also under his control, and his whole business was of a very extensive character. Mr. Wood lived at the top of Hall Gate, and was one of the best known and most popu- lar men in Doncaster. He was a rather stout, fresh - looking, good-natured fellow, wearing a top hat and a high white choker, and was never so happy as when he was entertaining his friends during the race week at the Red House F'arm on the race- course. He farmed the land connected with this well-known house, and it was here that he used to turn out his horses to graze. At one time he sold his coaching interests to a Mr. Booth, - who failed in business, and Mr. Wood was obliged to take them back again. On the St. Leger and Cup Black Boy Inn, Doncaster. ^i^yg it was customary for the London coaches to make a stay in Doncaster until those races wxre over, when they proceeded on their journey. The London coaches that were on the road in Mr. Wood's time were the Rockingham, the Highflyer, the Royal Mails (two), the Wellington, the Express, and the Leeds Union, which were all four-horse coaches, leaving Doncaster •daily for London, as their duplicates likewise did to their several 32 The Old Coaching Days. destinations further North, making in all fourteen four-horse- coaches on the main road, besides about forty other coaches,, chiefly pair-horse, running on the cross roads. Besides these there were from fifteen to twenty heavy luggage waggons- passing in and out of Doncaster daily, and an innumerable- number of post-chaises and gentlemen's private carriages- travelling post. Some idea may be gathered from the above of the busy times and the daily whirl of excitement to which the old town would be subjected in the earlier part of the century. In reviving recollections of the old coaching days you cannot long remain in Doncaster without learning something of one of the old stage coachmen who left an indelible mark on the coaching history of this town. Mr. Wood had in his em- ploy a man who divided his time between driving the Highflyer^ elaborating the panels of the various coaches, and painting the signs of many of the inns with pictorial representations- of their names. This man was John Frederic Herring, the artist who in after life acquired such a fame as a painter of horses and coaching scenes as to to give him the highest place of honour in his profession in his especial line. He- was born in London in the year 1795, and was brought up as a fringe maker, which business was carried on by his father irr Newgate Street, but his heart was with his pencil and brush,, so he was sent by his father to one Mr. Phelps, an artist, to« receive instruction, who sent him back after a few lessons, saying that the pupil knew more than the master. At the age of nineteen he fell madly in love with a young and charming girl, and taking advantage of a brief business absence of his father in Holland, they eloped and were married. Being without means and fearing a father's anger, they determined to fly, but not knowing whither to go they stuck a pin at random into an old gazetteer, which distinctly pointed to Doncaster, so to Doncaster they wended their way poor and penniless. With respect to Herring's life at Don- J. F. Herring. 33 caster we cannot do better than give an extract from an excellent work on " Ancient and Modern Doncaster," by John Tomlinson. Herring arrived at Doncaster " during the races of 18 14, and saw William win the St. Leger. The main consideration to an entire stranger was how to live after he had arrived at Doncaster. Local tradition says that as he passed a coach- builder's premises he observed a workman with pencil and palette striving to portray the Duke of Wellington on his charger, which representation was intended for the panel of a new coach to be called the ' Commander-in-Chief.' To deli- neate the horse evidently puzzled the painter, when noticing his perplexity young Herring offered to sketch the animal for him. So satisfied was the workman by this outline that he begged the stranger to complete the whole, and while thus engaged the proprietor came in. ' This is clever,' said he, and after a few other questions inquired if Herring was engaged as an art painter. Not long after the quondam artist asked the coach proprietor to let him drive, when Mr. Wood ob- served, ' I acknowledge your abilities as a painter, but to drive four-in-hand is quite another matter.' ' Trust me with the ribbons as a trial,' said the young man, ' and accompany me on the box-seat.' After some pressing, consent was given, and the trial proving eminently successful, Herring was soon installed on the Highflyer. " F'or several years while driving coaches he employed his leisure in painting animals, chiefly on signs of public- houses, the best remembered being the Coach and Horses in Scot Lane, the Brown Cow in Frenchgate, the White Lion in St. George Gate, the Stag in the Holmes, and the Salutation, near Hall Cross. With one solitary exception, the Stag, painted on plaster, all have been removed. There are local reminiscences of keen competition to possess those faded relics. It is said that a gentleman travelling north was so struck with the painted cow that he ordered the postboy to D 34 The Old Coaching Days. stop there while he tried to bargain for the sign. He began by offering twice as much as had been paid for it. ' Not for twenty times as much,' repHed the landlady, so the gentleman in the post-chaise had to depart without obtaining what he coveted. I remember that the 'Salutation' (which was a The Salutation Inn, Doncaster. picture of angels, and not of men) was in its place about twenty years ago. The Coach and Horses, after being re- stored, if not entirely repainted by another hand, was purchased and removed to Beverley. Herring's career as a coachman at length gave place to a higher if not a more remunerative career. Numerous Yorkshire gentlemen, includ- ing Mr. Stanhope, of Cannon Hall ; Mr. Frank Hawksworth, Herring's AcJdevcuients. 35 •of Hickleton ; Mr. Christopher Wilson, of Ledstone ; the Hon. E. Petre, of Stapleton ; Sir l:ellingham Graham, of Norton Conyers ; and others showered commissions upon him, chiefly for representations of their fav^ourite horses. But it was as a painter of racehorses that Herring achieved his highest renown, and for upwards of thirty years in suc- •cession he pictured winners of the St. Leger. At length not only noblemen with turf proclivities, but even royalty honoured him with commissions." It was in 1821, after being seven years at Doncaster, that Herring threw up the ribbons to follow that which ultimately proved a more lucrative calling. During his stay in Doncas- ter things could not have been in too flourishing a condition for the }-oung coachman-artist. Reduced to the necessity of sign painting, the prices obtained were incompatible with the •quality of the work given, and hampered as he was with a young wife, he knew something of the struggle of life, and was at times obliged to fall back on some of his other accom- plishments. He sang a good song and pla}'ed the clarionet most excellently, and we find am.ong many other things that he did he was engaged at the Doncaster Theatre for a short period. When he left Doncaster to go in for the higher branches of art he took up his abode near to the head-quarters of the Turf at Fulbourn, between Cambridge and Newmarket, and finally, when he had become famous, went to reside at ^leopham Park, a short distance from Tonbridge, where he ■died in 1865. In the latter part of his time he suffered vfery much from asthma, and was at times quite unable to leave home to •execute the commissions of his royal and noble patrons. During one of these indispositions Her Majesty sent down three of her horses for him to paint. These were Bagdad, a power- ful black charger which belonged to the late Prince Albert, -a white Arab called Korseed, and the Arab Said, the horse on 36 Tlie Old Coaching Days. which the royal children were taught to ride, Doncaster may- well be proud of its connection with the man who began life by driving the Highflyer, and rose to so exalted a position as painter to the Queen. Before leaving Doncaster it would perhaps be as well to say a word or two about the old postboys, the father of whom, so to speak, belonged to that town. Of the genus postboy that in the pre-railway days swarmed along that great head line of posting, the Great North Road, little or nothing is known. There are men still living in whose minds memories of the old posting days are still green, who can recall certain individual members of this quaint old class of men ; and then comes the oft-repeated question : " I wonder what became of him ? " a question that remains unanswered except in a very few cases, for history has left no record of where they went or how they ended their days. Whether they drove off to another world, one postboy to a pair, as the versatile Sam Weller suggested, or they vanished into thin air, certain it is that w^ien the railways superseded the road, this numerous class disappeared so completely as to leave but little trace of their after life. The regular down-the-road old postboy was a rum- looking customer to gaze upon, many of them being of very diminutive stature, with shrivelled-up figures, quaint, wrinkled faces, and a quiet, knowing eye, the body stooping forward, and a constant drooping at the knee, as though they were continuously in the saddle. The old postboys' jackets were red and blue in colour in Yorkshire, although yellow jackets were much in vogue in the south. These short jackets were trimmed at the collar and wrists in some cases with silver braid, and had down each side two wondrous rows of closely- fitting buttons. The blue jackets were made of superfine cloth, and though not containing much material cost as much as two guineas each, an extra guinea being sometimes added to that sum for silver braid. These jackets were worn on Old Postboys. 37 state occasions and in winter ; the red jackets, which were for common use, being made of a cheaper and thinner material. The waistcoat, which was also profusely ornamented with buttons, was of red or blue stripes or buff, according" to the place to which the wearer belonged ; for instance, the Don- ■caster lads wore blue stripes, the Ferrybridge and Wetherby lads red stripes. The cravat was a mystery of folds and wraps, for the manufacture of which the old postboy used to purchase two yards of fine linen, and slitting this lengthwise ■down the middle, joined two of the ends and wound its long length in many folds round his throat, and high up under his chin. White cords, and boots with yellow tops completed his lower attire, except the false leg, which was made of iron and leather, and was worn on the off-side leg as a protection against the carriage pole. For winter and wet weather he had a buff-coloured great-coat with long laps reaching to his heels, and a double row of large pearl buttons. In wet weather when riding he would pull these long laps forward and wrap them round his legs as a protection. To crown all, he wore a long straight black or white stove-pipe hat with a square brim. The black hats were considered better form, and were usually worn by the lads connected with the head posting houses, and the colour of the hat was also a dis- tinguishing feature where opposition posting houses were established ; thus the lads at the Angel at Ferrybridge \\ore black hats and those at the Greyhound wore white. The regular postboy did not receive any wages from the post-master w^ho employed him, and besides this he was obliged to provide his own clothing. He depended for his source of emolument entirely on tips, his only receipts from his master being his board and lodging. Nevertheless, he did not fare badly, and some of them made as much as five pounds a week with little difficulty in bu.sy times such as Doncaster races. Each postboy had four horses under his charge, and the modus operandi was as follows : gentlemen 38 The Old Coaching Days. travelling post would, in many instances, send forward an out- rider to the next posting station to order the next relay, in order to have them in readiness on the arrival of the carriage, each successive establishment sending on the out-rider. The postboys took their regular turns, the first and second pair out held themselves in readiness, so that even when no out- rider had been sent on in advance there was very little time lost. After a change a ticket was handed to the postboy from the posting office before starting, which he gave up to the gate-keeper of the toll-bar that happened to be on his stage, not stopping to pay the fees, as he did this on his return journey with the loose horses or empty chaise as the case might be. Arrived at the end of the stage the traveller,, whilst the next pair were being put to, settled up with the postboy for the post-horses, the toll-bar fees, and his own douceur. The postboy, before starting out on his return journey, was regaled at the expense of the house to which he had posted. The nature of the entertainment varied according to the amount of opposition afforded by rival establishments. At a place like Doncaster, where there were plenty of posting establishments, the lads were very well treated at some of the places, who were desirous of en- couraging them to stop at their houses instead of going over to the opposition inn. The New Angel at Doncaster always gave incoming postboys a square meal along with a quart of ale and a glass of spirits ; whilst on the other hand the Swan at Aberford, where there was no opposition, had a bad name for its hospitality, as the "Ferrybridge gentleman" can attest. The first of the old Yorkshire postboys may be said to have been Tommy Adkin, who was postboy at the Old Angel Inn, Doncaster. For sixty years he carried the mail bags on horseback, and w&s engaged at the work long before the advent of post-chaises. The first post-chaise was put upon the road for general purposes in 1753, and in this year old Tommy drove the first of its kind in and out of Doncaster. Doncastcr Postboys. 39 He died at the age of seventy-nine years, and the fact of his leaving ^1,000 shows that there were worse things than being a postboy. Another Doncaster postboy was Samuel Briggs, who began life at the Sun Bridge Inn, Bradford, which was a well- known posting house in that town. He afterwards entered the employ of Mr. Belcher, at the Red Lion Inn, Scott Lane, to which house the first Mail ran that entered Doncaster. After leaving the Red Lion he went to the Old Angel, in Frenchgate, where he did so well that he entered the Marquis of Granby, at Bawtry, as landlord, where he remained for thirty-seven years. He died at Sheffield on the 27th of August, 1862, aged seventy-nine years. Two other well- known Doncaster postboys were the Yates', father and son, but record does not say what became of them, save that the elder died at Doncaster ; whilst another, called Major, died in that town only a year ago, at the age of eighty ; and there is still living at Doncaster, in his seventy-ninth year, James Smith, who was postboy with Mr. Wood, and subsequently with Mr. Pye, at the New Angel. CHAPTER IV. 2^ ^^i^- - From Doncaster to Ferrybridge — York Bar — Red House Inn — Robin Hood's Well — The New Inn — TJie Robin Hood — Barnsdale Bar — Wcntbridge — The Bay Horse — Scotch Drovers — The Old Blue Bell — The Oldest Inn on the Road — Wentbridge Cutting — Ferrybridge — The Angel at Ferrybridge — TJie Swan and the Greyhound — Ferrybridge Postboys — Hoisting the Wellington CoacJinuni — TJie Three Jolly Postboys — The Boisterous Traveller. • ' V #^^HE old coaching associations to be found along the somewhat lengthy stage (fiftecn-and-a-quarter miles) that lies between Doncaster and Ferrybridge are sufficiently numer- ous, if of but minor importance. The old disused inns along the road have but little architectural pretensions. Plain, bald, uninte- resting brick and stone structures, their chief features have but little claim to anything but the briefest passing note. Leaving Doncaster by Frenchgate, there is five miles of dead-level road to Red House, with one slight variation, that is the dip near to Woodlands, where you catch a glimpse of the still lake, girded round by tall, sombre-looking trees, its dark, silent waters flecked with huge patches of aquatic vegetation, its unruffled surface disturbed only by the occa- York Bar. 41 sional rising of the trout and the erratic evolutions of the coot and waterhen. About a mile-and-a-half out of Don- caster the traveller cannot help but notice, on the left, the white front of Cusworth Hall, the ancestral home of Mr. Wrightson, the founder of the Badsworth hunt ; whilst a little further on we come to York Bar, whose turnpike gates were only removed some six or seven years ago. The inn at York Bar was better known on the road in the old times to York I]ar axu Inn. the Scotch drovers than for any immediate connection with the stage or mail coaches. Beyond this we find nothing worthy of note until we reach Red House : a square, commonplace, two-storey building, with a glaring red front, now a farm-house, but having the same appearance almost to-day as it had in the days when it was known as one of the minor coaching inns, and its front was graced with long- 42 The Old Coaching Days. settles and wooden benches, at which the neighbouring, farmers sat enjoying their pints and "churchwardens," and awaiting the arrival of the different coaches. A few of the coaches were horsed from this house, but the number could not have been very great, as there was only standing room for about a score horses, which probably plied principally on the cross roads. At this point the road branches off to Wakefield, which was the route pursued by some of the Leeds coaches, particularly towards the end of the coaching days. At the time of which we are speaking the inn was kept by John Rooler, who was succeeded by his son-in-law, George Senior, and the house has now been closed _,_^ about twenty years ; but it still keeps up its old associations by having its- plain, square front periodically paint- ed a glowing red, whilst we are told that Mr. Wright, the popular master of the Badsworth hunt, still uses the house to change horses when he drives his drag to Doncaster, as each succeeding race meeting comes round. A stiffish rise and fall of about r^ ^ „ J two miles brings us to Robin Hood's- The Red House Inn. ° Well, which was a far more important place. Here there were two old coaching inns, both now grown into disuse, and both the Mails and fast coaches over the Ferrybridge and Pontefract stages were horsed from this place. The place takes its name from the well, which is reputed to have been a favourite trysting place of the bold outlaw. The selection speaks well for the merry Robin's judgment, for the charming little dell which holds the handful of dwellings is beautifully sequestered. Robin Hood's Well is situate in what was known as Barnsdale Forest, which shared the reputation along with Sherwood of being one of the chief haunts of the outlaw and his band when leading. Robin Hood's Well. 43' their merry greenwood life and hunting the King's deer,, herds of whose descendants are still to be seen in the adjoin- ing park. Sherwood and Barnsdale would be \\ithin easy- access of each other. The old Roman ridge along which the pack-horses used to travel before the advent of coaches, and which in this neighbourhood can still easily be defined, used to form a direct route between the two places, and was tra- versed many a time and oft by the outlaws in the course of their peregrinations. The New Inn and the Robin Hood Inn, Robin Hood's Well. Robin Hood's Well was one of the busy places along the Great North Road, with something like thirty coaches passing through every day, to say nothing of the heavy I'^SS^-g^ waggons and the fish waggons that used to pass on their way from York to London. A considerable amount of traffic went along the road to Pontefract, which branched off at Barnsdale Bar, about a mile-and-a-half further up the road ; and the bulk of these coaches changed horses at Robin Hood's Well, and the Royal Mails were horsed from the lower of the two inns, the Robin Hood, which was kept by William England. One or two of the more 44 TJie Old Coaching Days. fashionable light coaches were also horsed from this place! The top house was called the New Inn, and has since the license left it been occupied as a ladies' school. The road from Robin Hood's Well to the top of Went-I bridge cutting is as hard a bit as one would wish to meetj and must have been a toughish piece to get over for some ol the horses. The rise out of Robin Hood's Well to Barnsdale Bar and the stiff hills in and out of Wentbridge possessec the sort of collar work that would try the best of them] Barnsdai.e Bar. Barnsdale Bar stood at the corner of the wood where the five road ends meet, and where the Pontefract, Castleford, and Leeds coaches left the main road. The old toll-house stands there still, a square, solid building, sheltered in among the trees, after leaving which there is nothing of interest until we reach the picturesque little hamlet of Wentbridge, nestling in a deep hollow through which the Went river drags sluggishly along past the quaint cottages, surrounded on every hand by a luxuriant growth of roses. Scotch Drovers. 45 There were formerly two inns in Wentbridge, and al- though neither of them were coaching houses, they were none the less closely connected with the road. The one, the Bay Horse, which no longer exists as an inn, was, like its contemporary at York Bar, much frequented by the drovers and private gentlemen travelling in their own carriages. There was an extensive piece of grazing land attached to this house, into which the drovers could turn their cattle for the night. It was no unusual thing before railways came into vogue to see eight or ten drovers with their wallets of oatmeal and shoeing irons slung across their shoulders in charge of a drove of six or seven hundred black polled Scotch cattle. They were driven all the way from Scotland to London in stages of about twenty miles a day, and rested for the night at such houses as the Bay Horse, and when they fell lame, as they very frequently did through the hoof being worn down, they were shod on the road with curious-looking thin pieces of iron, in shape almost like the half of the horse shoe. The calves were carried in carts specially con- structed for the purpose. The calves had their feet tied and laid in the centre, with their heads round the edge of the cart, and must have suffered terribly in the long journe}'s. This roadside inn had accommodation for fifty men and horses, and was kept in the height of the coaching times by John Ruddock, who afterwards migrated to the Bull and Mouth at Leeds. The other inn at Wentbridge is the Old Blue Bell, which claims to be the oldest house on the road, but what its exact age may be does not transpire. However, we find that the license was taken away from the house almost three hundred years ago for harbouring poachers and footpads. We can quite understand that at that period it would be likely to be much frequented by such like gentry, as, situate as it was in Barnsdale Forest, which abounded with deer, it would soon become the haunt of all the deer stealers in the vicinity.. 4-6 TJie Old Coachm^ Days. Wc cannot tell at what date the license was restored to it, but probably after a lapse of a few years. Anyhow, it is certain that the public business was again carried on there in 1633, .as the present landlord, Mr. Thomas Dawson, has in his possession the old sign which used to swing in front of the house, and which sign bears the above date. Another and more modern production now stands above the doorway, bearing the following inscription : — The Blue Bell on Wentbridge Hill, The old sign is existing still Inside the house. The old sign is hung in the passage, ragged and weather- beaten, bearing a rude painting of a bell almost obliterated, and the date 1633 ; and the landlord sits in his chair and slyly invites you to break a piece off with your fingers, so rotten does it look, well knowing that the stout old black oak that has swung to and fro for generations, and has weathered the storms and blasts for two-and-a-half centuries, is imper- vious to mere flesh and bone. On leaving Wentbridge the road rises very abruptly through a deep cutting, which was only just completed at the time the coaches went off the road, so that its accomplish- ment v/as not of much service to the stages. Formerly the road used to wind down a very dangerous and precipitous path, and it was a very risky business traversing the same, particularly on opposition coaches, when time was an object, and could not be wasted in over-carefulness. When half-way down this precipice coachmen would recklessly " spring " their horses in order to get them up the other side, and one need have a stout heart to enjoy it. From the top of the cutting we come to .Stapleton Park, which " Tommy " Hodgson, the famous master of the Holderness hunt, sold to pay his father's electioneering expenses. It was purchased by the Hon. Mr. Petre, who was well known on the turf and the road, and was for a short time the master of the Badsworth. The Angel at Ferrybridge. 4.7 It afterwards became the property of the late Mr. J. Hope Barton, another celebrated M.F.H. ; in fact this whole stage, which passes through the heart of the Badsworth country, is rich with reminiscences of fox hunting. The road gradually falls with a slight dip at Darrington to Ferrybridge. Of the three old coaching houses at Ferrybridge the first we encounter on entering the village is the Greyhound, .although by far the most important house of the three is the Angel, whose vast premises have long ago been converted into private residences. The importance of Ferrybridge as a great coaching centre is shown from the fact of its being the junction on the great main road where the principal coaches branched off on their several routes : the Edinburgh coaches by Tadcaster to York, the Glasgow, Carlisle, and Newcastle coaches by Aberford, and the Leeds coaches by Peckfield Bar — and that from the very earliest days of stage coaching it was the great rendezvous for the private travelling carriages of Yorkshire noblemen and gentlemen who wished to join the London coaches. The Angel at Ferrybridge was a great rambling building or series of buildings with no particular architectural pre- tensions, and an endless amount of stabling, coach-houses, chaise-houses, domiciles for postboys, horse keepers, helpers, t&c, at the back. When the Angel was in the zenith of its fame it was kept by Dr. George Alderson, who was a son of the vicar of Birkin. Dr. Alderson was a dapper little gentleman of the old school, and in his threefold capacity of doctor of medicine, for he had a good practice in the locality, coach proprietor, and mine host of the Angel, he must have been a man of no ordinary attainments. The posting busi- ness in all its various branches was briskly carried on at the Angel ; relays of horses were held in readiness for gentle- men's private carriages, postboys slept with spur on heel, and post-chaises innumerable were constantly rattling over the stone pavement into the yard be}'ond, through whose dark 48 TJie Old Coaching- Days. ijiir^"4 m i'llijfilillf /(|;/i Up ^ archway it was no uncommon occurrence to turn out as many as fifty pairs of horses in a day. Dr. Alderson horsed the Highflyer and the Leeds Union from the An^el to Doncaster, and the two Royal Mails in and out to Robin Hood's Well. The Swan at Ferrybridge. 49 These coaches were horsed over the Ferrybridge and Sher- burn stage by Mr. Thomas Hall, who changed his horses at the Angel, but stood them at his own stables a little higher up, nearer the bridge. Mr. Hall formerly kept the Swan, the third coaching house at Ferrybridge, but gave it up some time before the end of the coaching days, although he still continued to horse the Mails over this stage. When the mails first began to be carried by coach in 1786, the whole length of road from Ferrybridge to Tadcaster was worked by Mr. Hall's father, Mr. John Hall. From this it will be seen that the Mails were horsed on this stage out of Ferrybridge by one family during the whole of their coaching existence, but towards the latter part of the coaching days Thomas Hall sold the ground between Sherburn and Tadcaster to Mrs. Kidd, of the latter place, in the hands of whose son it remained until the coaches went off the road. Mr. William Thwaites followed Mr. Hall to the Swan, which house is situate over the bridge, in close proximity to the river. It is now desolate and deserted, and stands in its lonely garden, 'neath the shade of its tall poplars, dark and gloomy, and fast tumbling into decay. Mr. Thwaites horsed the Wellington from this house on both the Tadcaster and the Robin Hood's Well stages, but on account of the incon- venient situation of the Swan the horses were brought over the bridge, and were changed in front of the Golden Lion, where the coach stopped. The Golden Lion was a house that was much frequented by the heavy luggage waggons E The Swan Inn, Ferrybridge. so 71ie Old Coaching ^Days. which were on the road. It was the shipping and receiving house for the goods which came up the river from Hull by boat. The first mentioned house at Ferrybridge, the Grey- hound, is the only one of the old coaching houses that still retains its license. Its former premises were too extensive for a modern inn ; thus a portion of it is now used as a The Greyhound Inn, Ferrybridge. private residence. The stabling and coach-houses, where there was formerly accommodation for about fifty horses, were across the way, as was also the tap for the use of the postboys and horsekeepers. A considerable time before the beginning of the century the Greyhound was kept by Mary Moody, who in 1803 took her son-in-law, Samuel Rusby, into partnership. Rusby was formerly in the wine Ferrybridge Postboys. 51 and spirit trade at Pontefract and had Edward Trueman for a partner, but on his going to the Greyhound the partner- ship was dissolved. He still carried on the business after the death of his mother-in-law, and horsed the Rockingham and the Express from this house. He was succeeded by his son, who at one time was coachman on the Rockingham. The bulk of the stabling has been turned into cottages, although the outside appearance of the house itself is but little changed, as indeed are any of the three houses at Ferrybridge ; but, alas, there occupation is gone, and our forefathers might well bemoan the loss of the comfort of the old inns and the courtesy of their landlords. Many of the latter were drawn from a superior class, as for ex- ample the host of the Angel, Dr. Alderson, and his son-in-law, who succeeded him, Mr. Atkinson, a north-country gentleman of tall, aristocratic, and commanding ap- pearance, of finished deportment, kind and courteous to rich and poor alike. At Ferrybridge there are still living two old postboys who were formerly connected with the Angel. The elder, George Barker, has reached the great age of eighty-seven and has still plenty of go left in him. He is a fine specimen of the quaint old postboy and doesn't look like driving off the road of life yet a bit. The younger one, James Terry, is eighty-five years of age. He came to the Golden Lion when he was twenty, and afterwards went to the Angel, where he acted as occasional postboy under Mr. Atkinson. His eye- sight and memory are remarkably good even at this advanced age. Another Ferrybridge postboy was Tom Varley, alias George Barker, THE Ferrybridge Postboy. 52 TJic Old CoacJiing "Days. Tom Groom. He came from Kent to Mr. Atkinson, and was at the Angel for many years. He hanged himself at his house in Colbert Lane. Sam Colbert, Jimmy Watson, Tom Fagdin, and " Beefy " were all Angel postboys, and all are dead. George Myers was postboy to Rusby at the Greyhound at Ferrybridge. He fell asleep, and never woke again. He slept nearly two days, and died asleep. We can hardly coincide with Sam Weller in his remark that no one ever saw a postboy taking his pleasure. Though a quaint, old-fashioned lot, some of them were as fond of their joke and as full of rollicking fun as the roads were of ruts, and they were never so happy as when " kidding " a brother knight of the saddle, assisting at a runaway wedding, or taking a rise out of some of the coachmen that drove the Mails or other crack coaches, although they were on excellent terms with these gentry. It was a treat to see a crowd of pigmy postboys turn out to hoist a well-known driver of the Wellington into the box seat, He was a very stout man, and mostly half-seas-over, and it was impossible for him to reach that eminence without help, but he treated the lads well, and they always turned out to give him a lift. He generally promised them half-a-gallon for the job, and he used to say during the operation of hoisting : " Altogether ; another push up, lads, an' I'll mak' it a gallon ! " The postboys would immediately adjourn to interview the gallon, and the strains of the "Three Jolly Postboys," the words of which wc append, would go far to prove that they not only took their pleasure, but did not take it sadly : — Three jolly postboys drinking at the Dragon, And they determined to finish out the flagon. Punch cures gout, the cohc, and the phithisic, And it is allowed to be the very best of physic. Landlord fill the bowl till it does flow over. For there's not a jolly soul that goes to bed sober. A Boisterous Traveller. 53 He that drinks and goes to bed sober, Falls as the leaves fall and dies in October. He that drinks and goes to bed mellow, Lives as he ought to live, and dies a jolly fellow. Those were hard drinking, hard swearing days, and the temptations to which the postboys were exposed and the tactics to which they were at times obliged to resort in pursuit of their calling made them a sly and wary set. Some of their customers were not over scrupulous, and did not hesitate to get the best of the deal when opportunity offered, and many other little circumstances of a like nature went far to keep the old postboy always on the alert. The following story will show the class of men with whom they sometimes had to deal. On a darksome night in front of the Angel at Ferry- bridge there stood a gentleman's travelling carriage, to which fresh horses had just been put, and the postboy was in the saddle about to depart, when the lad who had brought the traveller along the preceding stage greeted him with : " I say, George, you've got a rum customer inside ; he won't settle up for the journey ; he'll neither pay me nor the bars, nor yet for the horses ; he's had his pistols out all along the road swearing he'd shoot me ; he's a rum 'un, he is ; he'll blow a hole through you before you get to Doncaster ! " "All right," said George, setting his horses in motion ; " who are you kidding?" thinking the lad was taking a rise out of him, but before they had well got to the cross roads just outside Ferry- bridge, the traveller whips out his pistols and yells : " Damn you, drive faster, or Fll put a bullet through you ! " " All right, sir," says the imperturbable George ; " fast enough after a bit, sir ; wait until they break their wind." But the gentle- man inside wasn't a waiting sort, and he kept on swearing all the way up Darrington Hill, threatening the postboy with dire destruction, vowing that he would not give him a farthing for himself or the horses. The pistols were in 54 '^Ji'C Old Coaching Days. constant requisition, and no matter how much faster the lad drove things began to look blacker for him at every turn. " He must be mad or drunk," soliloquised George, " but whichever it is I'm not going to Doncaster for nought." So when they reached the top of Wentbridge Hill, which has a deep drop into the valley below, and was probably the absolutely worst piece of road in Yorkshire, George got down and proceeded to loose out the ride-horse. " What are you about ? " storms the traveller, hanging half-way out of the carriage and covering the lad with the pistols. " Well, if I'm not to be paid, I don't go any farther." " Drive on at once, you rascal you, or I'll shoot you instantly." " Shoot away," said George, " but I'm going back wi' my horses." Seeing that the postboy meant what he was saying, and that there was every prospect of his having to spend the night alone on the verge of this lonely ravine, for George had chosen his place well, the traveller calmed down, begged of him to put to his horses again, and promised to leave him unmolested and to pay all dues and demands on their arrival at Doncaster. They then proceeded on their journey in a much more peaceable fashion, but he broke out again ascending the hill at Red House, and had another short burst at York Bar. However, they ultimately reached Don- caster, and drew up at the New Angel. " Why the devil have you stopped here ? Go across the road to the other house." " But this is my usual house." " Don't talk to me, you villain ; go to the Old Angel at once," and George reluctantly complied, much to the chagrin of the landlady of the other house. The journey being ended, this fiery-tempered customer refused to settle, and after the postboy had loosed out his horses he went to interview him in his room. A grand array of bottles and glasses gave silent evidence of the true state of affairs, and George, with many threats, was pressed into service. The traveller steadfastly refused to settle, as glass All Sorts d Glasses. 55 after glass disappeared, and George as steadfastly refused to return to Ferrybridge. At last he paid for the horses, but he swore: "You scoundrel, I'll give you nothing for yourself. Have another glass." " No, thank you, sir." " Have another glass, you villain, or I'll shoot you." "And," said George, to finish the story in his own words, " I hed all sorts o' glasses. He gev me half-a-soverayn at the finish. I nivver wor so filled up i' all my life afore. I fell off seven times between Doncaster an' York Bar (about a mile), an' then I fell asleep in t'hedge bottom, an' lost one o' t'horses. Eh ! he wor a terrible customer wor that thear, bud I stuck to him an' got my brass after all." CHAPTER V. From Ferrybridge to Tadcasier — The Old Fox at Brotherton — The Red Bear at Sherbuni — Messrs. MatJieiv Kidd, Father and Son — The White Horse Inn — William Back- house — TJie Old Post Office, Tadcaster — JoJin Hartley — The Royal Mails — The Alexander — The Rose and Crown Inn — Mathezv Kidd, Junior — Tom Holtby and Miindig's Derby — Racing News — Tadcaster to York. ROBABLY the most uninteresting piece of road we have yet met with is the stretch from Ferry- bridge to Tadcaster. An irregular, undulating road with scarcely a level bit in it, except perhaps where it crosses Towton Field, the scene of the historical Battle of the Roses ; there is likewise a paucity of those landmarks which link the memories of to-day with the realities of the coaching past ; in fact, until we reach Tadcaster there is little along the whole twelve miles of road that demands Co'Scobi-ev^ -::. — " ~ more than passing attention. After leaving Ferrybridge, which teems with coaching associations that carry one back by easy transition to the palmy days of the road, and bidding adieu to its ancient hostelries, its old toll-house and receiving house, and passing The Old Fox at BrotJicrton. S7 ■over the handsome stone structure erected at the commence- ment of the century in the place of the narrow bridge, with its rotten timber piles and wooden buttresses, we rise the hill and approach the Old Fox, Brotherton, which inn, although Tiot a coaching house, was well known on the road in the old times. It was formerly a drovers' house, and was then kept by Mr. Robert Jenkinson, who had plenty of accommodation for the great droves of cattle which periodically came from the north. The Old Fox stood at the junction of the two great branches of the North Road, one going by way of The Old Fox Inn, Brotherton. Wetherby, Catterick, Bowes, and Appleby, and the other by Tadcaster, York, Northallerton, and Darlington. Pursuing the latter route through Burton Salmon and South Milford we come to the sign of the Red Bear at Sherburn, at which inn the Royal Mails used to change horses. The Red Bear was kept by Mr. Howe, but the Mails were horsed by Mr. Thomas Hall, of Ferrybridge, and Mr. Mathew Kidd, of Tadcaster, over the Ferrybridge and Tad- caster stages respectively, both of whom stood their horses 58 TJic Old Coaching Days. at the Red Bear. These were two short stages (six miles each), but considering tlie inequalities of the road and the thirty minutes only allowed on each stage by the postal authorities, which likewise included stoppages, these short stages were quite compatible with the nature of the work to be tackled by the cattle employed. The Red Bear Inn, Sherburn. The Red Bear and its vast yard and stables remain pretty much the same as they did in the best days of the road, and the old inn still retains its license ; neverthe- less, there is yet lacking the gaily-painted Mail with its smart coachman and four restless bits of blood to whirl us briskly past Barkston Ash and over Towton Field to the Anjjel Inn at Tadcaster. Tadcaster at Assize Times. 59 Messrs. Mathew Kidd, father and son, kept the Angel, which was one of the three coaching houses at Tadcaster, the others being the White Horse and the Rose and Crown. The White Horse and the Angel were situate next door to each other, and with no less than thirty-two stage coaches changing horses at Tadcaster daily, this number being strong- ly augmented by the usual contingent of post-chaises and private chariots, the continuous struggle and turmoil in front of the two inns would considerably surprise the quiet in- habitants of the old town to - day. At assize times, in accordance with ancient custom and established usage, the Lord Mayor of York, and his attendant aldermen and councillors, met the Judges at the boundary of the city, whilst outriders were sent forward as far as Tadcaster to herald their approach, and their Lordships in their State carriages passed through the town and over the old bridge, whilst the long straggling street would be literally lined on both sides from end to end with chaises bearing barristers, lawyers and their clients, witnesses, constables, and the numerous other concomitants natural to crime and litigation. The White Horse, which is now known as the Londes- borough Hotel, was the principal of the three Tadcaster coaching inns. In 1777 Mr. William Backhouse succeeded Mr. Todd at the White Horse, and from that time it remained in this family until the end of the coaching days. There was an extensive posting business connected with this house, and of the eight London coaches (four each way) which passed through Tadcaster daily, four were horsed from the White Horse. These were the Wellington and the Highflyer, with their duplicates. A goodly number of the cross-road coaches were also worked from this inn. As before stated, the Royal Mails were horsed between Tadcaster and Sherburn by Mr. Kidd, of the Angel, but these coaches changed horses at the Rose and Crown, which was situate at the top of the hill over the bridge, and at each 6o TJie Old Coaching JDays. successive change Mr. Kidd's horses were to lead a consider- able distance to and from his own house to the Rose and Crown. This was on account of the post office being situate near to the latter inn. The old Post Office at Tadcaster, the house now occupied by Dr. Ireland, was almost as important a coaching establish- ment as any of the three inns of the town, and the successive John Hartley's, father and son, had some very extensive ^"^>i^^ i The Angel and White Horse Inns, Tadcastei. stabling in connection with the place where they stood their horses, although they always changed them at the Rose and Crown adjoining, from whose doors they worked a many of the coaches. Mr. John Hartley, senior, was the old post- master at Tadcaster before the mails were carried by coach, and in 1786, when the change took place, he established his posting establishment at the top of the hill and horsed the TJie Rose afid Crown, Tadcaster. 6i Royal Mails between Tadcaster and York. Messrs. Hartley and Backhouse worked a great deal in conjunction. They horsed the York and Liverpool Mail and the York and Liverpool Highflyer. They also horsed another York and Liverpool coach, the Alexander, from Tadcaster to Leeds, a fifteen mile stage, the same team bringing the return coach back the same night, thirty miles in all, which was stiffish work as a regular thing. Of course the team rested the next day, as Messrs. Hartley and Backhouse provided the horses on alternate days. This coach ran to the Golden Lion in Lower Briggate, Leeds, and the horses were stabled with Mr. Lee. Mr. Hartley also horsed the well-known Leeds and Scarbro' coach, the Prince Blucher. The True Briton was an- other Scarborough coach running through here, but it changed horses at the Rose and Crown. This old coaching inn, which stands on the crown of the hill leaving Tadcaster for York, is at the present time partly occu- pied as a butcher's shop and partly as a private dwelling- house. During the latter part of the coaching era it was kept by George Cattle, whilst Ste- phen Thomas and two other landlords, named Tate and Thompson, kept the house at a prior date. This inn is probably the oldest in Tadcaster, and in 1786, it was kept by William Lodge, who had previously kept the New Inn, at Leeds. Before Lodge's time the earliest mention we can find of any coaching proprietors living there is W. Coates, who horsed the old Leeds, York, and Hull Diligence. He was succeeded by his widow, who in turn was followed by a Mr. Duxbur>-. The stabling at the Rose and Crown, Tadcaster. 62 The Old Coaching .Days. Rose and Crown was not very extensive, but the inn was principally used by Mr. Hartley, of the post office, which was situate but a few yards higher up the street, as the change-house for the coaches he horsed. Posting was also carried on here, there being ten or twelve pairs of post-horses kept in connection with the establishment, whilst some of the heavy luggage waggons of Messrs. Deacon, Harrison, & Co. stopped at this house. Mr. Hartley, in addition to his coaching and posting business, was likewise in some way connected with this well-known firm of carriers. Small wonder that the post office of that day should be such an extensive and superior structure, engaged as its proprietor was in the varied transit of mails, men, and baggage. Some of the baggage and fish waggons stopped at the Golden Lion (which was kept by " Charlie " Kidd, brother to the late Mr. Kidd, of the Angel) and the Anchor ; both these inns were at the Bridge end, and the latter house was kept by Jerry Schofield, who used to drive the Express, which was horsed by Mr. Matthew Kidd, from the Angel. Mr. Kidd, who is still living at Tadcaster, enjoying a well-earned retirement, was connected with coaching and posting from his infancy to the time when railways placed their veto on the road. He was born at the Angel, then kept by his father, and he still remained mine host of this inn for many years after the coaches had gone off the road. The White Horse was closed in 1841, there being no longer any call on the vast accommodation of this ancient hostelry. The vacant chaise-houses and empty stalls gave silent evidence that its occupation as a coaching inn was gone. With but trifling alteration, it was shortly after converted into three private dwellings, but when Lord Londesborough bought the Tadcaster property, he was anxious for some house of accommodation that could be looked up to as the head hotel. The former attributes of the erstwhile White Horse strongly recommended themselves to his lordship, so that in 1855, Mundig's Derby. 63 negotiations were entered into with Mr. Kidd, then still living at the Angel, for the license of that inn, with the result that Mr. Kidd sold Lord Londesborough the Angel property on the understanding that he became the landlord of the new venture. Thus the Angel was closed, and the once White Horse was re-opened under the sign of the Londesborough Arms, as it is now known, and Mr. Kidd remained its landlord until about 10 years ago. The two houses are but little altered. The Angel, now converted into shops, has lost the wooden figure that stood over the porchway, whilst the model of the White Horse in another coat, we are told, now graces the Bay Horse at York. Tadcaster is nothing like so busy as in the days when Tom Holtby used to rattle the Royal Mail down its long street. The crack Yorkshire coachman was one of the last men on the road, and some of the old worthies of Tadcaster still laugh heartily at the shock Tom gave to the then Vicar of Tadcaster, when Mundig won the Derby. The Mail was the first coach to bring the news along the road, and as Holtby came whirling through the town with a huge black flag flaunting over the roof of the coach, whilst the guard heralded their approach with the jubilant sounds of his horn, the Vicar, who was jogging along the street at the time mounted on his black cob, rode after Tom in startled amaze- ment, wondering if he had turned pirate that he had hoisted the black flag over His Majesty's Mail, but the initiated well knew that the black jacket of Mr. Bowes, the popular Yorkshire sportsman, had been carried successfully to the front in the Derby. " The Druid " tells us that racing recollections will hover about the old coaching inns, " albeit the bar snuggery has become a cheese room, and Herring's St. Leger winners which once adorned their walls, are dispersed into all lands. These were the texts on which the jolly landlord discoursed, without any bidding, to favoured groups by the hour, till the 64 The Old Coaching Days. mail bugle was heard in the distance and the guard and the- coachman bustled in to deliver themselves of the news and receive something hot in exchange. ' What's won ? ' was invariably the first question from April to November, and Boniface as invariably remarked to the company ' I told you so.' For racing news, and, in fact, for every other kind,, guards were at that date as good as a telegraph. Only in 1843, a quiet clerical friend remarked to us that he could get no rest all night in one of the Lancashire Mails, because the guard would roar out * The Cure ' in reply to some speaker at nearly every house they passed. He looked seriously into this -mystic and somewhat personal password in the morning, and found that a colt of that name had just won the Cham- pagne Stakes ; but even the satisfaction of knowing that 60 miles of querists had been put out of pain did not atone of being deprived of his night's rest." After leaving Tadcaster, the road is almost a dead level to York, but being a through stage for all coaches, there is nothing to fix the attention of the seeker after coaching lore. Through Streethouses and Dringhouses, past the old York and Ainsty kennels, where Will Danby lived, and little lower down his friend and crony, Bill Scott, the famous jockey, and into the quaint old city of York. ^SSiS^SS:' — - ^ CHAPTER VI York — Its Coaching Inns — The York Tavern — Cattle & Mad- docks — Mr. Marker — Tom Holtby — His Career as a Coachman — The Edinbrd Mail — A Monthly Mail Settle- ment — The Death of the Edinbrd Mail — The Black Swan — James Barber — List of Daily CoacJies from York — TJie Old George — Etteridge's Hotel — Tommy Etteridge — TJie White Horse — The White Swan — Minor Coaching Inns, I HERE are few places, if any, in Yorkshire where the ancient landmarks have suffered so little from the eradicating march of progress as in the old city of York, and the old coaching- houses — such of them as still ^ remain — are practically intact. The principal inns are compara- tively of modern date when ^^ considered in conjunction with yi those quaint old buildings, with their overhanging storeys, narrow peaked gables, and tilted roofs, that everywhere abound. The Black Swan in Coney Street and the York Tavern in St. Helen's Square are still the same as in the old days, but of their immediate neighbours the George — the most famous posting-house in the city — has had to make way for an F C)6 The Old Coaching Days. extensive drapery establishment, whilst the Poor-Law Office and other business premises now mark the spot where stood the proud and aristocratic Etteridge's Hotel, the exclusive resort of the nobility and county gentry. The White Horse in Coppergate is to-day almost as it was ages ago. The White Swan, the Elephant and Castle in Skeldergate, the Commercial Coffee House at the corner of Nessgate, now known as the Coach and Horses, the Robin Hood in Castle- gate, and the Pack Horse in Micklegate still remain as inns, though coaching has gone from them for ever. Among the few which have passed away entirely are the Old Sand Hill in ColHergate, where the Volunteer Drill Hall now stands, and the Golden Lion, which was once situate near to Monk Bar. It requires no very vivid mental exertion to picture the coaching life and strife that were once common to these old inns. A visit to the yard of the White Swan on a market day will carry one back by easy transition to the bustle and turmoil of the coaching days, when the lads and gossips used to sit on Ouse Bridge awaiting the arrivals of the Mails and coaches eager for stray bits of news, or cheering their de- parture to the lively strains of the " yard of tin " or the keyed bugle. How the Mails would come sweeping over the bridge and whip round the sharp corner into Spurriergate and along the narrow confined street to the Swan and the Tavern was wonderful, whilst the coachman's skill, that could turn four bright bays round the corner of the Commercial Coffee House and out of Nessgate into Coppergate (which is so crooked and narrow that the houses on either side almost touch) and over its rough cobbles to the White Horse, was nothing short of marvellous, and needed such finished artists as rash Tom Holtby and scientific James Douglas to manipu- late the ribbons. How the small, shrivelled, nervous old gent, in the white stiff choker, must have clung to the seat with both hands, and the antique maiden aunt shrunk into the The York Tavern. e? depths of her poke-bonnet, as the coaches, with little abate- ment of speed, unexpectedly shaved the corners and jolted over the uneven pavement under the dark frowning gables of the quaint old city. The York Tavern. Of the four principal inns in York connected with the road they each had their separate and particular features, for whilst the Mails started from the York Tavern, which ad- joined the Post Office, and the stage and light coaches from the Black Swan, the George confined itself principally to the posting business, and Etteridge's provided relays of horses 68 The Old Coaching Diiys. for noblemen and gentlemen travelling in their own private carriages. Of these four houses the York Tavern, now known as Marker's Hotel, was the most important. When the Mails first began to run, the York Tavern was kept by Mr. Pulleyn, who w^as followed in the landlordship by Mr. Simpson, who kept the house up to the end of the coaching days, Mr. Simpson, however, had nothing to do with horsing the Mails and post-coaches or in providing post- horses of any description beyond keeping a few horses to run a cab or two for the use of his customers or commercial gentlemen. The posting business was in the hands of Messrs. Cattle & Maddocks, who had control of the stables connected with the Tavern, and they would stand from one hundred and thirty to one hundred and fifty horses on their extensive premises. The entrance to the stables was through the wide archway which stands at the opposite corner of the inn to the church. Up this yard were the coach offices, whilst the Post Office was only a few yards away on the low side of St. Helen's Square, which was very convenient for the Mails when changing horses. " Dobbin " Cattle, as he was called, was a silversmith before he began to purchase horseflesh and entered upon the business of providing horses for the Mails in conjunction with Mr. Maddocks, who came from Hesling- ton, near York. These two likewise worked some of the coaches along with Mr. Barber, of the Black Swan stables. They also kept a few post-chaises and some five or six post- boys ; but the George, on the opposite side of Coney Street to the Black Swan, was the inn that had the monopoly of the posting. Mr. Cattle came from Sheriff Hutton, and when the coaches went off the road he retired to Groves House,, where he spent the rest of his days. When Mr. Simpson left the York Tavern he was succeeded by Mr. Harker— hence the present name: " Harker's Hotel" — who was at one time butler to Colonel Croft, and in the latter part of the old coaching days had kept the White Swan at York, and at that time he horsed one of the Hull coaches, which nevertheless Tom Holtby. 69 did not run from his own house, but from the York Tavern and the Black Swan. Mr. Harker was a great lover of horse- flesh and breeder of blood stock, and he kept a breeding establishment and stud farm at Stillington. He bred princi- pally for the market, although he had a few horses in training at Charles Peck's, at Mal- ton. Nevertheless, the bulk of his yearlings were usually offered for sale at each suc- cessive race meeting. Tom Holtby, the crack Yorkshire coach- man, lived at York and had some property in Tower Street, at which place he died over five- and-twenty years ago. He was the pride of the country as a coach- man : a tall, gentle- manly-looking man, of good presence, with a smart, showy style of driving and a dash of confident recklessness which commanded at- tention and admira- tion, and gained for him the name of " Rash Tom." When the coaches went off the road he took to horsebreaking, among other things, for the neighbouring gentry, but more as a hobby than from necessity, as by teaching young gentlemen the intricacies of his art, and from the numerous other lucrative sources that the road Tom Holtby. (From a Painting in possession of his Daughter.) /o The Old Coaching Days. offered, this prince of coachmen acquired a pretty considerable competence. He was born in 1791 and began life as a post- boy at Easingwold with the Lacy's, who kept the head inn at that place. It was not until he was twenty-nine years of age that he became a regular coachman, but he rapidly worked his way to the front until he became the recognised head of his profession. His upwards of twenty years on the box seat were spent in the palmiest days of the road. Then in the prime of life, he was privileged to enjoy its sweetest favours. Fortune was kind to him, and when the end came and coaching gradually died away, it left him in anything but mean circumstances. He outlived the demise of the road some twenty years, and his active restless spirit launched him into various speculations, which all turned out failures more or less. He went to live at Haxby, a few miles out of York, where he purchased an extensive brick yard ; but there was no affinity between coaching and brick making, and the venture did not prosper. He also became part proprietor of a newspaper and dropped £600 by the move, as he did i^Soo by the Agricultural Bank, and various other sums by other Banks. Nevertheless, with all this hard luck, he died worth i^3,ooo, so that he must have been a rich man in his best days. He was a man with an endless fund of anecdote, and would tell a story against himself with as much relish as if he carried the full honours of the occasion. The late Mr. Henry Stafford Thompson, of Fairfield, father of present Mr. George Thompson, the gentleman rider, once got a rise out of him over one of the North-Riding elections,, when the Hon. O. Buncombe put up in the conservative interest, the Hon. F. C. Dundas in the liberal, and Mr. Ed. S. Cayley as an independent. Holtby in politics was a most pronounced Tory and would work might and main to advance the cause of conservatism. About- the time of this election Tom was anxious to have a day's shooting in some capital preserves, the property of above-mentioned Mr. Thompson^ who was giving his support to the liberal candidate. Tom The Edinbrd Mail. 71 meeting him one day asked him if he would grant him a favour. " I will if I can, Holtby." " Then I want to beg a day's shooting in your preserves." " Certainly, by all means, and as one good turn deserves another, will you grant me a favour in return ? " "I will if I can," said Holtby, " Oh, you can," replied Mr. Thompson. " I want you to split your vote for Dundas at the election." Tom couldn't well get out of it, and being a man of his word he voted for the liberal with a heavy heart, who was, nevertheless, at the bottom of the poll. Tom Holtby was a constant attendant at York Races, and had a few racehorses in training with John Scott at Malton, but towards the end of his time the handsome figure oft noted in the ring began to break up sadly. He died on the ist of June, 1863, aged 72 years. In the lovely little village of Haxby, whose rustic simplicity breathes of unalloyed peace, there stands a simple little church in a small and unpretending church-yard. 'Neath the shadow of this church the remains of Tom Holtby are laid at rest. A plain upright stone marks the spot, the tran- quility of whose surroundings are in such direct contrast to the world of excitement in which he lived. Tom Holtby at one time drove the Highflyer, but the Edinbro' Mail was the coach with which he had the longest connection. This celebrated Mail was put upon the road on the i6th October, 1786, and ran from the Bull and Mouth, London, by way of Ware, Royston, Huntingdon, Stilton, Stamford, Newark, East Retford, Bawtry, Doncaster, Ferry- bridge, Tadcaster, York, Thirsk, Northallerton, Darlington, Durham, Newcastle, Morpeth, Alnwick, Berwick, Dunbar, Musselburgh, and Leith, to Edinburgh. This coach continued to run this way for a great number of years, although there were various changes of route during its career. At one time it ran through Stevenage, and towards the end of its days it ran from Doncaster to York by way of Askern and Selby, instead of by Ferrybridge and Tadcaster. This new line of road was a shorter route by about three miles, and as 72 The Old Coaching Days. time on these fast coaches was always an object, no oppor- tunity was lost of increasing the rate of travelling. The time allowed from London to Edinburgh in the best days of the Mail w^as forty-two hours twenty-three minutes, and the time from London to York (one hundred and ninety-seven miles) was twenty hours fifty-four minutes. These times included all stoppages for changes, and the average rate of travelling was about nine - and - a - half miles an hour. We are indebted to Mr. Easterfield, of Doncaster, for copies of several old monthly coaching statements, curiosi- ties in their way, and it would perhaps not be amiss to give one or two copies of those belonging to the The Edinbro' Mail ON THE Coronation-Day, in front of the Mansion House, York. (From a Painting in possession of late Tom Holtby's Davghter.) leading coaches. The Edinbro' Mail was worked by three companies, the first owned the ground between London and York, the second that between York and Newcastle, and the third ran forward to Edinburgh. The appended settlement is that effected by the working of the Mail between London and York : — Edinbrd Mail MontJdy Settlement. 73 YORK MAIL. One Month's Settlement, ending Setpember 2ist, i8i6. Proprietors' Naj?ies. Money Received. Miles. Shares aitd Payments. £ s. o changed horses at its doors. Mr. Benjamin Lacy used to be the landlord, and he stood about fifty horses at his own stables behind the inn. These were used principally for the posting business. The Express and the Wellington used to change horses here, but they were horsed over the York stage by Mr. Barber, of the Black Swan, at York, who had stables of his own right opposite to the Rose and Crown on the premises now occupied by Mr. Fetch. Adjoining these stables were also some belonging to Mr. Judd, of the George,, at York, who stood some of his own post-horses, and kept a spare chaise there. Mr. Lacy horsed the Express on the Thirsk stage, and Mr. Hirst, of the Golden Lion, Northaller- ton, horsed the Wellington forwards, and he stood his horses at the Rose and Crown. Mr. Lacy, who one night died very suddenly on entering his own house, was succeeded at the Rose and Crown by his brother-in-law, Mr. Dodds, a very gentlemanly sort of man, who had previously kept the other coaching inn in Easing- wold, where he had been originall}- established by Mr. Lacy- The New Inn before Mr. Dodds' time was kept by Mr. Willie Carver and Mr. Hawkes. It is a house which seems to have known a good many changes. In Mr. Carver's time the inn belonged to him, and he kept a few post-horses, about eight,. «8 TJie Old Coaching Days. which he stood at his own stables at the back of the house, but he did not horse any of the coaches, although most of them stopped here. The Royal Mails and the Highflyer ■changed horses at this house, but they were horsed between York and Easingwold by Messrs. Cattle & Maddocks, whose stables were right opposite the New Inn, where the present cottages now stand. The Royal Times, which ran between York, Redcar, and Sunderland, also changed horses here. Messrs. Cattle & Maddocks would stand about twenty-four horses at their stables in winter, but a less number in summer, as the roads were not so heavy and they did not require so many rest-horses. Mr, Scott, of Northallerton, horsed the Mails between here and Northallerton, and Mr. Lacy horsed the High- flyer on the Thirsk stage. Mr. Carver, of the New Inn, had originally been a butler. He died at this place in 1820, and was succeeded by Mr. Thomas Hawkes and Mr. Dodds, who in their turns were followed by Mr. Stevenson and Mr. Tommy Hutchinson. Kemoler The Rose and Crown employed about four or five post- boys, one of whom. Tommy Hutchinson, is still living in Easingwold, at the advanced age of eighty. He is the living prototype of one of George Cruikshank's old postboys, and he oft recites, with evident relish, his own prowess in the saddle, and the grand doings of the old posting days. Tommy Hutchinson began life as a tailor's apprentice, but his sympathies v>'ere nearer allied to the road than the shop-board, and his spare moments always found him hanging Touiviy Hutchinson, the Easingwold Postboy. 89 ■round the stable yards, taking a deep interest in all the proceedings appertaining to coach and chaise, and lending a helping hand whenever opportunity offered. On the occasion ■ of the great Musical Festival at York the sudden influx of traffic on the roads approaching the city was so great that there was a dearth of both horses and postboys, and anyone who could bestride a horse was called into requisition. This •gave Tommy the opportunity he longed for ; he was pitched into the saddle and made a couple of journeys to York, -gaining ten shillings by the transaction. " This beats tailor- ing," he slyly remarked, and he at once offered his regular services at the Rose and Crown. Having a good seat and riding about seven stone, he entered into the permanent employ of the head inn, where he remained until the coaches went off the road. The old postboys, taken as a class, were a tough, wiry lot, and in pursuit of their calling had to undergo many •privations and submit to many hardships. In busy times some of them would do their fifty miles a day in the saddle, •day in and day out. They were called up or had to hold themselves in readiness at all hours of the night, and the one who happened to be "first pair out" slept with spur on heel. In the old posting days a great deal of the travelling was of necessity done by night, and the lads had to turn out in all sorts of weather, snow and frost and hail alike. On very ■wild nights the lad with the first turn would probably fox being ill, and the second turn would follow suit, and it was in such times that they needed a master hand to rule them ; otherwise they were, as a rule, a civil and obedient class. Many a tim.e in frosty weather have they been to lift out of the saddle at the end of the stage and their limbs to straighten before they could stand, so stiffened have they been with the cold. Some of their feats of endurance in the saddle were wonderful, as for instance the performance of Tommy Hutchinson, who rode five times to York and back in go TJie Old CoacJdug Days. one day, a distance of one hundred and thirty miles, and it is"- his boast that he could have done it again the next day had it been needed. This performance occurred at one assize time, when there was a great stress of business, and Hutchinson used the same "ride-horse" on four of the journeys, the marc doing one hundred and four miles in all, which was good business for both man and horse. " But," as Tommy himself remarked, " she wor a clinker, that mare wor. They don't mak monny like her nah days." Of course, on his return journey from York to Easingwold he had only the loose liorses. Nevertheless, it was a good performance, though not to be compared with that of John Lepton, of York, who at the beginning of the seventeenth century, for a wager, rode for six successive days a daily distance of one hundred and fifty miles on the London and York road, the accomplishment of which feat is all the more praiseworthy when we consider the iniquitous state of the roads at that period. Posting was at times very hard on horseflesh. Racing with lads from opposition houses was strongly indulged in, or some traveller v/ho had just missed the coach would bribe the postboy into catching it up at the next change. Run- away weddings were of frequent occurrence along the Great North Road, and the chaise and four went at full gallop as it sped towards Gretna Green, the irate parent in full pursuit. Often the same establishment would furnish post-horses for both pursuer and pursued, and then the lads would enter into the real spirit of the thing and race in friendly rivalry against each other. Sometimes the runaway chaise would reach the end of the stage before the outrider who had been sent on to order horses for the next stage, as was the case with one from the Angel at Ferrybridge, who was new to the road and missed the turn at the Old Fox at Brotherton, and ultimately found himself at Tadcaster instead of Wetherby ; then comes a scene at the inn door, and the captured maiden is dragged ruefully back by the stern and unrelenting father,. Eastmrwold to TJiirsk. 91 When the chaises went off the road Tommy Hutchinson went sadly back to the shop-board and needle, and has since pursued the calling of his early youth, though of late he complains that he has not been able to work so much, as he feels that he is not so young as he used to be ; but he is a quaint and tough old specimen of a past era, and may last for some years yet, as he comes of a good old stock who have all reached great ages, his grandmother having lived until she was one hundred and four years old. When we remember some of the grand stretches of road' similar to that lying between Bawtry and Doncaster, being in many places full thirty yards from hedgerow to hedgerow, the stages from Easingwold to Thirsk and Northallerton present but a poor, cramped appearance to-day, and have sadl}' deteriorated since the old coaching days. All along the road there is plenty of evidence of adjacent property owners having annexed the rich grass borders with which it was once margined, and nowhere is this so evident, perhaps, as along the stage lying between Thirsk and Northallerton, which is at once commonplace and unpicturesque, and when we look upon its narrow and confined irregularities of to-day we sigh for the grand old times when land grabbers troubled not, and there was plenty of room for two opposition coaches to race abreast without much fear of a collision. Leaving Easingwold by way of White Houses we come to Thormanby, where Messrs. Barber, Cattle, & Haddocks had some stables at the bottom of the hill, near to the Crown Inn, which is now done away with. This was the limit of their ground from York, and Mr. Frank Hirst, of Northaller- ton, and at a later period Mr. William Hall, of Thirsk, had the ground forward as far as Enter Common. The Mails and some of the faster coaches changed horses at these stables at Thormanby, but the slower coaches ran through the whole stage to Thirsk. Of the three coaching inns at Thirsk, if we may so call -92 TJie Old CoacJiing Days. the Crown, where one of the Mails at one time stopped, the Three Tuns is the oldest establishment, although the Fleece could fairly claim to be the principal inn ; indeed towards the end of the coaching days this hostelry had a decided monopoly of the coaching and posting business at Thirsk, as the Mail was finally transferred from the Crown to this house, and but a couple of coaches were horsed from the Three Tuns. The posting business at Thirsk in its best days seems to have been in the hands of one family, whether it was carried on at the Three Tuns or the Fleece. Mrs. Alice Cass for a number of years kept the Three Tuns, at a time when it enjoyed the ad- vantage of being the only coaching house in Thirsk, and when not only the London, Edinburgh, and Newcastle coaches were horsed from its doors, but the Leeds, Dar- lington, and other coaches likewise took their departure from this inn. The most notable among the latter lot which were on the road at The Crown Inn, Thirsk. that time were the North Briton and the Defence, both Leeds and Newcastle coaches. About 1815, or shortly before, Mrs. Cass retired from the posting business at the Three Tuns, and transferred her horses and ground to her relative, Mr. George Blyth, establishing him in business at the Fleece, and this was the commence- ment of the coaching history of what afterwards grew to be the head coaching inn in the town. When Mr. Blyth first entered upon his duties the house was a low, two-storey TJic Three Tuns, TJiirsk. 93' building, about half its present size, but he purchased some property adjoining and considerably enlarged and raised the establishment. The London coaches were transferred to the Fleece, but the North Briton still continued to run from the Three Tuns, and was horsed by Mr. Jonathan Empson, who- succeeded Mrs. Cass ; but a new opposition coach, running pretty nearly over the same ground, was worked from the other house. This coach was called the North Highflyer, and ran originally from the Golden Lion, Leeds, every morning at J'M"<^^'^ :W2 The Three Tuns, Thirsk. half-past five, by way of Harrogate, Knaresborough, and Thirsk, but shortly after it was started it changed its route by way of Wetherby in order to shorten the distance and thus be better enabled to compete with its opponent. A good deal of bitterness seems to have existed between these two coaches, as we find from a strongly-worded advertisement in i8i6 contradicting a report that the North Briton was about to be taken off the road, which report, we are told, some of the partners were bribed to circulate. 94 The Old Coaching Days. Mr. Blyth fairly established the Fleece as a first-class coaching and posting inn, and during the thirteen or fourteen years that he held the place succeeded in putting it on the soundest footing. He died on the 31st March, 1828, aged fifty-nine, and was succeeded by his nephew, Mr. John Hall, the father of the present landlord, and it is the name of Hall which is best known in connection with this inn. Mr. Hall The Fleece Inn, Tiursk. only survived his predecessor by three years, when he died sud- denly on the 8th April, 1831, in the corner of his bar, through a rush of blood to the head. He was a smart little fellow, very temperate in his habits, but it seems that he had been subject to these fits. His w'do.\-, Mrs. Mary Hall, carried on the business until September 24th, 1839, when she also died at the comparatively early age of forty, and was succeeded by her son, who is still living at the Fleece. He was born on The Fleece Inn, Thirsk. 95 April 29th, 1 81 8, and is therefore now in his seventy-second year. Mr. William Hall was barely of age when he became landlord of the Fleece and proprietor of the posting business. He made his advent when coaching was in its prime, and The P^leece Inn Yard, Thirsk. although the end was approaching, and his reign in the coaching business was not a lengthy one, he had opportunities of judging of the road in its palmiest days. Brought up in the stables, and reared on the box seat as it were, coaching with him was inborn, and he was the last of his line of ancestors who had always had control of the Thirsk coaching estab- lishments — for Mrs. C:iss was his great grandmother and Mr. g6 The Old Coaching Days. Blyth his great uncle — and the one who was destined to see the decline and fall of their family calling. The old love of the road still clings closely to him, and he is never so happy as when he is discussing its time-worn merits or trotting you round the house to look at his pictures and other mementoes of the old days. Herring's coaching scenes find a prominent place on the walls, also some bits of racing blood painted by Harry Hall, of Newmarket, a companion picture to one of which he sold to Lord Rosebery for fifty guineas, whilst some of his own favourite coaching stock found fitting, reproductions. Of the coaches which ran to this house we give first place to the Edinbro' Mail, which had originally run from the Crown, and wa"^ horsed by Mr. Frank Hirst, of Northallerton,, who had the ground as far as Thormanby ; but after Mr. Hirst's death Messrs. Hall & Co. bought the business, and the Mail was transferred to the Fleece. The Express, London and Newcastle coach, was worked from the Fleece, and was driven between York and Darling- ton by Peter Elliot, a one-eyed man, who was famous on the road for a team of "blind 'uns " that he used to drive, the four horses having but one sound eye among them, so that the saying went that the coachman and horses had but two eyes where there should have been ten. This same Peter once purchased a pig at York Market and took it on the coach with him to Darlington in one of the pockets of his great- coat, but his porcineship made it lively for the passengers before they reached their destination, as with his nose out of Peter's pocket he chanted the chorus all along the road to the strains of the guard's horn. There were also the Wellington, the Shields Mail, the Newcastle Union, the Victoria (York and Newcastle), the Phoenix, the Times, the Hero, all Leeds and Newcastle coaches, the two latter being horsed alternate weeks from the Three Tuns, the Cleveland, and the Telegraph to Redcar.. Billy Baines. 97 This 13 a pretty concise list of the various coaches running to and from Thirsk, and for the purpose of working these coaches Mr. Hall would stand from fifty to sixty horses at his own stables, which included twelve pairs of post horses, whilst the opposition house, the Three Tuns, would probably have about a score. The last landlord at the Three Tuns whilst the coaches were still on the road was Mr. William Andrews, who succeeded Mr. Empson. Before leaving Thirsk we must not fail to mention an- other remarkable old postboy and father of postboys, whose career is so closely united to the posting history of the town. Old Billy Baines was postboy at Thirsk for over fifty years. /• His chief performance in the ^ saddle was on the occasion of -^ the York Musical Festival, when he is credited with having rid- den six times to Easingwold and back in one day, the distance being one hundred and twenty miles. He lived to a ripe old age, long enough to see the coaches go off the road, and now lies buried in the church- yard at Thirsk, not far removed from the scenes that linked themselves with his life. He was the father of George Baines and Billy Baines, junior, who lived until he was eighty. He died a few years ago at Easingwold, where he was employed as postboy at the New Inn in the old posting days. He was about the least man on the road, and was everywhere known as " wee " Baines. He was contemporary with Tommy Hutchinson, though somewhat the elder of the II Billy Baines. 98 TJie Old Coaching Days. two, and much of their after Hves was spent in company, when they would oft-times meet over a friendly pint to discuss the past glories of the road. They would fight their battles over again, and oft in the long winter nights, when seated round the tap-room fire at the New Inn, they have held the company entranced with their stories of the " brave days of old." ^^L I £££€ ' CHAPTER VIII From Thirsk to NortJiallerton and Croft Spa — TJie Golden Lion, Noi'tJiallcrton — TJie Black Bull — Leeds and Nciv- castle Diligence — TJie King's Head — The Old Golden Lion — The Hero — The Wellington — Racing with Opposi- tion Coaches — Thomas Layfield — The Last CoacJi on the Road — The BlacksniitJi s Anns, Great Snteaton — Enter Com mon — Croft Spa. S before stated, the road from Thirsk to Northallerton is the most commonplace that we have yet encountered, and is totally void of anything of coaching interest. Arrived at Northaller- ton, with its long, wide com- manding street, the Golden Lion at once strikes us as still retain- ing all the old air and attributes of a coaching inn, and although , it is probably by far the most ' modern of the four coaching houses that Northallerton boasted in the old da\s, yet it is admitted that it undoubtedly took the lead from its establishment as the head posting inn of the town. The Black Bull and the King's Head were the earliest coaching inns ; then came the Old Golden Lion, none of the three being very extensive establishments, so lOO The Old Coachin' Paul Pry, to Wakefield. 12-0 noon. — Celerity, to Manchester. 12-45 P-™- — Victory, to Harrogate. i-o „ Mail, to York and Hull. 2-0 „ Highflyer, to Bradford and Manchester. 2-0 „ Mail, to Huddersfield and Manchester. 2-0 „ Courrier, to Richmond. 2-0 „ Rob Roy, to Wakefield and Sheffield. 3-0 „ Ebor, to Harrogate. 3-30 „ True Briton, to Hull. 3-45 „ Royal Union, to Bradford. 3-45 „ Traveller, to Bradford. 4-0 „ Ebor, to Wakefield. 4-0 „ Rockingham, to Bradford, Halifax, and Skipton. 4-0 „ True Briton, to Huddersfield. 4-45 „ Waterwitch, to Bradford. 5-0 „ Dart, to Huddersfield. 5-0 ,, Coach, to Otley and Ilkley. 5-0 „ Wonder, to Pontefract. 5-0 „ Coach, to Thorparch. 5-45 „ Umpire, to Halifax and Manchester. 6-0 „ Enterprize, to Bradford. 6-0 ,, Red Rover, to Halifax. 6-0 „ Perseverance, to Huddersfield. 6-0 ,, Coach, to Tadcaster. 6-0 „ Tradesman, to Wakefield. 6-15 „ Umpire, to Halifax. 6-30 „ Hero, to Knaresborough and Newcastle. 6-30 ,, Hero, to Halifax. 7-0 „ Sovereign, to Wakefield. 7-0 „ Courrier, to Bradford. 7-0 „ Union, to Wakefield and London. 7-45 ,, Mail, to Liverpool. 8-0 „ Mail, to Bradford. 8-30 „ Mail, to Manchester. 9-0 „ Mail, to Wakefield, Sheffield, and London. 10-30 „ Cleveland, to Redcar. CHAPTER XII Leeds (continued) — TJie Old Kings Arms — Flying Machines — Early London Coaches — The Leeds Mail — Other Old ICijtg's A nns Coaches — The New King's A rms — The LLotel — The Royal Hotel Stables — The London Express — Peculiar Accident to the Express — The Birmingham Pilot — Old Tom Johnson and the Parsons — Minor Royal Hotel Coaches. IVING precedence to the oldest and most important of the early- Leeds coaching inns, we commence with the Old King's Arms, Brig- gate, which almost faced the east end of Boar Lane before that thoroughfare was widened, and k!!!l»'Vj ^ this ancient hostelry, at one time head inn of the town of Leeds,. ■^ having undergone considerable ^S- alteration, is at the present time occupied by the business premises of Messrs. Bean & Son, stationers. Originally, this site was occupied by the private residence of the famous benefactor and philanthropist, John Harrison, who had a strange weakness for cats, and had his house constructed with numerous loopholes so that his feline favourites could roam about at their own sweet will. After the demise of Harrison TJie Old King's Anns. 15 1 the house was first converted into shops, and at a later period it ultimately developed into the King's Arms Tavern. As early as the beginning of last century, and long before coaching had any connection with it, it was occupied in this latter capacity, the landlord at this early date being one Mr. Nottingham. This inn quickly grev/ into a house of importance, and much of the business of the town was transacted beneath its roof In its time the magistrates sat there, the trustees of the various new turnpike roads held their periodic meetings there, and the contracts for the construction of these roads and other Leeds and county works were let at this house. When the old Flying Machines were first put upon the road, in 1760, the house was kept by Mr. Richard Cooke, but he did not live to see coaching make much progress, as some four or five years after that date the management of the inn fell upon the shoulders of his widow, Mary Cooke, who enjoyed that privilege for something like fifteen years, and was ultimately succeeded by Mr. William Wood. The Old King's Arms coach office was situate in Currier Yard, and the clerk in charge in Mr. Cooke's time was Richard Backhouse. Passengers were also booked to travel by the Leeds Old Stage Coach and the Sheffield and London machines at Jeremiah Parker's, next door to the Star and Garter, Call Lane. Before Mr. Wood had been very long in possession at the Old King's Arms, the demand for increased coaching accommodation became very apparent, the outcome of which was that several new coaches were put upon the road. On the 22nd of April, 1781, the Carlisle Telegraph, one of the oldest and best known coaches on the north road, commenced running from Mr. Wood's at seven in the evening, and continued to run daily, arriving at Mr. How's, the Bush Inn, Carlisle, about four the following afternoon. The route, from 1781 to 1788, was by Harrogate, Leeming Lane, Catterick, Bowes, &c., but in the latter year, when Mr. John Hick 152 The Old Coaching Days. succeeded Mr. Wood at the Old King's Arms, the route was changed, and the coach ran only to Newcastle, by way of The Old King's Arms Inn, Leeds. Leeming Lane and Darlington, meeting the Carlisle coach at Catterick and the Edinburgh Mail at Newcastle. In 1802 it Old Kwsr's Anns Coaches. 153 was removed to Greaves' Hotel (the Royal), along with other coaches which were worked by John Hick, he having taken the coach office and stables in the Hotel yard. In 1812 the Telegraph was worked for a short time from the White Horse in Boar Lane, and at later and various periods of its career was worked conjointly by the proprietors of the Golden Lion, the Hotel, and the Rose and Crown, but it was henceforth known as the Newcastle Telegraph, and remained on the road until the very end of the coaching days, when it was finally superseded by the railway, particulars of which have already been given. Another new coach, which ■commenced running from Mr. Wood's in 1781, was the York and Scarborough Diligence ; but this concern was conjointly worked by Mr. Wood and Mr. Vincent from the Golden Lion, and in a year or two it went over to that inn entirely. Another new and afterwards very important coach was started from Mr. Wood's on the 14th of March, 1785. This coach was called the Balloon, and was a new fast London coach, •carrying six inside passengers and one out, leaving the Old King's Arms every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, at five in the morning, sleeping at Leicester, and arriving at the Bull and Mouth, London, early the following evening. Fare : Leeds to London, inside £2 12s. 6d., outside £\ 7s. About this time Mr. Palmer was making strenuous exertions against a great tide of opposition to perfect his plan of carrying the mails by the stage coaches, instead of the old style of post horses and mail carts. Fast coaches were looked up in all parts of the country, and the Old King's Arms being convenient to the Post Office, which was then situate where the Central Market now stands, the Balloon was marked down after it had been but a ^qw months on the road as a likely coach to carry the mails. On the 24th of July, 1785, this coach commenced to run between Leeds and London with the mails, and it was afterwards known as the Leeds Royal Mail. The route was through 154 TJie Old Coaching Days. Wakefield, Barnsley, Sheffield, Nottingham, and Leicester, It was supposed to do the whole journey in twenty-six hours, and was protected all the way by guards, quite a new innovation at that time, leaving the Old King's Arms at four every morning, and arriving at the Bull and Mouth, London,, at six the next morning, and leaving London at eight each evening, and arriving at Leeds at ten the following night. No outside passengers ; fare £2, 3s. Mr. Palmer intended before he surveyed the roads to Leeds that letters despatched from London on a Monday night should be delivered in Leeds on a Wednesday morning, and likewise for other days, but the contractors for carrying the mails, Messrs. Gray & Wilson, afterwards agreed to convey them in twenty-four hours. The above regulations were settled as an experiment to try what could be done, but the roads in some parts were so bad, particularly from Not- tingham to Mansfield, though there were the best materials on the spot for improving them, it was very doubtful if the speed could be continued, and the local authorities all along the road were requested to exert themselves in repairing the roads. From the old two and three - days' journey this attempt to encompass the distance in twenty-four hours was an immense stride, but it was nevertheless an unsuccessful one. In the following year we find the Mail taking thirty- one hours to travel between London and Leeds, which, although not realising the mail contractors' expectation, was a pronounced improvement on the old time. During the first thirty years that this Mail ran the time varied from thirty-one to thirty-three hours. In 1800 it was removed from the Old King's Arms to the White Horse. The Old King's Arms now became the recognised house for the Mails, and on November 13th, 1786, the Newcastle Mail began to run daily, immediately on the arrival of the south Mail coach, and arrived at Mr. Hall's, Cock Inn, Newcastle, in fifteen hours after its departure from Leeds,. The Manchester Telegraph. 155 returning thence at six each morning, there being only four inside passengers and one out; fare £,\ iis. 6d. This Mail was afterwards transferred to the Rose and Crown. Another of the Old King's Arms coaches that com- menced running in Mr. Wood's time was the Defiance (Leeds, Manchester, and Liverpool), which left every morning at seven ; but this coach, like the York and Scarborough Dili- gence, was partly worked from the Golden Lion, and after the three first years of its existence the Old King's Arms ceased to have any connection with it. Passing on to Mr. John Hick's term of office as mine host of this old coaching inn, we find him starting another Manchester coach not very long after he had succeeded Mr. Wood. For a time he joined Mr. Vincent and Mr. Hindle, of the Rose and Crown, in horsing the above-mentioned Defiance, when some dispute arose which caused Mr. Hick, in con- junction with Mr. Crossland, of the Hotel, to start an opposition coach called the Telegraph, running by Halifax and Huddersfield, to the Bull's Head, Manchester. The Telegraph was put upon the road on July ist, 1789, and ran from the Hotel and the Old King's Arms on alternate mornings at seven, returning from the Bull's Head at six every morning. In 1791 this coach only ran three days a week, but it shortly after again became a daily coach, and was run entirely from the Hotel in 1802, when Hick removed all his coaches to that place. Other Old King's Arms coaches were the Birmingham Pilot (1789), the Leeds and Thorparch Diligence (1791), the Hope, Leeds and York (1792) ; and in 1790 the True Briton, Leeds and London coach, was removed to the Old King's Arms from the Star and Garter, but as it originated at the latter inn we will deal with it under that heading. At the beginning of this century the Old King's Arms was sold, or otherwise changed hands, and at the expiration of Mr. Hick's tenancy on the 5th of April, 1802, it virtually 156 The Old Coaching Days. ceased to exist as a coaching inn. Mr. Hick removed his coaches to the Hotel and continued to conduct his estabhshed posting business from his coach office situate in the yard of that inn, the inn at that time being carried on by Mr. John Greaves. He took away with him from the King's Arms nothing but what belonged to his coaching and posting business, his household and other effects being sold by auction. Mr. Georsfe Newlove was the landlord of the Old Briggate, Leeds. King's Arms who succeeded Mr. Hick, but we question whether any coaches were horsed from the house during his tenancy. Certainly the Trafalgar, a Hull, York, and Man- chester coach, which was put upon the road in December, 1807, used to call there in passing through Leeds, but the principal proprietors were Hawkins, of the George, at Hull, and Tommy Etteridge, of York. This coach left Hull at night, reaching Leeds about half-past three in the morning. Briggate in the Old Coaching Days. 157 It was worked on the Leeds and Tadcaster stage by Mr. Frost, of Tadcaster, while Mr. Horsfall, of Bradford, horsed it on the Lesds and Bradford stage, so that it is doubtful whether Mr. Newlove had any intimate connection with coaching during his sojourn at the Old King's Anns. This old-established inn finally closed its doors to th& public in January, 18 13, and although it can fairly be called the birthplace of Leeds coaching, yet it did not live, like its more modern contemporary, the New King's Arms, to see its progeny attain that zenith of their glory when the stage coaches, more or less, were never out of Briggate — when the constant winding of the guards' horns awoke the echoes of the old street, or the enlivening strains of " The White Cockade" or "Rule Britannia," issuing from some cleverly- manipulated keyed-bugle, heralded the approach of a crack coach — when the Royal Mails came swinging down Briggate at full gallop — when the rosy-faced coachman sat straight on his box, with hands well down and head erect, and tooled with artistic ease his team of four bright bays round the corner into the narrow and crooked Boar Lane — when numberless brimstone-coloured pair-horse chaises swung high on their cee springs, or the more important equipage and four, with its blue-jacketed postboys, jolted with greater haste through the street — when the huge broad - wheeled heavy luggage waggons with their long teams of eight broad- chested greys, with heavy swing lumbered slowly over the rough pavem.ent, and long strings of pack-horses, with holts and panniers laden or with long pieces of broadcloth slung across their backs, threaded their way down the wide street — when quaint old postboys with bowed legs and stove-pipe hats, and jackets of every hue, red, blue, or buff, and bluff burly coachmen mingled with guards, horse keepers, stable helpers, hangers on, and vendors of itinerant wares, all went to form an animated picture difficult of conception in these advanced times. 158 The Old Coaching Days. The Royal Hotel is one of the few coaching inns that still remain which have undergone but little alteration, although, on the other hand, its name from time to time has been subjected to several changes. In the early days of coaching it was known as the New King's Arms Inn, in order to distinguish it from its more ancient neighbour the Old The New King's Arms (The Royal Hotel), Briggate. King's Arms, and in 1765. the year in which coaches first began to run from the house, the name of mine host was Mr. Myers. It was during Mr. Myers' time, and shortly after the advent of coaches, that the name of this inn underwent its first change, and was converted into the New Inn. Mr. Myers The New King's Arms. 159 was succeeded by the widow Cowling, who left the house on May Day, 1782, and was followed by Mr. William Lodge, who was only landlord of the house for a term of three years, at the expiration of which time he went to keep another well- known coaching house, namely, the Rose and Crown at Tadcaster. The widow Cowling and her son again returned to the New Inn, and seeing that coaching was now making steady progress, they renovated, refitted, and furnished the house throughout, and again changed its name, it being afterwards known as Cowling's Hotel and Tavern. On the death of Mrs. Cowling she was succeeded in May, 1789, by her son-in-law, Mr. Richard Crossland, a man who suffered from extreme ill-health, and he died after a long and lingering illness on the 15th of February, 1798. He was a prominent member of the Volunteer corps from their first establishment in the town in 1782, and his remains were interred with military honours. His widow, Sarah Crossland, was shortly afterwards followed in the management of the Hotel by Mr. John Greaves, who was installed as landlord before the beginning of the present century, and Cowling's Hotel became in succession Crossland's and Greaves' Hotel, and ultimately it became known as the Hotel or the Hotel Inn. It was in Greaves' time that Mr. John Hick removed his coaches from the Old King's Arms and took the stables in connection with the Hotel, where he stood his horses for working those coaches which afterwards started from this inn. Mr. Greaves only lived a few years after entering the house, but his widow, Sarah Greaves, carried on the business for a great number of years after his death, and was interested in working several of the coaches that ran from this inn. Hick had nothing whatever to do with the Hotel beyond the stables, his coach offices being up the yard, where the present billiard room now stands. After occupying these stables for nearly ten years he removed to the White Horse in Boar Lane. In 1824 Mr. William Crossland succeeded Mrs. i6o The Old Coaching Days. Greaves at the Hotel, occupying the stables and working the coaches himself. He remained for about ten years, and was very successful in his undertakings, but without assigning any reason he committed suicide by drowning himself in the viver Aire, near to Kirkstall Abbey. His friends were at a loss to account for this rash act, as his circumstances in life were very comfortable. Miss Ayres was his successor at the Hotel, which now for the first time received its permanent name of the Royal Hotel, and he was succeeded at thfr stables by Mr. Matthew Outhwaite, whose head - quarters were the Bull and Mouth, where he also had stables, as he likewise had in various other parts of the town, his being the most extensive coaching connection of any of the Leeds posting masters. The Royal Hotel and stables have undergone but little change since the days when Miss Ayres and Mr. Outhwaite occupied them. Two of the old-fashioned small-paned bow windows have been removed from the front now occupied by the chemist's shop, and the cellar stables, long since out of use, are rapidly falling into decay. These stables were below the level of the ground, and were approached from the yard by a sloping subway. The natural conclusion is that they would be stuffy, ill-ventilated holes, but such was not the case. They were roomy, airy places enough, with stone archways and groined roofs, the masonry of which is a strong rebuke to some of our present-day jerry constructions. Here used to stand eight or nine pairs of post-horses. Besides those in the yard there was a seven-stall stable, a two-stall stable, and another in which there was standing room for five horses. In the stables in the far yard near to Call Lane there used to stand the nine horses which were used for working the London Mails, along with nine mail-cart horses, making a total of fifty horses in constant use. They kept about four regular postboys at the Royal, one of wliom, George Wardle, is still living in Leeds, at an advanced age. The Express. 16 1 He came from the Angel, at Wetherby, where he graduated in the saddle under his father, who was a postboy before him, and he was engaged at the Hotel and the White Horse until the end of the coaching days. The coaches that ran from this inn from the time when it was known as the New King's Arms to the end of the coaching days were far too numerous for us to take anything but a cursory glance at their individual careers, and fuller particulars of the smaller fry will be found in the list of Yorkshire coaches at the end of this work. Having dealt with the earliest coaches which ran from the Royal in previous chapters, we pass on to the best known in the palmiest days of coaching. The London Express was put upon the road in June, 1 8 17, and at that time left the Hotel, Leeds, every morning at six by way of Wakefield, Barnsley, Sheffield, Nottingham, and Leicester, arriving at the Bull and Mouth, London, the following evening at half-past ten ; and thus it continued to run for a number of years, until improved roads and other circumstances caused the coaches to make better time. Ten years after it commenced running it left the Hotel at eight in the morning, and reached London at ten the following morning, doing the whole journey in twenty-six hours, which was a very considerable saving on the old time ; but even this was gradually improved upon until in 1836 and the following years the Express left Leeds at ten each morning, doing the journey in twenty-three hours. The last year that this coach continued to do the whole journey by road to London was 1840, although the London and Birmingham and the Birmingham and Derby Railways were opened in September, 1838, and August, 1839, respectively, and many of the London coaches had begun to run in connection with these lines. In July, 1840, the North Mid- land Railway opened, and the Express ran its last journey to London from the Royal Hotel, but it made a final stand, M l62 TJlc Old Coaching Days. running only to Sheffield, whence the passengers were for- warded to London by the above lines. This, however, only endured for a month or two, when the coach ultimately went off the road for ever. In October, 1840, an attempt was made by a new set of proprietors to revive this well-known coach — the coach to be worked from the Rose and Crown and Golden Lion instead of the Royal as formerly, but it was useless trying to fight against the railways, which had now gained a firm grip, and thus this attempt proved a dire failure. In February, 1833, a very peculiar accident happened to the Express, not but that coaching accidents were frequent enough, but the peculiarity of this one lay in the cause of it. Whilst on the down journey from London to Leeds, and at midnight, in the middle of Savoy Forest, between Newport Pagnel and Northampton, the axletree suddenly snapped, and the coach rolled over, the fall being a very violent one, and one old gentleman's leg was so badly crushed that it had to be amputated. The guard, C. Read, had his shoulder put out, and other passengers were more or less injured. The cause of this accident was the great weight at the front of the coach, there being no less than i^6,ooo in silver placed in the fore boot. The London Union when it first began to run was also worked for a few years from the Hotel, but as it was a White Horse coach we will deal with it under that head. The Birmingham Telegraph was put upon the road in July, 1824, and at that time ran on alt^^rnate days from the Hotel and the Golden Lion at five each morning by way of Wakefield, Barnsley, Sheffield, and Derby, to the Hen and Chickens, Birmingham, taking fifteen hours in which to do the journey, and being horsed out of Leeds by Messrs. Crossland, Lee, & Son. Ten years later this coach passed into the hands of Mr. Matthew Outhwaite, when he succeeded to Mr. Crossland's business, when the Telegraph did the journey in the improved time of twelve hours ; and when the Derby and Tom Johnson and the Parsons. 163 Birmingham Railway was opened at the end of 1838, the journey from Leeds to Birmingham was done in nine-and-a- half hours, the Telegraph running to Derby only, thence by train. When the North Midland Railway opened in July, 1840, its journey by road was still further curtailed, running ■only to Sheffield, very shortly after which it went off the road entirely. Before Mr. Outhwaite's time this coach ran in opposition to the Amity, but this latter coach passed into his hands shortly before he went to the Hotel stables, and was taken off the road in favour of the Telegraph. However, another opposition coach was soon afterwards started, called the Pilot, and these two Birmingham coaches ran in oppo- sition to the end of the coaching days. The Telegraph was one time driven by Tom Johnson, who was in the employ of Mr. Outhwaite, and is still living in Leeds, having reached a ripe old age. The Telegraph and Pilot strongly indulged in racing and all the other dangerous tricks and dodges known to opposition coaches, whereby timid passengers were scarified and the speed of the horses accelerated. Once during a Methodist Conference in Leeds, four ministerial insides made strong complaints to Mr. Outhwaite, who was himself one of the leading Methodists of the town, of the very violent and dangerous manner in which they had made their journey to Leeds to attend the Conference, and on their return journey begged of him to admonish the coachman and warn him as to the evils of racing. " Now, Tom," said Mr. Outhwaithe with much show to the coachman, when he was about to start, " no racing on any account, mind you, or I'll discharge you." Then going round to the window, he assured the four reverend gentlemen in his blandest manner that they need now have no fear, as his coachman was a very careful man. " I will speak to him again," he said, and slipping off to the front he exclaimed in an undertone to Tom : "and I will discharge you, too, if you dare to let the Pilot beat you into Wakefield ! " Needless to relate, Tom 164 The Old Coaching Days. carried out his master's orders in a manner that was very quickly calculated to scare all the good out of them that the old gentlemen had received at the Conference. The Kendal Union commenced running from the Hotel in May, 1807, and remained on the road without intermission to the end of the coaching days. In its latter days it used to be driven by John Carter. The Blucher (181 5 — 35) was a Selby coach running in connection with the Hull packets. The Wellington (181 5) was a three-horse York coach, driven by Thomas Turner, alias Tom Teapot. Besides these there were the Manchester Regulator, the Knaresborough Mail, the London Mail, the London and Glasgow Herald, the Manchester Independent, the Preston Invincible, the Newcastle Defence, the Glasgow Mail, the London Comet, the Phenomena (Leeds and Manchester), Erin-go-Bragh (to Harrogate), the Halifax Hero, and the Ebor (to Harrogate). The three last were coaches that were only started at the very end of the coaching days, and therefore did not live very long. Besides the above there were other coaches worked from other inns that were partly horsed from the Hotel, or had at some part of their career been connected with this inn, many of which we shall deal with in the following chapters. Among them are the Loyal (Leeds and London), the Clothier (Leeds and London), the Newcastle Telegraph, the Manchester Cornwallis, the Bir- mingham Eclipse, the Eclipse (Leeds and Scarborough), the Newcastle Highflyer, the Ripon Tally-ho, the True Briton (Leeds and London), the York Defiance, the Newcastle Expedition, the Newcastle Hero, the Halifax Mail, and the Whitby Neptune. CHAPTER XIII Leeds (continued) — The Old George, Briggate — The Saddle, Briggate — Coaches from the Saddle — The W Jute Horse, Boar Lane — Early Coaches from the White Horse — The Hollings — TJie White Horse Stables — The Union — White Horse Coaches. Or^^IEWHAT lower down Briggate, below the Royal Hotel, were the Saddle and the Old George, two \'ery old houses, which may be classed among the minor coaching inns of the town. The Saddle has long ago sunk into an eating-house, but the Old George still rears its proud old head, carrying on in its vigorous age its ancient calling. We cannot tell what the precise age of this inn may be, but in the carl}' part of last centur\- it was then advertised for sale as " an ancient and well-conducted house," and we find Sir Walter Calverley frequenting this ancient hostelry as early as 1691, from whence he would in all probability take post-horses at various times to meet the London coach, mentioned by him frequently in his diary, at Ferrybridge or Wakefield. The next-door neighbour, the Saddle Inn, was more directly connected with 1 66 TJic Old Coaching Days. the coaching interest, though this connection was only born with the increasing demand for travelHng accommodation when the present century was well on its way. One of the first coaches that ran from the Saddle was the Manchester 8s 0)6- Ceoirge Inns. Commercial Union, which originally ran from the Bull and Mouth, and came to the Saddle in 1823 ; but after a few changes it returned to its old quarters, and we will mention it in detail when we deal with that inn. In this same year the proprietors of the Commercial Union began to work the New Coaches from the Saddle. 167 Mail, which ran between Leeds and Huddersfield from the Saddle Inn. This Mail was put upon the road on November 17th, 1821, and ran originally from the Hotel, every morning,, through Dewsbury and Mirfield, but the stable accommodation at the Saddle was not sufficient for the Commercial Union Company, and after removing their coaches to the White Horse they finally went to the Bull and Mouth, some arrange- ment being entered into whereby some of the Bull and Mouth coaches started from or called at the Saddle. Among other coaches which ran from the Saddle were the Emerald, which commenced running in March, 1833, between Leeds and Pontefract. The British Queen, a Leeds and Manchester coach, which commenced September, 1838, leaving Leeds every morning at eight by way of Birstal and Huddersfield, and running from Mr. Holmes', 123, Briggate, and the Saddle. The other coach proprietors banded together for the purpose of running the British Queen off the road by starting a new coach called the Victoria, which ran to Manchester at half the fares charged by the other coaches. The Packet, a Leeds and Selby coach (1841), ran from the Saddle and Nag's Head Inns, Upperhead Row, at six every morning in connection with the Hull packets. There also ran from the Saddle the York Rapid, the Bradford Freetrader, which was owned by J. Newsome, formerly coachman on the Manchester Celerity ; the Don- caster Eagle, the Ebor (to Sclby), and the Bradford True Blue. We now come to a far more important coaching house, and one that made an indelible mark on the coaching history of its town. The Old White Horse that formerly stood in Boar Lane before that narrow thoroughfare was widened is still fresh in the memories of a vast number of the inhabitants of Leeds as a house that was always associated with the old coaching 1 68 The Old Coaching Days. days, although but a small tithe remain who arc old enough to remember it in its flowery days. The real coaching history of the White Horse may be said to commence with the present century, from which it will be seen that as a coaching house it is far younger than many of its compeers in Leeds. Certainly this old inn was connected with the heavy luggage waggons long before this time, and one or a couple of minor The Old Wiuti; Horse Inn, Boar Lane. coaches ran from here in 1792. One of these coaches really belonged to the Hotel, and was called the Eclipse, and ran from that place and the White Horse on alternate days to Scarborough ; the other was the Packet, which ran between Leeds and Bingley every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, leaving the White Horse at nine in the morning, and running to the Nag's Head, Bradford, thence to Bingley, where it met The White Horse Inn. 169 the canal packet boat which proceeded immediately to Skip- ton and Gargrave. This coach was in all probability worked from the White Horse by the owners of the carriers' waggons, as they seem to have catered quite as much for luggage as they did for passengers. Parcels not exceeding one hundred and twelve pounds were delivered the same day. The fare from Leeds to Skipton inside the coach and front room of the packet was six shillings and sixpence, outside and back room, three shillings and sixpence ; short passengers three- half-pence and one penny per mile. At the Bingley end the coach was worked from Mr. Maud's, at the Old Queen's Head, although at a later period it was horsed from both the Old King's Arms and the Elm Tree Inn, in that town. In 1796, however, this coach ceased to run through to Leeds, but was worked between Bradford and Bingley in connection with the Leeds and Bradford coaches, and coaching at the White Horse did not begin in earnest until the Royal Mail and the True Briton, both Leeds and London coaches, were removed from the Old King's Arms to this inn. In the days of the Eclipse and the Packet this old inn was kept by one Duckworth, who died shortly after the above-mentioned London coaches started to run from his house, and the business was afterwards carried on by his widow, Mrs. Mary Duckworth. At this time J. Hobson kept the Royal Mail Coach office down the )'ard, where he also had an oyster shop, and divided his time between booking coach passengers and opening bivalves. Hobson was in the employ of Messrs. William Hick and J. Rayner, who had the White Horse stables and horsed the coaches. Mrs, Duck- worth was followed by Mr. William Stoney, who greatly improved and refurnished the house in order to meet the requirements of an increasing patronage. The White Horse now developed into a house of the first importance, and became the resort of the noblemen and gentry constantly passing to and fro, who were attracted by. the elegance of the lyO TJie Old Coaching Days. apartments and the superior accommodation which it afforded. Besides numerous small sitting and dining rooms, there was a spacious and lofty room capable of dining one hundred persons. Nevertheless, Mr. Stoney was only here a few years, when he was succeeded by Mr. George Newlove, who came from the Old King's Arms when it finally closed its doors in January, 1813. He remained at the White Horse about ten or twelve years, at the end of which time the inn and the posting business passed into the hands of Mr. T. Turnbull,. the stables being then in the hands of the Hollings', for the successive landlords of the White Horse had nothing to do with horsing or working the coaches. The Hollings', father,, sons, and widow, are the names best known in connection with the coaches from this place. Shortly after Mr. Stoney had refurnished the inn, Mr. John Hick, formerly of the Old King's Arms, took the stables and removed all his coaches to- this place. About 1 81 5 these stables passed into the hands of Mr. John Hollings, who along with his sons soon worked up an excellent coaching business ; but his end, like that of his neighbour, Mr. Crossland, of the Hotel, was a somewhat tragic one, as he hung himself at Gledhow, where he had a farm. The business was afterwards carried on by the sons- and the widow. One of the sons used to drive the Halifax coach, but he died comparatively \'oung about 1838, whilst the other, we believe, is still living on a farm somewhere below Doncaster. He and his mother were connected with these stables right up to the end of the coaching days, and as late as 1844, we believe, took over Lee's horses of the Golden Lion. He was a very gentlemanly fellow, and stuck well to- his business ; each successive market day would see him among the farmers on the Corn Exchange buying corn for his horses. He did not get it by the boat-load like the other coach proprietors, and was thus able to command the best article in the market for his cattle, which were the very bcst^ The Union. 1 7 1 his post-horses having the reputation of being able to do their fourteen miles an hour. The bulk of the White Horse stabling, however, was in the occupation of Mr. Matthew Outhwaite in the latter part of the coaching era, his being the lower portion, which extended right down to Wormald Row, where the uncmploj^ed coaches stood in one long row. That part of the stabling which was situate at the top of the yard nearest to the inn was appropriated by the house for posting purposes. The stables in the yard were a four-stall, an eight-stall, two-stall, ten-stall, seven-stall, fourteen-stall, and a six-stall at the bottom of the yard on the low side of Wormald Row ; besides these there was also a fourteen-stall stable in Trinity Street. The principal White Horse coach was the London Union, which first ran from the Hotel when it was originally put upon the road. It began running on the King's birthday, 1809, leaving Greaves' Hotel daily, at half-past eight in the morning, and going by way of Ferrybridge, Doncaster, Retford, Newark, Grantham, Stamford, and Biggleswade, to the Golden Cross, Charing Cross, and Belle Sauvage, Ludgate Hill, where it arrived next day in time for dinner, returning from London at six each morning. The Union remained at the Hotel until 18 15, but when Mr. Hollings took the White Horse stables in that year, this coach was removed on his entering into possession, where it took up its permanent abode until it went off the road at the end of the coaching days. Soon after its establishment at the White Horse, the proprietors of the Rockingham, which ran from the Golden Lion, started a new opposition coach called the Prince Regent, w-ith the intention of running down the Union, so the time of starting the latter coach was altered to eleven in the morning, to avoid all temptation to race \\\\\\ the Prince Regent, which, as its proprietors said, had changed its time of starting " for the better accommodation of the public," so The Old Coaching Days. as to leave Leeds exactly at the same hour that the Union had been accustomed to start ; and the Union people asked how the public could be better accommodated by two coaches for the same destination leaving at the same hour, and if it was for the better accommodation of the public that these monopolisers were endeavouring" by the most illiberal and oppressive conduct to drive the Union off the road. Were the public better accommodated when the old proprietors had the road all in their own hands, when they used to take thirty-eight hours in which to do the journey, instead of twenty-eight as was now the case ? And they would go back to the old time and double fares if they succeeded in driving the Union off the road. However, the Union people perse- vered, giving strict orders to their drivers to carefully abstain from the dangerous and disgraceful practice of racing, with the result that the opposition Prince Regent very shortly collapsed. The place of starting at the London end was changed at the beginning of Mr. Rollings' time to the Angel, and afterwards to the Three Cups in Aldersgate Street, and the George and Blue Boar, Holborn. In 1821 the time was further reduced to twenty-six hours, and two years later this coach did the journey in twenty-four hours, and so it continued until 1834, when the journey was accomplished in twenty-two- and-a-half hours, whilst in 1836 a still further reduction was made to the marvellous time of twenty-one hours. In 1826 it began to run over the new line of road through Pontefract, instead of by Ferrybridge, and joined the Great North Road at Barnsdale Bar. In August, 1S29, the Union ran right through from London to Newcastle by way of Wetherby, Boroughbridge, Thirsk, Tontine, Yarm, Stockton, Sedgefield, Durham, to the Crown at Newcastle. This new departure was brought about in order to counteract the monopoly attempted by the Times, and the Union people inserted this clause in their coaching bills: "As the Times Company advertise in the Newcastle White Horse CoacJies. 175 papers at reduced fares, it is thought proper to state the low fare of this coach (the Union), that the public may not be deceived by such promises only. From Leeds to Newcastle, inside, twenty -four shillings; outside, fifteen shillings; or any other low fares the Times Company may think proper to publish." This kind of thing did not endure very long though, for the Union very shortly afterwards ceased to run through to Newcastle. The Union finally went off the road in 1 84 1. It was driven in its latter days between Leeds and Barnby Moor or Scarthing Moor by William Hall, and John Edwards was the other coachman. They both came from the south, were both little men, and had both been postboys. On one occasion at the early part of its career a dreadful accident occurred to the Union through the breaking of the reins. William Hope, the then coachman, and an outside passenger were killed, and many others were seriously injured. The jury put a deodand of five pounds on the coach and ten pounds on the horses. Other White Horse coaches were : — • The Old London and Leeds Mail, which ran by way of Wakefield and Sheffield, was transferred from the Old Kiner's Arms to the White Horse in 1800, and was still on the road in 1 84 1, In its latter days Bill Fielding drove it from Leeds to Sheffield in and out. The Cornwallis, Leeds and Manchester coach, com- menced running in 18 12, and left the White Horse at half-past five each morning, through Huddersfield, Marsden and Delph, to the Palace Inn, Manchester. This coach was started by John Hick, and afterwards passed into the hands of William Hick and J. Rayner, and when Mathew Outhwaite took part of the White Horse stables he removed the Corn- wallis to the Bull and Mouth and Royal Hotel, from which houses it was still running in 1839. The Union, Leeds and Ripon coach, which commenced running May 24th, 18 19, from the White Horse and Bull and Mouth, on alternate days, after the arrival of the London iy4 l^h^ Old Coachmg Days. Union. This coach ran by way of Harewood, Harrogate, and Ripley, to the Black Bull, Ripon. In 1823 it began to run between Knaresborough and Leeds, a branch coach meeting it at Harrogate which ran to Ripon. It was driven by Thomas Pearson, landlord of the White Hart at Knares- borough, who was also part proprietor of the coach, which he horsed between Knaresborough and Harewood, the Leeds men horsing it the other half of the journey. Also the Bradford Union, which ran in connection with the London and Ripon Unions; the Wakefield Union, which was removed in 1834 from the White Horse to the Union Inn, Briggate ; the Liverpool Union does not seem to have been very long on the road ; the Manchester Defiance, running over the same ground as the Cornwallis ; the Kendal True Briton, the Birmingham Amity, which was removed to the Bull and Mouth in 1828; the Bradford Brilliant, the Manchester Express, the Recovery, Leeds, York, and Scarbro' season coach ; the Alexander, removed to the the White Cross Inn, Briggate, in 1817 ; the Harrogate Teazle, worked by Dorothy Hollings and Thomas Pearson, of Knaresborough ; the Wakefield Wellington ran from the White Horse and Bull and Mouth alternately ; the Harrogate Ebor, which succeeded the Teazle in 1836; the Umpire, the Defiance, and the Age, all Harro- gate coaches, running alternately from the White Horse and the Golden Lion ; the Accommodation, a one-horse car, running to Selby ; the York Accommodation, running by way of Wetherby, in opposition to the Royal Sovereign, which was a Golden Lion coach ; the Halifax Red Rover, and the Liberal, to Castleford, where it met the Calder and Eagle steam packets. CHAPTER XIV. Leeds (continued) — The Rose mid Crozvn — Its '^ Cockmgs" — Coachman of the Old London Stage Coach — Landlords at the Rose and Crown — TJie Mails — The York and Manchester Highflyers — London Coaches — Numerous other Coaches — The Richmond Courier — The Talbot Inn^ Brig- gate — Its Sporting Characteristics — Its Coaches — The Star and Garter in the Calls — Minor Coaching Inns in Leeds. HE Rose and Crown, which stood in its own yard, at the Back of the Shambles, Brig- gate, was in existence until quite recently, but the enter- prise of a speculative townsman brought about its demolition, and the new Queen's Arcade stands on the old site once occu- pied by this ancient hostelry. Its history prior to the coaching days does not much concern us, tliough the house is of ancient [9— "-Oicl„S''OTiHe!.. ^ origin, and its chief and earliest characteristics have always been more or less of a sporting nature. Like its neighbour, the Talbot, it boasted a cock-pit In its early days the " cockings " at the Rose and Crown were of frequent occurrence, and the following advertisement, taken from the Leeds Intelligencer oi May 24th, 1757, is but a fair 176 The Old Coaching Days. sample of many others of a similar kind : — "To be fought at the Rose and Crown, at the Back of the Shambles, Leeds, a Main of Cocks, betwixt the Gentlemen of Leeds and the Gentlemen of the West Riding, for 4 guineas the battle, and 40 guineas the main or odd battle. To show 3 1 for the main and 12 for the bye-battles. To weigh on Sat, 28th May. To fight, 30th, 31st, and ist June. Feeders — Abraham Farrar for Leeds, and Wm. Beeston for the West Riding." As a coaching house it has always been more or less connected with the Mails, and its alliance with the coaching era may be said to date from the time that Mr. Palmer's efforts to transfer the old system of carrying the mails to the coaches were first put into operation. Probably the first coach which ran from the house was the Defiance, which commenced in 1783, and ran between Leeds and Hull, and this coach was very shortly followed by the Tontine, an early Leeds and London coach, and the Leeds and Liverpool Diligence. At this time the house was kept by Mr. Joseph Hindle, who succeeded Mr. John Smith, one of the first of the Leeds coachmen. When he was landlord of the Rose and Crown he drove the Old Leeds and London Stage Coach, which he is reputed to have driven from the time it was first put upon the road in 1760, when it was known as the Flying Machine. He was formerly coachman to Sir Henry Ibbetson, Bart., and he died on the 6th of September, 1770. Mr. Hindle rapidly extended his posting business, and his son entering into partnership with him at a later period, they contracted for the Liverpool, Scarborough, and Whitby Mails when they first began to run, which were worked from this inn to the end of the coaching days. About 1806 Mr. John Hogg succeeded the Hindles at the Rose and Crown, but he only took over a portion of the increasing coaching business, Mr. William Musgrave occu- pying part of the stables, and working a number of coaches from the same place. This arrangement continued some five The Rose and Croiju, Leeds. 177 or six years, when Mr. Hogg took the whole business into his own hands, although at various periods during his tenancy he let off some of his stables to other coach proprietors. For instance, in 18 18, Mr. Harwood horsed the Hull Mail and the Prince Blucher Scarborough coach from the Rose and Crown stables. John Long also horsed the Anticipation and the The Rose and Crown Inn, Eriggate. Britannia to Skipton from this place. Long was a coachman living in Vicar Lane who had made part money, and he started working the Skipton coach, which he drove himself. During the twenty years that Mr. Hogg occupied the Rose and Crown he more than doubled the number of coachesj N 178 The Old Coaching Days. and when, in 1826, he was succeeded by Mr. John Frances, the mail and stage coach connection was second to none in the town. Within a few years of his succession Mr. Frances was joined in partnership by Mr. Thomas Coates, and this order of things continued until 1836, when the whole of the Rose and Crown coaching business fell into the hands of Mr. Coates, who held it to the end of the coaching days. As we have before stated, the most important branch of the Rose and Crown coaching business was that connected with the Mails, and the principal and oldest-established of these coaches was the old Manchester and Liverpool Mail. This coach commenced running in 1792, and was then and for a number of years afterwards known as the York and Liverpool Mail. It ran from York by way of Tadcaster (from which place it was horsed by Mr. John Hartley, the postmaster, and Mr. William Backhouse) to Leeds, thence through Halifax, Rochdale, Manchester, and Warrington, to the Cross Keys, Dale Street, Liverpool, taking at that time eighteen hours to do the journey. In 1807 it ceased to run through to York, but continued the old route from Leeds to Liverpool. In this year the York Highflyer was put upon the road, and the Liverpool Mail ran in connection with it, and thus it continued to run until 1838, with but little alteration save that of improved time. In this year, almost at the end of its days, it was removed from the house that had known it so long to the Albion, and commenced to run over a new line of road via Huddersficld, running to Man- chester only, and doing the thirty-nine miles in three hours and three-quarters. It remained at the Albion until it went off the road. In 1807, shortly after the above Mail ceased to run through to York, the Whitby and Scarborough Mail was started. This left the Rose and Crown at six each evening, and ran by way of York and Malton, on Tuesdays, Thurs- days, and Sundays, to Whitby, and on Mondays, Wednesdays, Leeds Mails. 179 Fridays, and Saturdays, to Scarborough. It ultimately became a daily coach to York in connection with the York, Whitby, and Scarborough Mails, and thus it continued to run to the end of the coaching days. In 1 82 1 the York Morning Mail commenced running from the Rose and Crown, leaving at four o'clock. In 1836 this was transferred to the Golden Lion. In 1827 the Hull and Liverpool New Mail was worked from the Rose and Crown, leaving for Liverpool at fifty minutes past ten each evening, and running by way of Bradford, Halifax, Todmorden, Rochdale, Bury, Bolton, Wigan, to the Golden Lion, Liverpool, in twelve hours. A branch Mail met this coach at Rochdale and proceeded to the Royal Hotel, Manchester. The return Mail left Leeds for York and Hull each morning at half-past three. Of the Rose and Crown coaches the next in importance to the Mails was the Highflyer, York, Leeds, Manchester, and Liverpool coach, which commenced running on the 5th of December, 1807. Leaving the York Tavern at six each morning, and arriving at the Rose and Crown at half-past nine, it set out immediately for Bradford, Halifax, and Man- chester, where it arrived at six in the evening and stayed all night, setting out at seven next morning for Liverpool, returning thence at four each evening, slept at ]\Ianchester, and left next morning for Leeds and York. This coach was horsed from Leeds by Mr. Musgrave, and for a short time was worked from the Bull and Mouth ; but it again returned to its old quarters at the Rose and Crown, and after running for a few years as above it devolved into two separate concerns, although running in connection, which were after- wards respectively known as the York and Manchester Highflyers. The Manchester Highflyer left the Rose and Crown each morning at half-past nine, running by Bradford to the Swan Inn, Manchester, whence it returned each morning at seven, i8o TJic Old Coaching Days. arriving in Leeds in time for the York Highflyer. It finally went (about 1838) to the Bull and Mouth, and was worked by Mathew Outhwaite, running only to Littleborough, where it joined the Manchester Railway, which was opened in May of that year. In its latters days it was driven by Tom Forrest and one Furniss. The York Highflyer left at half- past three in the afternoon, by way of Tadcaster, until 1829, when it ran over a new line of road through Roundhay, Collingham, Wetherby, Bickerton, Marston, Rufforth, and Acomb, to the York Tavern. With regard to the London coaches the Rose and Crown was somewhat behind its contemporaries, as although there was a London coach worked from its doors as early as 1785, it was not until 1824 that any such coach was established on a sound footing. The first of its London coaches was the Tontine Leeds and London diligence, which commenced running in 1785 from Mr. Hindle's, every evening at five, by way of Wakefield and Barnsley, arriving at Mr. Watson's, Tontine Inn, Sheffield, at ten ; setting out from that place next morning at four, it reached London on the following day. The following year this coach ran from Mr. Holmes', Swan Inn, Briggate, and the next year it went off the road,, when it was followed in 1788 by the Loyal, another Leeds and London coach, which ran from Cowling's Hotel and the Rose and Crown on alternate mornings by way of Ferry- bridge, arriving at the White Horse, London, next day at noon. This coach likewise does not seem to have remained on the road more than a couple of years ; and then came the Loyal Duncan, which first began to run between London and Sheffield in 1797, but a couple of years later it ran forward to Leeds, by Barnsley and Wakefield, doing the whole journey in thirty hours, which was good time for that early period. In 1800 this coach was transferred from the Rose and Crown to the Bull and Mouth. Rose and Croivn Coaches. i8i It was not until August 24th, 1824, that the Rose and Crown succeeded in establishing a permanent London coach, when the Courier was put upon the road, and ran by way of Wakefield, Barnsley, Sheffield, Nottingham, Northampton, to the Bull Inn, Aldgate, and after 1833, to the Belle Sauvage, Ludgate Hill. From its commencement this coach ran with but little alteration to the end of the coaching days. It remained at the Rose and Crown during the whole of its career, and became very popular, making the excellent time of twenty-two hours. The other Rose and Crown coaches were far too numerous for us to enter into full details here, but particulars will be found in the subjoined list. Among these coaches were the Leeds and Manchester diligence (1786), which in all probability devolved into the above-mentioned Leeds and Liverpool Mail ; the Merry Wakefield, an early coach running on alternate days from this house and the Golden Lion to Bingley, Keighley, and Skipton ; the Royal Charlotte, from Leeds to Boroughbridge, where it met the Newcastle and Glasgow coaches — at one time this coach ran forward to Stockton and Sunderland ; the Sheffield Hope, which ran in opposition to the Alexander; the Sheffield Union, the Halifax Waterloo, the Skipton Alexander, the Halifax Alexander, the Skipton Anticipation (1817): either the name of this coach was changed or it was succeeded in the following year by the Britannia, running over the same ground and worked by the same men. John Long horsed them both from Leeds, The Bradford Defence, the Selby Aire and Calder, the York Ebor, afterwards transferred to the Golden Lion in 1S36; the Richmond Courier, which commenced running November ist, 1824, from the Town Hall Inn, Richmond, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, calling at the Masons' i\rms, Bedale; the Black Bull, Ripon ; and via Harrogate to the Rose and Crown, whence it returned the same route Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. This coach also left Leeds on Monday, 1 82 The Old CoacJiing Days. Wednesday, and Friday afternoons, for Ripon, whence it returned the following morning;, reaching Leeds in time to start for Richmond at eleven a.m. In 1834 it was worked from the Rose and Crown and the White Horse conjointly, and in 1840 it was transferred to the Bull and Mouth, whilst as late as 1845 it was still running through to Richmond, although at the finish it only ran to Ripon. The coachman's name was Skelton, and Jim Mountain succeeded him, and drove it off the road. The George IV., running to Knotting- ley, in connection with the Twin packet to Goole. Its name was afterwards changed to the William IV. The Middleham Highflyer, the Ilkley Hark Forward. On the evening of Sunday, the 7th of October, 1832, this coach, when carrying a heavy load, was upset shortly after it had left the Rose and Crown, Ilkley. Several of the passengers were severely bruised, and one old woman, called Hannah Allerton, of Farsley, was killed. It was said that the accident was caused through the coachman, John Townsend, being drunk. Shortly after this accident this coach made way for the Commerce, which ran for a couple of years, when it in turn was succeeded by the British Queen (1835), both these coaches being worked by the same people and running over the same ground as the Hark Forward, the principal proprietor being Edward Boyne. The British Queen continued to run without intermission until the end of the coaching days. In 1841 it was transferred to the Bull and Mouth. The Whitby Nep- tune, the Hull Trafalgar, the Newcastle Red Rover, the Thorparch Bee Hive, the Harrogate Defence (a Sunday coach), and the Highflyer, running to Helmsley and Kirby- moorside three days a week. The Rose and Crown had for its immediate neighbour one of the oldest and best of the Leeds inns, although it can only be reckoned as one of the minor coaching houses. Until recent years the Talbot stood on the site now occupied by Thornton's Arcade. It was a very ancient dwelling, and The Talbot Inn. i8' was originally the private residence of a family named Simpson, whose last male heir died there in 1670. Ten years after that date a Mrs. Elizabeth Simpson (probably his widow) was keeping the Talbot Inn. Thoresby, who was a regular customer at the Talbot, tells us that at that time it boasted a chamber curiously painted in fresco with the arms of the nobility and gentry of the West Riding as they were in Elizabeth's time, but they were shortly afterwards defaced by the indiscretion of a tenant. The other early tenants who followed Mrs. Simpson were Thomas Thornton and then Richard Kirshaw, who purchased this ancient house and afterwards sold it to John Newsham, Vintner, who resold it to James Donaldson about 1750. In the year 1700 the front part of the building facing Briggate was converted into shops^ so that after this date the Talbot, like the Rose and Crown and the majority of the inns off Briggate, was virtually up a yard. The sporting element of the Talbot was very strong in the last century. It was the great centre for the "cockers" of Yorkshire, and during the race meetings on Chapeltown Moor the Clerk of the Course took up his quarters there,, where entries for the races were received and the handicaps framed. In 1 78 1, when coaches first began to run from the house, it was kept by Mr. Christopher Topham, who horsed the two coaches, the Hull and Scarborough diligences, which had recently commenced running from the Talbot on the first stage out of Leeds. In 1788, Mr. Topham died, and his widow afterwards carried on the business for a number of years. Then came Mr. James Jeffreys, who in turn was succeeded by Mr. Joseph Cawthorne. Coaching was only carried on in a very irregular way from the Talbot, as will be gathered from the subjoined list of coaches that at various times ran from the house : — The Leeds and Hull diligence commenced in 1781, and ran every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, at eight in the 184 TJie Old CoacJiing Days. morning by way of Tadcaster and York, to Mr. Johnson's, at the sign of the Cross Keys, Whitefriargate, Hull, returning on the following days. The Leeds and Scarborough diligence began to run in the same year at six each morning, through York, to Mr. Stephens', the New Inn, Scarborough. Fares: Leeds to York, five shillings ; York to Hull, seven shillings and sixpence ; York to Scarborough, eight shillings. These two coaches shortly afterwards amalgamated, and were transferred to the Golden Lion, where they devolved into what afterwards became one of the best-known coaches, which was still run- ning as late as 1845, namely, the Old True Blue. The Newcastle diligence began to run in July, 1787, by Boroughbridge and Northallerton to the Cock Inn, Newcastle, in one day without travelling in the night, which was con- sidered a great thing at that date. Then came the Eclipse, a London coach, which does not seem to have remained long on the road ; the Manchester Alexandra, which kept on the road the longest of any of the Talbot coaches. The True Briton, running between Halifax and Harrogate, was put upon the road October 25th, 18 14, and was at that time worked from the Bull and Mouth, Leeds, but the following year it was removed to the Talbot, and the year after that it com- menced to run forward to Knaresborough. In 181 7, this coach was succeeded by the Alexander, which became an old established concern; the Pudsey Woodpecker; the Manchester Defence; the York Amity and the Surprise was a Manchester coach, which commenced running September 8th, 1837, and was advertised to do the journey in five hours certain. It ran through Huddersfield, Delph, and Oldham to the White Bear and Bee Hive, Manchester ; and shortly after its commence- ment, Outhwaite, of the Bull and Mouth, tried to run it off the road. This coach also started from other inns in Leeds, viz. : the White Swan, the Saddle, and the Golden Lion. Whilst on the subject of minor inns it would perhaps be TJie Star and Garter. 185 as well to briefly enumerate the lesser coaching houses of Leeds, although some of them can advance but little claim to even that title. In the early days of coaching, the Star and Garter, in the Calls, made a bold promise of becoming a coaching house of some note, but this promise died away some years before the beginning of the present century. Its connection with coach- ing began with one of the early London coaches, the True Briton, which was put upon the road on the 21st of May, 1781. This house at that time was kept by Mr. Strickland, who horsed the True Briton one stage out of Leeds. The coach left Call Lane at four each morning, running through Wakefield, Barnsley, and Sheffield, where they breakfasted, dined at Mansfield, and supped at Leicester, arriving at the Bull and Mouth, London, at six the next evening. Some five or six years after its commencement, Mr. Strickland died, and his widow for a short time carried on the business. In 1789, her near neighbour, Mr. Hick, of the Old King's Arms, began to horse the True Briton, the coach running from each house alternately, but before the end of the century it went to the Old King's Arms entirely, making much better time, as it now left at five in the morning and reached London at three the following afternoon. When ]\Ir. Hick removed his coaches from the Old King's Arms, in 1 802, of course the True Briton went along with them to the Hotel, from which place it continued to be worked during the next ten years, at the end of which time it was removed to the White Horse, and ran on Star and Garter, Leeds. 1 86 The Old Coaching Days. alternate days from that house and the Rose and Crown, and thus it continued until 1817, when it seems to have ceased as a London coach, running only between Leeds and Wakefield. It shortly afterwards went off the road entirely. Another coach, which started running in 1791, from the Star and Garter, was the Newcastle diligence, which left every evening at eight, and ran by way of Harrogate and North- allerton, but this coach seems to have gone off the road when Mrs. Strickland transferred her coaches to Mr. Hick. The Eclipse, running between Leeds, Sheffield, and Birmingham, began to run from the Star and Garter in May,. 1789, but on the 9th of May, 1791, it was removed to the Hotel, whence it continued to run over the old ground until February in the following year, when it was removed to the Golden Lion. It ceased to run to Birmingham in June, 1792,. but was put upon the road as a Leeds and Scarborough coach, running from the White Horse and the Hotel on alternate days. The following coaches were also partly worked from the Star and Garter towards the end of last century: — The Leeds, York, and Scarborough diligence ; the Liberty, Leeds and Harrogate ; and the Pilot, Leeds, Sheffield, and Birmingham. From the Union Inn, Briggate, there ran the Harrogate Traveller, the Bradford Traveller, the Manchester Pearl, the Pontefract Wonder, the Duke of York to York, and the Duchess of Leeds to Manchester. From the White Cross Inn, Briggate, the Alexander, Leeds and Sheffield coach, ran for a short time in 18 17. From the Cock and Bottle, in Upperhead Row, the Eclipse (1836) ran to Ilkley, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. This coach was worked by Reuben Craven, of the Woolpack Inn, Yeadon. From the Ship Inn, Briggate, ran the Accommodation (1817) to Wakefield, which was succeeded about 1825 by the True Blue running over the same ground. On the 19th of Minor Coaching Inns. 187 November, 1829, a serious accident happened to this coach through the neghgence of the guard in not putting on the skid before going down Belle Hill. The coach was violently upset at the bottom of the hill, and the coachman, William Herfield, was killed on the spot, and two outside passengers, Mr. Charles Cope, of Leeds, and Mr. James Burrell, of Arkendale, died very shortly afterwards from the effects of the injuries they received. From the Black Swan, opposite the bottom of Lowerhead Row, ran the Alexander (181 5) to York, through Bramham, Boston Spa, Thorparch, Wighill, Askham, and Acomb, to the Elephant and Castle, on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. This coach was worked by George Flower, of York, and R. Pulfrey, of the Royal Hotel, Boston Spa. The Thorparch coach, which ran for a many years, also started from the Black Swan. The Providence coach (1835-44) ^^'^s another Thorparch coach, running on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, from the Boot and Shoe Inn, Wood Street; and yet another Thorparch coach was The Rodney (1828), running Tuesdays and Saturdays from the Dolphin Inn, Vicar Lane. CHAPTER XV. Leeds (continued) — TJie Bull and Mouth — The Old Stage Waggons — Its Early Coaches — The Bull and Mouth Stables — The True Briton — TJie Manchester Commercial Union — Neivcastle Coaches — Sundry other Coaches. EEDS can still boast at least one coaching inn which has with- stood the march of modern improvement ; the eradicating hand of time has not yet suc- ceeded in robbing the Bull and Mouth of its old-time appear- ance. Situate in the centre of a commanding thoroughfare, surrounded by elaborate and more modern structures, there is a solid substantiality about the plain clean front of this ancient hostelry that at once marks it down as a house with a history. As it was long before the stage coaches rolled through its broad archway so it is to-day, and having recently gained a new lease of life it may probably be handed on to future generations as a striking monument of a past age. From its earliest history the old Bull and Mouth has always been more or less connected with " the road," and for years before it became a coaching house, when it was known Old Stage Waggons. 189 by the sign of the Old Red Bear, it was one of the great centres for the heavy luggage waggons. The old stage waggon, the forerunner of the stage coach, with its long team of eight or ten powerful horses and its huge pile of baggage, was common enough on the road in the old coaching days. Before the days of Macadam, when but few of the numerous Turnpike Road Acts had come into force, and the roads were in a most deplorable condition, the great broad heavy wheels were insisted on by the Government, the width of the tire being specified ; their agument being that it was the narrow tires which broke up the roads. The driver in charge of these waggons used to jog along on a stout pony, and armed with his long whip, which he could cleverly manipulate, he controlled his team without use of rein or bridle, as will be seen from the adjoining illustration, which is from an oil painting in the possession of Mrs. Collinson, of Beltoft House, near Crowle, by whose kind permission we are allowed to use it. In those days the high archway at the Bull and Mouth was almost double its present width, to allow of the ingress and egress of the great bulky waggons, piled high with merchandise. When the coaches began to run from the house a portion of this passage was built up, and converted into a coach-office. This would be about the beginning of the century, from which time the coaching history of this inn may be said to date. The first coach that was worked from the Bull and Mouth was the Loyal Duncan, mentioned in the last chapter. This was in the year 1800, and the house was then kept by Mr. William Ward, who firmly established it as a coaching house. Among the coaches that he was instru- mental in introducing were the Wakefield Accommodation, the North Briton, the Manchester True Briton, the Kendal True Briton, a Scarborough season coach, and the Manchester Regulator. Mr. Ward worked some of the coaches in conjunction with Mr. Rollings, of the White Horse, but the compact was broken in August, 18 19, when Mr. Ward started I90 The Old Coaching Days. TJte Bull and Mouthy Briggate. 191 the Manchester Regulator, which ran daily by Huddersfield and Oldham, in opposition to the Royal Regulator, an old- established coach running over the same ground from the White Horse. However, the Bull and Mouth Regulator w^as shortly afterwards removed to Wakefield, whence it ran to Manchester, whilst the Manchester True Briton and Royal Regulator were withdrawn from the Bull and Mouth, from which place and the White Horse they ran alternately, and were removed to the Hotel, Mr. Hollings having thrown in his lot with Mrs, Greaves so far as these coaches were ■concerned. The Manchester Regulator was a notoriously slow coach and made most abominable time. The coachman, on being one day asked why it was called the Regulator, when it kept the worst time of any coach on the road, replied that he supposed it must be because all the other coaches went by(e) it. Mr. Ward's coaching experience at the Bull and Mouth extended over almost the first quarter of the century, and he was succeeded in 1823 by the only other coach proprietor that had any connection with the house, and whose term of office lasted to the end of the coaching days. This successor was Mr. Mathew Outhwaite, of whom we have already had occasion to speak, but his occupancy was confined purely and simply to the cellar stables and the coaching business. The landlord who succeeded to the house was Mr. Uriah Bulmer, but he had nothing whatever to do with the coaches. Mr. Outhwaite was undoubtedly the most enterprising of the Leeds coach proprietors, and his advent at the Bull and Mouth was quickly followed by a long array of new coaches and a succession of crowded stables. Besides his stables at the Royal Hotel, the White Horse Yard, and Bank Street, which we have already mentioned, there would be standing room for thirty horses in the cellar stables at the Bull and Mouth. These stables, like those at the Royal, were below the level of the yard, and were approached by a sloping 192 The Old Coaching Days. subway. They are but little changed at the present time,, save that they have fallen into utter disuse. The yard stables were used by the hotel for their own post - horses. Mr, Outhwaite would have about two hundred horses altogether. He did not reside at the Bull and Mouth, but lived in New Leeds, where he rented a farm under Earl Cowper known as Squire Pastures, and where he turned his horses out to graze. He was in appearance a short, stout, fresh, comfortable looking man, and a good and kind master. He was probably the last of the Leeds coaching proprietors, and fought hard to the end against the railways. In 1840 there were only eight coaches running from the Bull and Mouth and Royal Hotel, all horsed by Mr. Outhwaite ; this shows a sad falling off from ten years earlier, when there were over four times that number leaving these two inns daily. The fate of coaching being irrevocably sealed, Mr. Outhwaite, with his large contingent of horses idle on his hands, was obliged to find occupation for them, so on the 23rd of November, 1840, he entered upon the premises lately occupied by the Widow Welsh, whose waggon warehouse was situate in Bank Street, and working in immediate connection with the well-known firm of Chaplin & Home, began to carry goods to all parts of the kingdom, although he still continued to horse a few coaches for some years after this date. Among the coaches that were closely identified with the Bull and Mouth were the True Briton, running between Hull and Manchester. This coach began in 1812, and left the Bull and Sun, Mytongate, Hull, at six each morning, running to the White Swan and King's Arms, York, thence to the Bull and Mouth, Leeds, where the passengers dined. It left Leeds at three via Huddersfield to the Palace and Swan Inns, Manchester, where it arrived about ten at night. In Novem- ber of the same year it devolved into two co-operation coaches, the Manchester coach leaving Leeds at nine each morning and the Hull coach at eight. In 1829 the Man- Bull and Mouth Coaches. 193 Chester True Briton began to run through to Liverpool, doing the whole journey from Leeds in ten hours. It left the Bull and Mouth at noon, and was horsed out of Leeds conjointly by Mr. Outhwaite and Mr. Frances, of the Rose and Crown, but this alteration only continued about one season, when it again became permanently a Leeds and Manchester coach, running to Manchester in eight hours. This coach remained on the road to the end of the coaching days, and in its latter days was horsed from the White Horse. The Leeds and Hull section of this coach in 18 14 began to run between Leeds and Scarborough, and became the permanent Scar- borough True Briton, also running to the end of the coaching days. It left the Bull and Mouth at six each morning, running by Tadcaster, York, and Malton, and thus it continued with but little change. Another important Bull and Mouth coach was the Manchester Commercial Union, which was put upon the road on His Majesty's birthday (1821), and ran by way of Dewsbury, Huddersfield, Marsden, and Oldham, to the Flying Horse, Manchester. The proprietors of this coach were principally Huddersfield men, and it ran in opposition to the Cornwallis, an old-established Manchester coach, and there was much soreness between the two concerns. It was notorious at the time that the old proprietors had the road to themselves, and the public were much imposed upon by their exorbitant fares. They actually charged a child in the lap full fare, namely, ten shillings and sixpence, from Huddersfield to Manchester. So the Commercial Union was formed as an antidote to these exorbitant demands. The Union coach commenced with fares that would have been sufficiently remunerative to them, and also easy to the traveller, but the old proprietors immediately lowered their fares and put on another coach, with the avowed intention of running the Union off the road, but with little success, for the Union continued to run, and was still running a dozen years later. O 194 The Old Coaching Days. The Times and the Hero. 195 The Bull and Mouth was also noted for its Newcastle -coaches, the most important of which were the Times and Hero. The Times (1829-40) was put upon the road on the 29th of June, 1829, leaving the Bull and Mouth early each morning, and running by way of Harrogate, Knaresborough, Thirsk, Tontine, Yarm, Stockton, and Durham. In 1832 the route was changed, and from that date it continued to run by North- allerton and Darlington. A couple of years later it considerably lowered its fares, and made much better time ; a state of things which was brought about by a new opposition coach — the Joint Stock, which we have already mentioned being put upon the road. In 1840 it ceased to run to Newcastle, but ran three days a week in the season to Redcar. The names of the two coachmen were Holy Taylor and Bob Powell. The Hero commenced running on the 4th of June, 1832, by Knaresborough, Thirsk, and Northallerton. It was a night coach, and left the Bull and Mouth each evening about half- past six, arriving at the Turf Hotel, Newcastle, next morning in time for breakfast. Both Mr. Crossland, of the Hotel, and Mr. Lee, of the Golden Lion, joined Mr. Outhwaite in working this concern ; and the coach used to start from their houses as well as the Bull and Mouth. The Hero continued to run until the Newcastle Railway was opened in 1839. On the 12th of August, 1833, a serious accident happened to it, when it was upset opposite Low Hall, between Leeds and Chapeltown. There were two inside and ten outside passengers, all more or less injured, but only four seriously, namely : Mr. Powell, solicitor, Knaresborough ; Mr. Morley, of Dishforth ; Mr. John Dunkersley, of Honley ; and Burgoyne, the guard. The accident was caused by the pole snapping, and Sissons, the •coachman lost hold of the reins, he being jerked off the foot- board. Two other Newcastle coaches were the Pilot and the Express ; then comes a long string of minor coaches, namely: the Royal Forester, to Ferrybridge ; the Manchester Umpire, which ran alternately from this house and the White Horse ; 196 TJie Old Coaclnng Days. the Selby Union, the Wakefield Tradesman, the Royal Umpire to York and Malton ; the Perseverance to Huddersfield, which was succeeded by the Dart, which afterwards ran to Harrogate,, and was in its turn succeeded by the Perseverance running over the same ground ; the Hope, to Redcar ; the Crown Union, a Keighley coach, running on market days only, and worked by John Ellison, of the Crown, Keighley ; the Buxton Enterprise, the Cleveland to Redcar ; the Duke of Leeds, a Manchester coach, driven by Harry Boast and Jerry Scott ; the Hull Rockingham, the Bradford Hope ; the Tantivy to Manchester, in connection with the train to Liverpool ; the Ilkley Defiance, horsed by Thos. Procter, of Ilkley ; the Union, Hull to Liverpool, a fast coach, doing the journey in capital time : one hundred and thirty miles in thirteen hours ;; the Barnsley Perseverance, the Nottingham Times, the Wharfedalc Bee to Ilkley ; the Brilliant to Derby, in con- nection with the railway to London ; and the Emerald, a season coach, to Redcar. CHAPTER XVI Leeds (continued) — The Albion — The Joint Stock Coach Company — Thz Albion Coaches — The Golden Lion — Its Landlords — Tlie Paul Jones, the Forerunner of the Rockingham — The Rockingham — Peter Mountain — Rock- ingham Coachmen — Wm. Motrham — Favourite Guard — The Irishman and Chesterfield CJiurch Spire — '■'Dickey''^ Wood — The Old True Blue — TJie Prince Blucher — The Lesser Lights. EAR neighbour to the Bull and Mouth is the most modern of all the Leeds coaching inns, the Albion, and although at different times as many as fifteen coaches were worked from this house, nevertheless it can scarcely be classed in the first rank as a coach- ing inn. In fact, the ■coaching history of the Albion began at a time when that of the other houses was on the wane. Comparatively an hotel of very recent date, it might never have been connected with coaching had not the Joint- Stock Company, mentioned at length in Chapter X., sprung into existence in 1834. They for a time made the Albion the head - quarters for their -coaches, and theirs were the first coaches that were worked from this place. Originall}' the Albion was built and 198 The Old CoacJiiiig Days. occupied as a private residence in the early part of the present century by Dr. Robert Wilson, a character better known as " leather breeches," but the occupants during its short coaching career were Messrs. J. and W. Atkinson. The first of its coaches was the Newcastle Joint Stock, of which we have already given particulars ; then in the following year (1835) came the Economist, another Leeds and Newcastle coach, running over the same ground as the Joint Stock and being worked by the same people. The other Albion coaches were the Rob Roy, to Sheffield ; the Harrogate Rocket, the Celerity, running to Manchester by way of Huddersfield. This coach ran in connection with Manchester and Liverpool and the Leeds and Selby Railway, and another coach running between Selby and Hull, thus forming a through communication from Hull to Liverpool. It continued to run until 1840, when it ceased running to Manchester, but was worked as a York coach for a short time, and afterwards ran to Harrogate as a season coach. The Huddersfield Quicksilver, which in the season ran forward to Harrogate ; the Birmingham Pilot,, which ran in opposition to the Telegraph ; the York Antelope, the Harrogate Ruby, the 'Harrogate Brilliant, the Peveril of the Peak, to Buxton ; the Earl of Zetland, which ran to Redcar in summer and Darlington in winter ; the Enterprise, which ran twice to Bradford daily ; and the New Darlington Mail, which began to run December 2nd, 1839,. which was timed to do ten miles an hour, including stoppages. It left the Albion on the arrival of the Manchester Mail at 12-15 noon; Harewood, i-io; Harrogate, 2-1; Borough- bridge, 2-59 ; Thirsk, 4-5 ; Northallerton, 4-59 ; Darlington, 6-35. The following year Atkinsons were joined by Outh- waite in the working of this Mail. We now come to the last, but certainly not in any sense the least of the Leeds coaching inns, namely, the Golden. Lion, at the bottom of Briggate. This hostelry as it was in, The Golden Lion, Leeds. igg the old days has entirely disappeared, although a more modern structure still enjoys the licence. Possibly none of its contemporaries proved so successful from a remunerative point of view. All the coaches, or rather the bulk of them, which were worked from this house were old-established concerns. There was less chopping and changing than at any of the rival inns. Once fairly on the road, there they remained until the end of the coaching days, and it speaks volumes in favour of their steadfast system that the first two coaches that were put upon the road from this house were the last two to leave it. In April, 1781, Mr. Samuel Vincent^ then landlord of the Golden Lion, worked on the first stage in and out of Leeds a new London diligence, which ulti- mately devolved into the Rockingham, one of the oldest and most popular coaches on the road ; and a few months later he established the Old True Blue Scarborough coach and the Hull diligence. These all became regular going concerns, and from the very first the Golden Lion made its mark as a coaching inn. In December, 1791, Mr. Vincent died, and was succeeded by his book-keeper, Mr. William Wade, who for a number of years had acted in that capacity. His term of office^ however, was not a lengthy one, for he also died in February, 1799, leaving his widow, Sarah Wade, to carry on the business. From 1803 to 1809 Mr. Richard Rhodes controlled the establishment, and then it passed into the hands of Mr. William Lee, in whose family it remained throughout the best part of the coaching era. In 1823 Mr. Lee took his son Tom into partnership with him, and he, after his father's death, which occurred in 1836 at his residence at the corner of King Street and Wellington Street, carried on the business until it passed into the hands of the Hollings, of the White Horse, in 1842. The first of the Golden Lion coaches, the above- mentioned diligence, which commenced in 1781, and ran to 200 The Old Coaching Days. London in two days, by way of Ferrybridge and Doncaster, made way a couple of years later for a new concern worked by the same people, which made much better time. It was afterwards known as the Paul Jones, and was worked at the London end from the Saracen's Head. The introduction of the Royal Mails in 1786 marked a vast improvement in travelling, and the proprietors, in order to keep pace with the times, replaced the Paul Jones in July, 1787, by a new fast coach called the Rockingham, which left the Golden Lion ■every morning at six, and running by way of Ferrybridge, Doncaster, Retford, Newark, Stamford, and Hatfield, reached the Saracen's Head, Snow Hill, next day at noon. This concern was driven by five coachmen, the through fares at that time being, inside £1 3s., outside £\ lis. 6d. Thus it continued to run for something like twenty years without any interruption, and but little alteration, save that it gradually made better time. In 1820 it left at eight, and did the journey in twenty-seven hours. In 1823 the time of starting was again altered to half-past eight a.m., in order to suit a new branch coach running from Bradford and Halifax. After the 30th of March, 1835, the Rockingham began to run by way of Wakefield and Red House to Doncaster, instead of by Ferrybridge, as heretofore. It now left the Golden Lion at nine a.m. and reached the Saracen's Head at eight the next morning, making the excellent time of twenty-three hours, doing the return journey in an hour less, as it left London at four p.m. and reached Leeds the following afternoon at two. After April 24th, 1836, the Rockingham ran through to Bradford without change of coach, leaving the Bowling Green Inn at that place every morning at a quarter to eight. The coach fought hard to the last against the tide of railway opposition which had set in, but the traffic began to fall away very rapidly, and in 1840, when most of the London coaches were run off the road, the number of passengers had TJie RockingJiam. 20I 202 The Old Coaching Days. fallen so low that the Rockingham and the Union amalgamated and ran as one coach, under the name of the Rockingham- Union, and afterwards ran as the auxiliary mail, and ceased running entirely in 1844. When this amalgamation took place, the coach was horsed finally by Mrs. Rollings and Matthew Outhwaite, and also ran from the White Horse and Bull and Mouth, as well as the Golden Lion. Prior to this it was always worked from the Golden Lion at the Leeds end, and from London by one family, from start to finish. Mr. Peter Mountain was at the Saracen's Head at the time the coaches ceased running, and his father and grandmother before him had each occupied this well-known hostelry. A Mr. Mountain certainly horsed coaches from that place, and was chiefly instrumental in putting the Rockingham on the road when it first started. Mr. Peter Mountain was one of the last of the old London coach proprietors ; he lived to the ripe old age of eighty-one, and died at Hastings in 1883, and it is to his nephew, Mr. Charles Fowler, of Leeds, that the writer is greatly indebted for some of these particulars. There was always a certain amount of rivalry between the different proprietors at the London end as to having the best teams of horses for the first stage " out and in." Peter Mountain was proud of his bays and greys. On one occasion, when one of the North-country coaches, horsed with four dappled greys, was about to start on its journey from the Saracen's Head, Lord by chance entered the yard ; "Ah!" he exclaimed, " you have four nice greys in that coach, Mr. Mountain, will you sell them ? " " Yes, my Lord." " What do you want for them ? " " Four hundred guineas," replied Mr. Mountain with evident pride, " and your Lordship cannot get such a match of four horses like them in all London." " Well," was the answer, " it's an exceptional price for four coach horses." " Perhaps so," chimed in Mr. Mountain, " but they are exceptional cattle, well broken to harness, all of a height, five years old, and sound in wind, limb, and eyesight." The IrisJiman and Chesterfield Steeple. 203' Needless to relate that it was a deal, his lordship giving the price and sending his groom for the team the next morning, and he afterwards drove them in his four-in-hand drag. The best known among the coachmen who drove the Rockingham at this end of their ground, extending from Leeds to Barnby Moor or Scarthing Moor, were William- Dickinson and William Bramley (the latter of whom was- always more or less drunk). His son was for some time guard on the same coach, and William Hall, who was the last man to drive the Rockingham, lived long after the coaches had gone off the road, and now lies buried in Woodhouse Cemetery. He was a little man, and began life as a postboy with Mr. Fisher, of Scrooby Top. Among the guards of this coach were William Motrham, Black, and Furniss. Black met his death by an accident while arranging some luggage as the coach was entering the Golden Lion Yard. His head coming in contact with the top of the archway, he was knocked off the coach, and very soon expired. William Motrham was a favourite guard, with an inexhaustible fund of humour. He was a most generous and attentive man,. and would amuse the passengers and enlighten the journey with his racy anecdotes. Once when he was on a coach going by way of Chesterfield, the conversation outside the coach turned upon the subject of the well-known crooked spire of Chesterfield Church, Motrham told a very plausible story about the cause of the spire being out of perpendicular, and gave a detailed account to an attentive and interested Irish gentleman as to how they were going to straighten it the next day, and move it on rollers. " Begorry, thin, Oi'll just stop and see it done ! " and he was at once put down bag and baggage. When he found out that he had been hoaxed, there was the sad picture of a wild Irishman swearing eternal vengance on all coach guards. The adjoining illustration of the Rockingham stage coach is from a spirited painting in possession of Mrs.. 204 The Old Coaching Days. Collinson, by J. F. Herring, in his happiest style. The team of horses represented belonged to " Dickey " Wood, of Doncaster, whose portrait we append, particulars of whom have already been given in Chapter III. The superior qualities of the near side leader, the grey mare, were well known on the road, it being a favourite of Mr. Wood's, and the spotted carriage dog belonged to Mrs. Wood. Another coach, which was one of the best known and most popular on the road, was the Scarborough Old True Blue. On July 5th, 178 1, there began to run from the Golden Lion, at six every morning, a dili- gence to Scarborough, by way of Tad caster and York, and al- though in the first twenty years of its existence it underwent numerous changes at the York and Scar- borough houses, it kept steadily on at the Golden Lion. When it became fashionable to give coaches names, this concern was called the True Blue. Ultimately the Black Swan, York, and the Bell and Bull, Scarborough, became the permanent houses from which this coach was worked. In winter time it ran to York only, and there was but little alteration in its working save that, as it made better time, it started at the more convenient hour of Mr. Richard Wood. Golden Lion, Leeds. 205 nine. After the White Horse and the Golden Lion coaches were thrown together in 1840, it ran from both those houses and the Bull and Mouth, as did most of the coaches that still remained on the road at that time. It was one of the oldest coaches on the road, and was still running as late as 1844. About 1786 Mr. Wood, of the Old King's Arms, and Mr. Vincent worked a little together. In June of this year they started the Manchester Defiance, which also became an old-established concern, running to the very end of the coaching days. A couple of years later Mr, Hindle, of the Rose and Crown, also joined in working this coach, but this arrangement did not last very long. Some dispute arising, Mr. Hindle joined Mr. Crossland, of the Hotel, and they started a new Manchester coach, which ran in opposition. In 1793 it fell entirely into the hands of the Golden Lion, and ran by Bradford and Halifax, leaving both Leeds and Manchester at six each morning, but this time was afterwards altered to half- past eight. In 1840 the Defiance ran to Littleborough only, the passengers going forward by train. The Prince Blucher, Scarborough coach, was put upon the road on July 14th, 1817, and in its early days was variously worked from the Golden Lion, the Hotel, and the Rose and Crown, until 1824, when the first-named inn became its final home until it went off the road well into the thirties. The following rather tasty advertisement applies to this coach : — 1824. More War. — Various reports having been industriously circulated throughout the country stating that the Prince Blucher was going to be united with his oppo- nents between Sheffield, Leeds, and York, the proprietors of the Blucher Coach take leave to apprise their friends, and the John Bull in particular, that no union has taken place, and that the Prince is still alive, and will be sup- ported as heretofore, and that every accommodation will continue to be afforded to the patrons of his Royal Highness, not doubting that under the protection of such a warrior the public will be gratified, and, at the same time,, the original promoters of the coach ultimately benefited. :2o6 The Old Coaching Days. In 1 815 the proprietors of the Rockingham started a aiew London coach called the Waterloo, but it did not remain long on the road. It was succeeded in the following year by the Prince Regent, which also collapsed. The lesser lights from the Golden Lion were the New- castle Coach (1791-2), which was not very long on the road; the Liverpool Royal Neptune, the Newcastle Telegraph, the Ripon Tally-ho, which ran alternately from this house and the Hotel ; the Volunteer, to Manchester and Liverpool ; the Prince Blucher, to Sheffield ; the Rockingham, branch coach to Bradford and Halifax, and at one time there were two Rockinghams running to Bradford daily ; the Sheffield Ebor, the York Union, which was afterwards transferred to the Union Inn, Briggate ; the Newcastle Phoenix, the Commerce, which finally went to the White Horse ; the Halifax New Mail, the Wakefield Royal Sovereign, the York Royal Sovereign, the Sheffield Red Rover, and the Wakefield Paul Pry. Having traversed the main or head line of posting as it ran through Yorkshire, the great artery which fed the smaller outlets of passenger traffic, we can form some idea of the busy scenes that constantly occupied its great length as coach after coach passed rapidly along. In the old coaching days, the places whose rural simplicity is their chief characteristic to-day were bustling centres of the county. Who, passing through such peaceful villages as Bawtry or Ferrybridge to-day, would believe that they were once alive with a constant whirl of bustle and excitement, the constant arrival of coach and chaise, the in -coming of Mails, the hurried changing of the horses, the hauling about of heavy luggage, the rushing to and fro of excited travellers ; then came private travelling carriages, noblemen's equipages, the lumbering heavy luggage and fish waggons, drivers, horse- keepers, postboys, coachmen, and a multitude of hangers-on, not to mention the great droves of cattle periodically passing to and fro ? Road and Rail. 207 Coaching along the Great North Road and in Leeds and other places died very hard. Railway after railway opened, but still enterprising coach proprietors made efforts to cope with the emergency. Old - established coaches •changed their routes and ran over new ground when it was found that steam was gradually encroaching on their occu- pation. Step by step the new mode of locomotion made itself felt, and such of the coach proprietors as clung to the fast-sinking ship were finally glad to avail themselves of the privileges that the various lines offered. Coaches began to run in connection with the rails, as, for instance, from Leeds to Derby by coach, and forwards by rail to London. By some arrangement between the coach proprietors and the railway companies, passengers could book through to London and other places from the original coach offices, but even this soon died away. The vast revenues which were formerly gathered from the working of a popular stage coach had received their irrevocable death-blow, and the only coaches that now paid were those that ran over ground where there was no steam opposition. The last to leave the road were the season coaches to the watering places. Some of those to Harrogate, Ilkley, and Scarborough, were running long after the railways had obtained a firm and decided footing. Inventions and improvements in steam engines followed each other in quick succession, and the rapidity with which steam made headway can only be understood from the fact that little more than half-a-century ago it was in its mere infancy. Compare our present-day perfections with the crude origin- alities of that date, and picture what the old frequenters of the road would have thought when they gazed in sorrowing wonder upon the first locomotive, the fire-breathing monster that was to steal away their occupations and place them workless upon the world. When we compare the travelling of to-day with that of half-a-century ago, the miseries and hardships of a long journey, say due north, over Shap Fells, 208 TJie Old Coaching Days. outside a stage coach, in the depth of winter, the whirling snow falling thick upon you, it may contrast badly with the glow and comfort of a Pulman car, but there are few among us but would enjoy one more peep, however brief, at the old coaching days. The First Locomotive. LIST OF STAGE AND MAIL COACHES Worked from the Inns mentioned in this Book. Accommodation.— York and Sheffield. See -page 82. Accommodation (1833). — Leeds, Wetherby, Tadcaster, and York. From the White Horse, Leeds, dailj^, at 9 a.m.; arrived White Swan, York, at 11 a.m. Ran in opposition to the Royal Sovereign. Accommodation (1835-6). — Leeds and Selby. Began running Decem- ber 1st, 183s, at 7-30 a.m., from the Ship at Selby ; returned from White Horse, Leeds, at 4-30 p.m. This was a one-horse car. Proprietor : John Turner, Junior, Selby. Alexander (1807-24).— Leeds, Harrogate, and Knaresbro'. From the Talbot, Leeds, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 3 p.m.; Wellington, Low Harrogate ; Hope, High Harrogate ; returned from Knaresbro', i p.m., Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. In 1824 it was removed to the Rose and Crown, Leeds. Alexander (1814-18). — Leeds and Sheffield. Began to run November, 1814, alternately from the Tontine and Commercial Inns, Sheffield, at 6 a.m., daily ; left the White Horse, Leeds, at 9 a.m., daily ; Stafford Arms, Wakefield ; King's Head, Barnsley. Performed by F. Rayner, Leeds ; D. Peech, Barnsley ; F. Batty and T. Ashmore, Sheffield. In 1817 it was removed to the White Cross Inn, Leeds, and left at 11 a.m., Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays ; Bull's Head, Wakefield ; King's Head, Barnsley ; Yellow Lion and Anvil Inns, Sheffield. Returned from Sheffield Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. Per C. Booth & Co. P 210 TJie Old Coaching Days. Alexander (1815-26). — Leeds and Manchester. Commenced running November, 18 15, from the Talbot, Leeds, Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, 8 a.m., by Bradford, Halifax, and Rochdale, to White Bear, Piccadilly, Manchester ; returned Sundays, Wednes- days, and Fridays, 10-30 a.m. Fares: 14s. in ; 7s. out. In 1817 became a daily coach: left the Talbot, 6 p.m.; 1826, 4-30 p.m. Performed by C. Dearden & Co. Alexander (1815). — Leeds and York. Began running May 30th, 1815, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, at 6 a.m., from the Elephant and Castle, York, through Acomb, Askham, Healaugh, Wighill, Thorparch, Boston, Clifford, Bramham, and Thorner, to the Black Swan, Leeds ; returned 4 p.m., same days. Fares : 8s. in ; 6s . out. Performed by Geo. Flower, York ; and R. Pulfrey, Hotel, Boston. Seepage 187. Alexander (1820-43). — Leeds, Bradford, Halifax, and Skipton. From the Rose and Crown, Leeds, at 5-30 p.m. One coach to Bradford; two coaches from Bradford to Halifax and Bradford to Skipton : 1822-4, 5 p.m.; 1826, 4 p.m.; 1829, 3-45 p.m.; 1832, 4-45 p.m.; 1833, 3-45 p.m. In this year the Halifax branch coach gave up running, but the other continued through Bingley and Keighley. In 1837 it was removed from the Rose and Crown, and ran from the Golden Lion and White Horse alternately: 1840, 4 p.m.; 1843, 4-30 p.m. Age (1841). — Leeds and Harrogate. Began to run June 7th, 1841, from the White Horse and Golden Lion, Leeds, daily, at noon ; left the Brunswick and Commercial, Harrogate, at 7 a.m. .A.! RE and C alder (1824). — Leeds and Selby. From the Rose and Crown, Leeds, every morning, in connection with the Hull packets. Performed by John Hogg & Co. Amity (1824-33). — Leeds and Birmingham. Began July 6th, 1824, from the White Horse, Leeds, at 5-30 a.m., daily ; changed horses at the York Hotel, Wakefield ; King's Head, Barnsley ; Angel, Sheffield; arrived Nelson Hotel, Birmingham, 9 p.m.; returned same route, same times. Proprietors : HoUings, Herring, & Co. 1827, started at 5 a.m., ran to Sheffield only, in connection Sheffield and Birmingham Telegraph ; returned from Sheffield 4-45 p.m. 1828, from White Horse and Bull and Mouth alternately. In this year it went entirely to the Bull and Mouth, Leeds, and was afterwards worked by Mathew Outhwaite & Co. List of Coaches. 211 Amity (1843). — Leeds and York. Commenced February 14th, 1843, from the Saddle and Talbot Inns, Leeds, at g-15 a.m., daily ; ran by way of Bramham Cross Roads and Tadcaster ; arrived at the Greyhound Inn, Spurriergate, York, at 12 noon; returned 4-45 p.m.; arrived Leeds 7-30. Fare: 5s. in ; 3s. out. Performed by John Germaine and Jacob Wood. Antelope (1837).— Leeds and York. From the White Horse and Robin Hood, York, daily, at 11-30 a.m.; returned from Albion, Leeds, at 6-30 p.m. Performed by J. and W. Atkinson, Leeds ; and T. and S. Hunt, York. Anticipation (1817).— Leeds and Skipton. From the Black Horse, Skipton, daily, at 5 a.m., through Keighley, Bingley, and Bradford, to White Swan and Rose and Crown, Leeds ; returned same route, 3-30 p.m. Performed by Asquith, Duckitt, Greenwood, Wilkin, and Long. This coach was succeeded in the following year by the Britannia, running over the same ground and worked by the same men. See page 177. Balloon (1785). — Leeds and London. See pages 153-154. Bee Hive (1836). — Leeds and Thorparch. Commenced July i8th, 1836, from Rose and Crown, Leeds, at 10 a.m., Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, through Roundhay, Scarcroft, and Collingham ; arrived Royal Hotel, Thorparch, 11-30; returned same days and Sunday at 5 p.m. Performed by Joseph Mountain. Blucher (1815-35). — Leeds and Selby. Put upon the road July 31st, 181 5, and ran from the George, Selby, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, on the arrival of the steam packet from Hull; returned from the Hotel, Leeds, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, at 5 a.m. Performed by Sarah Greaves and T. Hawdon. In 1817 it became a daily coach. In 1834 it removed from the Hotel to the Golden Lion, Leeds. See page 164. Blucher (18x7-39),— Leeds ^"d Scarborough. See page 205. Brilliant (1826).— Leeds and Bradford. Left the White Horse, Leeds, every evening at 7. Brilliant (1838).— Leeds and Harrogate. Ran from the Albion, the Royal, and the Bull and Mouth, Leeds, daily, at i p.m. Per- formed by Mathew Outhwaite and J. and W. Atkinson. Brilliant (1839). — Leeds and Derby. Began August 12th, 1839, from the Bull and Mouth, Leeds, at 5-45 a.m., daily, running in 212 The Old Coaching Days. connection with the railway to London, doing the journey from Leeds to London in fourteen hours. Britannia (1818-21). — Leeds and Skipton. Left Skipton at 5 a.m., daily; returned from the Rose and Crown, Leeds, at 5 p.m., through Bradford, Bingley, and Keighley. Performed by John Long & Co. Britannia (1838). — Leeds and Huddersfield. Left the White Swan, Huddersfield, at 8 a.m.; returned from the Saddle, Leeds, at 3-15 p.m. British Queen (1835-41). — Leeds and Ilkley. Commenced June 7th, 1835, for the season, from the Rose and Crown, Leeds, at 10 a.m., Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and 7 a.m., Sundays, over new line of road, through Kirkstall, Rawdon, Yeadon, Guiseley, Men- ston, and Burley ; arrived Rose and Crown, Ilkley, in two hours ; returned at 6 p.m. Performed by Frances, Coates, Boyne, & Co. British Queen (1838). — Leeds and Manchester. Began September, 1838, from the Saddle and Mr. Holmes', 123, Briggate, Leeds, at 8 a.m., daily, through Birstal, Huddersfield, Oldham, to the Flying Horse Hotel, Manchester; returned at 2-30 p.m. Fares : 12s. in;. 8s. out. Performed by Thos. Johnson, C. J. Sykes, S. Milns, and C. Wright. The other coach proprietors banded together for the purpose of running the British Queen off the road by starting a new coach called the Victoria, which ran at half fares. See page 167. Celerity (1835-40). — Leeds and Manchester. See page 198. Cleveland (1827-43). — Leeds and Redcar. Commenced in 1827 to run from Ripon, after arrival of Telegraph, by way of Thirsk and Northallerton, to Redcar. In 1830, ran from Bull and Mouth, Leeds, at 5 a.m., Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, to Mrs. Sawray's, Red Lion, and Mr. Spurr's, White Swan Inns, Redcar. In 1838 it ran from the Golden Lion, Bull and Mouth, and Rose and Crown, Leeds. Worked by Mathew Outhwaite, Thomas Lee, and Thomas Coates, Leeds ; Thomas Pearson, Knaresborough ; Richard Thwaites, Ripon ; Mary Hall and William Andrews, Thirsk ; R. Turner, Tontine Inn ; Robert Wilstrop, Guisbro. In 1842 it went to the Royal Hotel and Bull and Mouth, and ran through Wetherby. Clothier (1809-20). — Leeds and London. Ran from the Hotel, Leeds, daily, at 4-30 a.m., by way of Wakefield, Doncaster, Bawtry, Retfordj Markham Moor, Tuxford, Newark, Grantham, Stamford, List of Coaches. 213 Stilton, Eaton, Baldock, Hatfield, Barnet, to the Saracen's Head, Snow Hill, and White Horse, Fetter Lane, London. In 181 5 it left Leeds at 9 p.m. Performed by John Hick, Leeds ; Foster & Wood, Doncaster, & Co. Coach (1754-70). — Leeds and Scarborough Stage Coach. See page 144. ■Coach (1756-66). — Leeds and Harrogate Stage Coach. From Joseph Child's, Post-Chaise Inn, Leeds ; returned from Queen's Head, Harrogate, same night, every Monday during the season. Coach (1785). — London, Leeds, and Carlisle. Ran from Beck's Coffee House, Carlisle, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons, by way of Penrith, Brough, Greta Bridge, Catterick Bridge, Ripon, and Harrogate, to the New Inn, Leeds, on the following- days ; returned Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. This coach also proceeded on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, from the Golden Lion, Leeds, through Ferrybridge and Doncaster, to the Cross Keys, Wood Street, London. Coach (1788). — York and Manchester. Yxom. Black Swan, York, daily, 6 a.m.; arrived Cowling's Hotel, Leeds, 9 a.m.; King's Head, Manchester, 8 p.m.; returned 6 a.m.; arrived Leeds, 4 p.m.; York, 8 p.m. Performed by Batty, York ; Hartley, Tadcaster ; Cross- land, Leeds ; Windsor, Halifax ; Shaw, Manchester. See page 82. Coach (1791-2). — Leeds and Newcastle. From Golden Lion and Rose and Crown, Leeds, daily, 6 p.m. Perfomied by William Wade, Joseph H indie, & Co. Coach (1791-2). — Leeds and Newcastle. Ran from the Golden Lion and Rose and Crown, Leeds, daily, at 6 p.m. Performed by William Wade and Joseph H indie. Coach (1792). — Leeds to Skipton. Began November, 1792, from the Golden Lion and Rose and Crown, Leeds, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, at 2 p.m., through Bingley and Keighley. Coach (1804).— York and Bridlington. Ran from the Black Swan, Coney Street, York, at 10 a.m., Tuesdays and Fridays ; arrived Fox's, New Inn, Bridlington Quay, early same evening. Route : Pocklington, Bainton. Driffield. Began to run ]May 29th, 1804. Fares : 15s. in ; 9s. out. Coach (1817).— Leeds and Sheffield. From the Rose and Crown, Leeds, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, at 1 1 a.m., to the Tontine Inn, Sheffield ; returned Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, at 11 a.m. Fares : 6s. in ; 4s. out. Performed by Hogg & Co. 214 The Old CoacJiing Days. Coach (1817).— Leeds and Thorparch. From the Black Swan, Leeds, at 4 p.m. Comet (1827).— Leeds and London. Left the Hotel, Leeds, daily, at 12-45 P-m., by way of Wakefield, Barnsley, Sheffield, Nottingham, Loughborough, Leicester, Market Harborough, Northampton, Woburn, Dunstable, St. Alban's, Barnett ; arrived at the Bull and Mouth, London, the following afternoon, at 3 ; left London for Leeds at 9-30 a.m. Commerce (1828-40).— Leeds, Bradford, Halifax, and Manchester. Left the Swan Inn, Manchester, at 2 p.m., daily ; arrived Leeds, 9 p.m.; returned, 10-45 P-ni., from the Golden Lion. Performed by William Lee & Son. In 1832 it ran from the White Horse, Leeds, at 11 a.m. Performed by Dorothy Hollings. Commerce (1833-34). — Leeds and Ilkley. Began May 31st, 1833, from the Rose and Crown, Leeds ; Mondays and Fridays, 10 a.m.; SundaySj 7 a.m.; through Kirkstall, Horsforth, Rawdon, Yeadon, Guiseley, Menston, Burley, to the Rose and Crown, Ilkley, in twO' hours ; returned, 6 p.m. Edward Boyne & Co. Commercial Union (1821-34). — Leeds and Manchester. See pages 166-193. COURRIER (1824-37). — Leeds and London. See page 181. COURRIER (1824-46). — Leeds and Richmond. Began to run November 1st, 1824, from the Town Hall Inn, Richmond, at 5 a.m., every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday ; Masons' Arms, Bedale, 7 a.m.; Black Bull, Ripon, 9-30 a.m.; through Harrogate, to the Rose and Crown, Leeds ; arrived, 2 p.m.; returned, same route, Tues- days, Thursdays, and Saturdays, at 11 a.m.; arrived Richmond, 8 p.m. Same coach left Leeds, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, at 3 p.m., for Ripon, whence it returned to Leeds the following morning in time to start for Richmond at 1 1 a.m. Performed by J. Hogg, W. Skelton, and C. Robinson. In 1828, left Leeds, 1-30 p.m., and ran to the Nag's Head, Richmond. In 1836, began to run forward to Darlington ; returned from the Fleece at that place, daily, at 6-30 a.m. On its way north it met the Middleham Highflyer at Ripon. Performed by Frances & Coates, Leeds ; William Skelton, Ripon ; William Thomas, Leeming Lane ; Christopher Hird & Co., Darlington. In 1840 it went to the Bull and Mouth, Leeds, and was worked by Mathew Outhwaite, but ceased to run to Darlington and ran as before to Richmond. Went off the road in 1846. List of Coaches. 215 COURRIER (1832). — Leeds and Edinburgh. See page 104. COURRIER (1833-42).— Leeds, Bradford, and Halifax. Ran from the I]ull and Mouth, Leeds, daily, at 6-30 a.m., to Bradford. In 1S42, removed to the Albion, Leeds. Started at 12-30 noon and ran through to Halifax. CoRNWALLis (1812-39). — Leeds and Manchester. From the White Horse, Leeds, daily, 5-30 a.m., through Huddersfield, Marsden, Delph ; arrived at the Palace Inn, Manchester, i p.m.; returned, 6 a.m. Performed by John Hick & Co. Fares : Leeds and Manchester, I2S. in, 8s. out ; Leeds and Huddersfield, 5s. in, 3s. out. In 18 13, from Greaves' Hotel, Leeds, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays ; from White Horse, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, 6 a.m. Was finally vi^orked from Leeds by Mathew Outhwaite. See pages 173-193- Crown Union (1828). — Keighley and Leeds. Ran from the Crown Inn, Keighley, every Tuesday, by Bingley, Shipley, Windhill, Idle, Calverley, to the Bull and Mouth, Leeds ; returned at 5 p.m. Performed by John Ellison & Co., Keighley. Dart (1826-33). — Leeds and Huddersfield. Ran daily in summer from the George and Pack Horse, Huddersfield, at 7 a.m.; returned from the Bull and Mouth, Leeds, at 6 p.m. In 1833 this coach gave up running to Huddersfield and began to run to Harrogate. Performed by Mathew Outhwaite, George Bickerdyke, Samuel Norclifte, & Co. Dart (1833-40). — Leeds and Harrogate. From the Bull and Mouth, Leeds, at 10 a.m., daily ; returned from Binns' Hotel, Low Harrogate, at 2 p.m. In 1834 it was worked from the Bull and Mouth and Rose and Cruwii, and changed to the Wellington at the Harrogate end. In 1836 it commenced to run from Huddersfield to Harrogate. Performed by Mathew Outhwaite, John Frances, Thomas Coates, and Pearson. Defence (1815). — Leeds and Newcastle. Daily, 7 a.m., from the White Horse and the Hotel, Leeds, by way of Harrogate, Knaresborough, Boroughbridge, Thirsk, Northallerton, Darlington, Durham. Per- formed by Greaves, Rayner, & Co. Defence (1818).— Leeds and Manchester. Commenced running July 20ih, 181 8, from the Talbot Inn and Mr. Jeffreys, Cross Parish, Leeds, daily, at 9 a.m., through Bradford, Halifax, Rochdale. Performed by Green, Chapman, Carpmail, Jeffreys, & Co. 2i6 The Old Coaching Days Defence (1824-34). — Leeds and Bradford market coach. Ran every Thursday from the Rose and Crown at 8 a.m. Defence (1836-40). — Leeds and Harrog-ate Sunday coach. From the Rose and Crown, Leeds, at 7 a.m.; returned from Wellington Inn, Low Harrogate, at 6 p.m. Performed by Thomas Coates, E. Boyne, & Co, Defiance (1784-1814). — Leeds and Hull. See page 176. Defiance (1786- 1840). — Leeds, Manchester, and Liverpool. See pages 155-205. Defiance (1812).— -Leeds and Manchester. Ran from the White Horse, Boar Lane, Leeds, at 10 a.m., daily, via Huddersfield and Oldham, to the Palace Inn, Manchester ; returned from Manchester at 2 ]).m. Ran in connection with the York Defiance. Defiance (1822-38).— Ilkley and Leeds. Began to run May 7th, 1822, from the Rose and Crown, Ilkley, at 7 a.m., Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays; White Horse, Otley; Bull and Mouth, Leeds; re- turned 4 p.m. Worked by Thomas Proctor and Mathew Outhwaite. Defiance (i 841).- -Leeds and Harrogate. Commenced June 7th, 1841, from the White Horse and the Golden Lion, Leeds, at 2 p.m.; returned from the Commercial and Brunswick at 9-30 a.m. Performed by Dorothy Hollings. Diligence (1781-88). — Leeds and Newcastle. See page 102. Diligence (i 781).— Leeds, York, and Hull. Seepages 183-184. Diligence (1781).— Leeds, York, and Scarborough. See pages iS3-^M- Diligence (1781 - 1810).— Leeds, York, Scarborough, and Hull. See pages 183-184. Diligence (1786).— Leeds, Halifax, Manchester, and Liverpool. See pages 1 76- 1 8 1. Diligence (1787).— Leeds and Newcastle. Seepage 184. Diligence (1789-91).— Leeds and Kendal. Began to run May nth, 1789, through Bradford, Bingley, Keighley, Cross Hills, Settle, Kirby- Lonsdale, on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, at 4 a.m., from the Old King's Arms, Leeds, to the White Hart and Coffee House, Kendal. Fare : inside, 25s. Performed by Hick, Leeds ; Parkin, Devonshire Arms, Keighley ; Newell, New Inn, Skipton ; Robinson, Royal Oak, Kirby-Lonsdale. Diligence (1791).— Leeds and Thorparch. From the Old King's Arms, Leeds, every Tuesday and Friday, at 4 p.m. List of Coaches. 217 Diligence (1791). — Leeds and Harrogate. Began May 23rd, 1791, from J. Shutt's, Swan Inn, Low Harrogate, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, at 9 a.m.; returned from the Golden Lion and the Hotel, Leeds, at 3, same afternoon. Fares : 5s. in ; 3s. out. Diligence (1791). — Leeds and Newcastle. See page 186. Duchess of Leeds (1834-40). — Leeds and Manchester. From the General Coach Office, Union Inn, Briggate, Leeds, at 10-30 a.m., daily, through Birstal, Huddersfield, and Oldham ; returned from Commercial Inn, Market Street, Manchester, at i p.m.; arrived Leeds, 6 p.m. First ran only three days a week. In 1839 it went to the White Horse, Leeds. Duke of Leeds (1828-39). — Ran between Leeds and Manchester, through Bradford and Halifax ; and when it was first put upon the road it was worked by Messrs. Outhwaite and Hollings, and ran alternately from the Bull and Mouth and White Horse. It was a coach which changed houses a good deal, for it afterwards went both to the Golden Lion and the Rose and Crown ; and it was finally worked by Messrs. Outhwaite & Coates. Duke of York (1834).— Leeds and York. From the Union Inn, daily, at 10 a.m., through Tadcaster ; returned from York at 2-30 p.m. Performed by Ward, Glasgow, & Co. Eagle (1843). — Doncaster and Leeds. Began to run March 13th, 1843, daily, from the Reindeer, Ram, and Angel Inns, Doncaster, at 6 a.m., through Pontefract and Castleford, to the Saddle, Leeds ; arrived, 9-30 a.m.; returned, 4 p.m. Earl of Zetland (1839).— Leeds and Redcar. Started June 3rd, 1839, from the Albion, Leeds, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, at 7 a.m., during the season, by way of Harewood, Harrogate, Ripley, Ripon, Thirsk, Tontine, Stokesley, and Guis- borough ; arrived at Redcar at 4 p.m. ; returned from the Crown and Anchor, every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, at 8 a.m.; arrived Black Bull, Ripon, 2 p.m.; Leeds, 5 p.m. In the winter months it ran by Leeming Lane to Darlington, in connection with the railway ; left the Railway Station and the Fleece after the arrival of the Stockton and Middlesborough trains. Performed by J. and W. Atkinson, Parson, Royston, Morritt, & Co. Ebor. — Scarborough, York, Wakefield, Sheffield, and Birmingham. Ran daily, and left the Tavern and Black Swan, York, for Birmingham, on alternate days, at noon. 2i8 TJic Old Coaching Days. Ebor (1825 -40).— Sheffield, Barnsley, Wakefield, and Leeds. Left Sheffield early every morning ; returned from the Golden Lion at 2-45 p.m.; 1828-33, 3-45 P-m.; 1834-6, 3 p.m.; 1837-9, 4 p.m.; 1840, 1-45 p.m. Ebor (1829-39).— Leeds and York. From Rose and Crown and Bull and Mouth, Leeds, at 8 a.m., daily. In 1836 transferred to the Golden Lion ; left at 10 a.m.; in 1837, at 12 noon. Ebor (1836-39).— Leeds and Harrogate. From the White Horse and Bull and Mouth, Leeds, at 1-45 p.m., daily ; returned from Promenade Coach Office, Harrogate, at 10-30 a.m. Performed by Dorothy Hollings, Leeds ; and Thomas Pearson, Knaresborough. Ebor (1843-4). — Leeds and Selby. From the Saddle and Albion, Leeds, at 6-45 a.m., daily, in connection with the steam packets. Ebor (1844). — Leeds and Bradford. Began April ist, 1844, from the Sun and Bowling Green Inns, Bradford, at 5-30 a.m., daily, to the Railway Station, Leeds. Eclipse (1787-92). — Leeds, Scarborough, and Birmingham. See pages 168-186. Eclipse (1812). — Leeds and London. By way of Ferrybridge and Doncaster. Was put upon the road January 27th, 1812, and ran from the Talbot, Leeds, at 10 p.m.; arrived White Horse, Fetter Lane, and Saracen's Head, Snow Hill, alternately, at 7 a.m., on the second day ; returned at 3 p.m. ; arrived Leeds, 9 p.m., next day. Performed by Roberts, Mountaine, & Co. Eclipse (1836). — Leeds and Ilkley. Commenced May 28th, 1836, from Mr. Joseph Calverley's, Cock and Bottle, Upperhead Row, Leeds-, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 9 a.m.; Sundays, 7 a.m.; returned 5 p.m. Performed by Reuben Craven, Woolpack Inn, Yeadon. Economist (1835).— Leeds and Newcastle. From the Albion, Leeds, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, at 6-30 p.m. This coach was started by the Joint- Stock Coach Co. and ran over the same ground as the Joint Stock. See pages 1 27-1 98. Emerald (1833). — Leeds and Pontefract. Began to run in 1833 from the Bull and Mouth and Saddle, Leeds, daily, at 4 p.m.; left the Star, Pontefract, at 8 a.m. Performed by Mathew Outhwaite & Co. Emerald (1840-45). — Leeds and Redcar. Commenced June 8th, 1840, from the Bull and Mouth, Leeds, for the season, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, at 6 a.m. In 1845 ran to Harrogate only. Performed by Mathew Outhwaite & Co. List of Coaches. 219 Enterprise (1832-33). — Leeds and Buxton. From the Bull and Mouth Leeds, at 6 a.m., daily. Enterprise (1842). — Leeds and Bradford. Froin the Albion, Briggate, twice daily, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Expedition (1823-30). — Leeds and Newcastle. Commenced running May 26th, 1823, from the Hotel and Golden Lion, Leeds, at 6 a.m., daily, by way of Wetherby, Knaresborough, Boroughbridge, Thirsk, Tontine Inn; Redcar, Stockton, Yarm, Sedgefield, Durham, Sunderland, and Shields ; arrived Queen's Head, Newcastle, 8 p.m. ; arrived Leeds, from Newcastle, 8 p.m. Performed by Greaves, Lee, & Son. In 1827 went to the Hotel entirely and was worked by William Crossland & Co. Express. — London and Carlisle. See pages 62-96-133-134. Express (1817-40). — Leeds and London. See pages \(i'i-i(>2. Express (1826). — Leeds and Manchester. From the White Horse, Leeds, daily, at 5-45 a.m. Freetrader (1843). — Bradford and Leeds. Began March 13th, 1843, from Commercial, Swan, and New Inns, Bradford, at 8-45 a.m., daily ; returned from Saddle, Leeds, at 4 p.m. Fares : 2s. in ; IS. out. Performed by J. Newsome, late driver of the Leeds and Manchester Celerity. Fly (1768).— Leeds and London. Seepages 12-147. Flying ^h.cm:^'Efs,.—See pages 144-145-146. George IV. (1829- 35).-- Leeds and Knottingley, by Castleford and Pontefract. In 1832 its name was changed to the William IV. Ran to Knottingley in connection with the Twin packet to Goole, which was drawn by four horses. Hark-Forward (1832). — Leeds and Ilkley. From the Rose and Crown, Leeds, Wednesdays and Fridays, at 10 a.m. ; Sundays, at 7 a.m. ; Ilkley in two hours by Horsforth, Rawdon, Yeadon, Guiseley, Menstone, Burley, Ilkley ; returned at 6 p.m. Was replaced by the Commerce. See page 182. Herald (1826).— London, Leeds, and Glasgow. Ran from the Hotel, Leeds, to London, at 11-45 a.m.; to Glasgow, at 8-30 a.m. Route from London : St. Alban's, Northampton, Leicester, Nottingham, Chesterfield, Sheffield, Barnsley, Wakefield, Leeds, Harrogate, Ripon, Catterick, Bowes, Penrith, Carlisle, Gretna Green, Craw- ford, Hamilton, Glasgow. 220 The Old Coaching Days. Hero (1832-40).— Leeds and Newcastle. Seepages 104-195. Hero (1842). — Leeds and Huddersfield. Began October loth, 1842, from Bull and Mouth, Leeds, daily, at 9 a.m., by way of Birstal and Milnbridge; arrived Huddersfield, 10-45, except Tuesdays, when it left Leeds at 7-30 a.m. ; returned from Pack Horse, Huddersfield, at 4 p.m. Performed by R. Coney & Co. Highflyer. — Leeds and Harrogate. Ran by Wetherby and Knares- borough to Gascoigne's Hotel, High Harrogate. Highflyer (1788-1840).— London, York, Newcastle, Edinburgh. See pages 22-2,Z-ioS- Highflyer (1807-40).— York, Leeds, Manchester, and Liverpool. See page 179. Highflyer (1815 -25).— Leeds and Newcastle. "North Highflyer." Ran from the Hotel and Golden Lion, Leeds, daily, 5 a.m., by Harrogatej Knaresborough, Boroughbridge, Thirsk, and North- allerton, in connection with Redcar and Hartlepool coaches in season. In July, 181 7, the route was changed to run by Wetherby and Knaresborough. Left Newcastle at 6 a.m.; arrived Leeds, 9 p.m. Performed by Sarah Greaves, William Lee, & Co. See pvge 93. Highflyer (1828-40).— York and Leeds. From York Tavern, daily, at 8-30 a.m., except Tuesdays, when for the accommodation of market people it left at 6 a.m. Ran by way of Acomb, Rufforth, Marston, Bickerton, Wetherby, Collingham, and Roundhay ; returned from the Rose and Crown, Leeds, at 4 p.m. Performed by J. Frances & Co. 1829, from Leeds at 3 p.m,; 1833, 1-45 p.m. In 183411 went to the Golden Lion, Leeds, and was horsed by Thomas Lee & Co. Sec page 180. Highflyer (1832-40). — Leeds and Leyburn. " Middleham Highflyer." From the Rose and Crown, Leeds, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, at 2 p.m.; arrived Middleham, 9 p.m. Ran through Masham. In 1838 ran forward to Leyburn. See page 84. Highflyer (1838). — Leeds and Helmsley. From the Rose and Crown, Leeds, at 10 a.m., Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Hope (1792). — Leeds and York. From the Old King's Arms, Leeds, daily, at 6 a.m. : arrived at the George, in Coney Street, York, at 10-30 a.m ; in connection with Scarbro' and Hull coaches ; returned from York at 4 p.m. Performed by Hick, Dawson, & Co. List of Coaches. 221 Hope (1814). — Leeds and Shefifield. Began November, 1814, from the King's Head, Sheffield, daily, at 6 a.m.; White Bear, Barnsley, 8-30; Woodman, Wakefield, 10 ; arrived Rose and Crown, Leeds, 12 noon ; returned at 2 p.m. the same day. Performed by Broadbent, Anderson, & Co. Ran in opposition to the Alexander, Hope (1817).— Sheffield and London. From the King's Head, Sheffield, by Mansfield, Nottingham, Loughborough, Leicester, Market Harborough, Newport, Woodwin, and Dunstable. This coach formed a through connection with the above coach from Leeds to London. Hope (1829). — Leeds and Redcar. From the Bull and Mouth, Leeds, daily, at 5 a.m. ; arrived at Redcar at 3 p.m. ; returned at 7 a.m. Performed by Mathew Outhwaite «S: Co. Hope (1833). — Leeds and Bradford. Ran from the Bull and Mouth, Leeds, at g-30 a.m., daily. Independent (1825-35).— Leeds and Liverpool. From Crossland's Hotel, Leeds, daily, at 6 a.m., except Tuesdays, when for the convenience of Huddersfield Market it left at 5-30 am., by way of Birstal, Huddersfield, Marsden, Delph, Oldham, Manchester, Warrington ; arrived at the Golden Lion, Dale Street, Liverpool at 5 p.m. Integrity.— York and Harrogate. Ran daily from the White Swan, York, to the Crescent Inn, Low Harrogate. Invincible (1824-42). — Leeds and Preston. Commenced running April 26th, 1824, from the Hotel, Leeds, at 7 a.m., daily, through Bradford, Bingley, Keighley, Cross Hills, Colne, Burnley, and Blackburn ; arrived at the Old Red Lion, Preston, at 3-30 p.m., in time for the Blackpool coach. Performed by Mathew Outh- waite & Co. Joint Stock (1834).— Manchester, Leeds, and Newcastle. See pages 125-126-127. Liberal (1832). — Leeds and Castleford. Began to run August i8th, 1832, from the White Horse, daily, at 4-30 a.m.; met Calder and Eagle steam packets at Castleford, which passes by Ferrybridge and Knottingley to Goole. Fares : to Castleford, 3s. and 2s. j Ferrybridge, 3s. 6d. and 2s. 6d.; Goole, 4s. and 3s.; Hull, 6s. and 4s. Performed by Dorothy Hollings & Co. 222 The Old Coaching Days. Liberty (1789). — Leeds and Harrogate. Ran from the White Hart and Half Moon Inns, Low Harrogate, every morning, to the Golden Lion and Star and Garter, Leeds ; returned from Leeds every morning and ran forwards, through Ripon, to the New Inn, Leeming Lane, where it met theGlasgow Mail. Performed by Tengate, Linforth, & Pawson. Loyal. — Leeds and London. See. page 180. Loyal Duncan. — Leeds and London. See pages iZo-iZ-]. Mail. — London and Edinburgh. " Edinbro' Mail." See pages I'^^-icj-dy 71-72-73-74-75- Mail.^ — London and Glasgow. "Glasgow Mail." See pages wo-wi-wi. Mail (1785- 1841). — Leeds and London. "Leeds Mail." Seepages 12-154-173- Mail (1786).— Leeds and Newcastle. Seepages 154-155. Mail (1787). — York and Hull. Began July 23rd, 1787. Ran at 12 midnight, from Mr. Pulleyn's, York Tavern ; arrived at Mrs. Barker's, Cross Keys, Hull, at 6 a.m. ; returned at 3-30 p.m. ; York, 10 p.m. Fare : los. 6d. Mail (1792- 1840). — York and Liverpool. Seepage 178. Mail (1807 to 40). — Leeds, Scarbro', and Whitby. From the Rose and Crown, Leeds, at 6 p.m., Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays, to Whitby ; Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, to Scarbro'. About 18 12, became a daily mail to York, with con- nection to Scarbro' and Whitby; 1814-19, left Leeds at 6-30 p.m.; 1820-1, 5-45 p.m.; 1822, 4-45 p.m.; 1826, 4-15 p.m.; 1832, 3 p.m.; 1838, 2-15 p.m. See page 178. Mail (1817). — Leeds, Derby, Birmingham, and Bristol. From the Hotel, Leeds, at 10-30 p.m. Mail (1820-40). — Leeds and Liverpool. Began June 5th, 1820, from the Rose and Crown, Leeds, at 3 p.m., daily, via Bradford, Halifax, Littleborough, Rochdale, Bury, Bolton, Wigan; arrived Liverpool, 3-30 a.m. ; returned at 5 p.m. ; arrived Leeds 5-30 next morning. Mail (1821-23). — Leeds and Huddersfield. New Mail. Seepages 166-167. Mail (1821-40). — Leeds and York. From the Rose and Crown, Leeds» at 6 a.m., daily; 1822, 4-30 a.m.; 1823, 4 a.m.; 1831, 2 a.m. ; 1838, 2 a.m. Seepage 179. List of Coaches. 223 Mail (1822-40). — Leeds, Bradford, Halifax, Rochdale, and Manchester. From the Golden Lion, Leeds, daily, at 1-45 p.m. Mail (1826-40). — London, Leeds, and Glasgow. See pages iio-iii-ri2. Mail (1827). — Hull and Liverpool. Route : Hull, York, Rose and Crown (Leeds), Swan Inn (Bradford), White Swan (Halifax), Todmorden, Roebuck Inn (Rochdale), Bury, Bolton, Wigan, Golden Lion (Liverpool). A branch mail ran in connection, from Rochdale to the Royal, Manchester. See page 179. Mail (1828-38). — Leeds, Bradford, and Halifax. New Mail, commenced January, 1828, daily, from the Hotel and Golden Lion, Leeds, at 5-15 p.m., after the arrival of the London and Glasgow Mail; returned from Halifax 6 a.m. ; arrived Leeds, 8-30, in time for London and Glasgow Mail. Performed by Lee & Son, Crossland, Leeds ; and Carr, Halifax. Mail (1833-40). — Leeds and Shields. From Bull and Mouth and Hotel, Leeds, daily, at 5-30 p.m., by way of Harewood, Harrogate, Knaresbro', Boroughbridge, Thirsk, Tontine Inn, Yarm, Stockton, Castle Edon, Sunderland ; returned at 8-45 p.m.; arrived in Leeds in time for breakfast. Mail (1839-40). — Leeds and Darlington. Began December 2nd, 1839. Ten miles an hour. Left the Albion, Leeds, daily, on the arrival of the Manchester Mail, at 12-15 noon; Harewood, i-io ; Harrogate, 2-1 ; Boroughbridge, 2-59; Thirsk, 4-5; Northallerton, 4-59 ; Darlington, 6-35 ; returned from the King's Head and Fleece, Darlington, on the arrival of the Stockton train, at 7 a.m.; arrived at Leeds at 1-20, in time for the Manchester Mail. Performed by Atkinson, Binns, Morritt, Koyston, Smith, Briton, Brodie, »& Co. Mail (1840).— Leeds and Newcastle. New Mail, commenced August 24th, 1840, from the Royal, Albion, and Bull and Mouth, Leeds, at 8-30 a.m., on the arrival of the night mail train from London ; ran through Harrogate, Boroughbridge, Thirsk, Northallerton, Dar- lington, and Durham ; arrived Queen's Head, Newcastle, 6-30 p.m. Eight outside passengers. Timed to run ten miles an hour. Performed by Atkinson, Outhwaite, & Co. Mail (1841-43). — Leeds, Skipton, Settle, and Lancaster. Began June 5th, 1841, from Royal Hotel, Leeds, daily, at 7-30 a.m., after arrival of mail train from London ; by Bradford, Bingley, Keighle)-, 224 ^^^^ ^^^^ Coaching Days. Devonshire Arms (Skipton), Settle, Clapham, Bentham, to Dunn's Mail Coach Office, Lancaster, at 4 p.m. ; returned at 9 a.m. Performed by Mathew Outhwaite & Co. Mail (1842-43).— Leeds and Knaresbro'. Commenced July 6th, 1842, from the Royal Hotel, Leeds, at 7-30 a.m., via Harewood and Harrogate ; returned from the Crown, and Elephant and Castle, Knaresbro', at 3-30 p.m. Performed by Mathew Outhwaite. Merry Wakefield (1790). — Wakefield and Doncaster. Began May 31st, 1790, from Mr. Hudson's, George Inn, Wakefield, at 6 a.m.,. daily ; returned from Mr. Thos. Watson's, the Black Boy, Doncaster, at 2 p.m., daily. Fares : 6s. 8d. in ; 3s. 4d. out. Tom Watson, sole proprietor. Merry Wakefield (1809).— Wakefield and Leeds. Began July 24th, 1809, from Royal Oak, King Street, Wakefield, daily, at 8 a.m. ; arrived Rose and Crown, Leeds, 9-30 ; returned 6-30 p.m. ; arrived Wakefield, 8 p.m. Performed by John Dobson & Co. Neptune (1813-29). — Leeds and Liverpool. From the Golden Lion^ Leeds, daily, at 6 a.m., via Bradford, Halifax, Rochdale, Bury, Bolton, Chowbent, Leigh, Newton, and Prescot ; arrived Golden Lion, Dale Street, Liverpool, 8 p.m.; Left Liverpool, 7 a.m. Fares : Manchester, 8s. and 5s.; Liverpool, i6s. and 9s. Neptune (1832-3). — Leeds and Whitby. By York, Malton, and Pickering, from Rose and Crown, Leeds, 9-45 a.m., Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays ; arrived Angel, Whitby, 8 p.m. North Briton (1815-20). — Leeds and Newcastle. Put upon the road February ist, 1815, from the White Horse, Leeds, daily, at 8 a.m., by way of Wetherby, Boroughbridge, Thirsk, Northallerton, Darlington, and Durham ; returned from Turk's Head, Newcastle, 6 a.m. ; arrived Leeds, 9 p.m. Performed by HoUings, Clemin- shaw, Empson, Horner, Fletcher, & Co. North Star (1829). — Leeds, Carlisle, and Edinburgh. Began November, 1829, from the Bull and Mouth, Leeds, at 7 a.m., Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, by Wetherby, Knaresborough, Boroughbridge, New Inn (Leeming Lane), Catterick Bridge, Greta Bridge, Bowes, Stanmoor, Brough, Appleby, and Penrith. Per- formed by Mathew Outhwaite, Jno. Cleminshaw, Hugh Stott & Co. List of Coaches. -> Packet (1792- 1800). — Leeds and Bingley. See pcn^cs 1 68- 169. Packet (1841-2). — Leeds and Selby. Sec page xb^. Paul Jones (1788). — London and Leeds. See page 200. Paul Pry (1840).— Leeds and Wakefield. Left the Golden Lion, Leeds, daily, at 12 noon; returned from the Griffin, Wakefield, at '3-30 p.m. Performed by Thomas Lee. Pearl (1834). — Leeds and Manchester. Ran daily, from the Joint Stock Coach Office, Union Inn, Briggate, Leeds, at 11-45 a.m., through Birstal, Huddersfield, Marsden, Delph, and Oldham ; arrived at the Albion Hotel and Commercial Coach Office, Manchester, at 4-30 p.m., in time for the train to Liverpool. Perseverance (1S26).— Leeds and Huddersfield. Left Huddersfield each morning, and the Bull and Mouth, Leeds, at 5 p.m., daily. Remained only a short time on the road and was replaced by the Dart. Perseverance (1S40). — Leeds and Barnsley. Daily, at 12-30 noon, from the Bull and Mouth, Albion, and Royal Hotels, Leeds. Performed by Mathew Outhwaite. Perseverance (1843). — Leeds and Doncister. Left Doncaster, daily at 6 a.m., via Pontefract and Castleford ; returned from the Bull and Mouth and Saddle, Leeds, at 4 p.m. Fares : 7s. in ; 4s. out. Performed by Thomas Smith. Peveril of the Peak (1839). — Leeds and Buxton. Put upon the road June 15th, 1839. Ran from the Albion Hotel, Leeds, Tues- days, Thursdays, and Saturdays, at 10 a.m., in the season, by way of Birstal, Huddersfield, Glossop, Hayfield, Chapel -en- le- Frith ; arrived Oueen"s Hotel, Buxton, at 5 p.m.; returned 12 noon, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays ; arrived Leeds, 7 p.m. Per- formed by J. and W. Atkinson & Co. Phenomena (1843). -Leeds and Manchester. Began April 3rd, 1843, from the Bull and Mouth and Royal Hotel, Leeds, at 8-30 a.m., daily, by way of Birstal, Huddersfield, Marsden, Delph, and Oldham, to Manchester in four hours ; George and Pack Horse, Huddersfield ; Buckley's Offices, Oldham ; Royal and Angel Hotels, Manchester. Performed by Coney, IMitchell, Wigney Buckley, Sons «S: Co. O 226 TJie Old Coaching Days. Phoenix (1828-29). — Leeds and Newcastle. Ran from the Golden Lion, Leeds, at 6 a.m., daily, by way of Wetherby, Knaresborough, Boroughbridge, Thirsk, Tontine, Redcar, Yarm, Stockton, Sedge- field, Durham, and Sunderland ; returned, 6 a.m.; arrived Leeds, 7 p.m. Went off the road in June, 1829, to make way for the Times. Performed by William Lee & Son. Pilot (17S9-1840). — Leeds and Birmingham. Began to run December, 1789, from the Old King's Arms, Leeds, at 2 p.m., daily, by way of Wakefield, Barnsley, and Sheffield ; slept at the Angel, Sheffield ; set out next morning at 4 a.m.; arrived at the Dog and Gun, Birmingham, the same evening. Fares : Leeds to Birmingham, 13s. in ; 9s. out. Leeds to Sheffield, 5s. in ; 3s. out. Performed by John Hick, Leeds ; Samuel Cook, Wakefield ; Peech, Shef- field. In 1836 it was worked from the Albion, Leeds, and did the journey to Birmingham under thirteen hours. Also see pages 163-193- Pilot (1816). — York and Liverpool. Began to run April 22nd, 18 16, from the Black Swan and York Tavern, daily, 6 a.m., by way of Wetherby, Harewood, Skipton, Gisburn, Clitheroe, Blackburn, Preston, Ormskirk ; arrived Liverpool, 11 p.m.; returned 5am.; arrived York, 10 p.m. One guard and two coachmen throughout. Pilot (1826). — Leeds and Newcastle. From the Bull and Mouth, Leeds, at 5-15 a.m., daily, through Harrogate, Knaresbro', Borobridge, Thirsk. Performed by Outhwaite, Boast & Co. Pilot (1833). — Leeds, Manchester, and Liverpool. From the Royal Hotel, Leeds, daily, at 10 a.m. Route : Dewsbury, Huddersfield, Marsden, Delph, Oldham, Manchester, Liverpool. Pledge. — York and Newcastle. Left the White Horse, York, daily, 6-30 a.m., by way of Easingwold, Thirsk, and Darlington ; a pair-horse coach, which ran to Newcastle in nine hours. Prince Regent (1816). — London and Leeds. Left the Golden Lion, Leeds, daily, at noon : arrived at London ne.xt day in time for dinner. See pages iji-iyz. Providence. — York and Selby. See page 84. Providence (1835-44). — Leeds and Thorparch. Prior to 1835 this coach was called the Nettie. It left Thorparch at 8 a.m., Tues- days, Thursdays, and Saturdays, by way of Bramham and Thorner ; arrived Boot and Shoe Inn, Wood Street, Leeds, at 10 a.m.; returned at 5 p.m., same evenings. Proprietor : William Adkin. List of Coaches. 227 'Quicksilver (1836). — Leeds and Huddersfield. Began running January 1st, 1S36, daily, from the Swan and Bee Hive, Huddersfield, at 7-45 a.m., by way of Milnljridge and Birstal ; returned from the Talbot and Albion Coach Office, Leeds, at 4-30 p.m. ; ran in opposition to the Celerity. In the season it ran through to Harrogate; left Leeds at 10-45 ^-iii- ! returned from Binns' Hotel, Low Harrogate, at 2-45 p.m. Performed by Chas. Sykes &: Co., .Huddersfield ; and J. and W. Atkinson, Leeds. Railway (1835). — Knaresbro' and Micklefield. Began to run June 15th, 1835, from the Elephant and Castle, Knaresbro', at 5 a.m., daily, through Ribstone, North Deighton, Kirk Deighton, Wetherby, Thorparch, Bramham, Cross Roads, Aberford, to Micklefield, where it met railway to Selby, in connection with the steam packets to Goole, Hull, and Grimsby ; left Micklefield on arrival of the train. Fares : Knaresbro' to Hull, outside and fore cabin, 6s. 6d. ; inside and best cabin, los. 6d. Performed by G. Firth, Clemishaw & Co. Rapid (1840).— York and Leeds. Began to run February, 1S40, from the Mail. Coach Inn, St. Sampson's Scjuare, York, daily, at 8-30 a.m.; except Tuesdays, when it left at 7 a.m., Angel Inn,Tadcaster ; arrived Saddle, Leeds, 11-30 a.m. ; returned from Leeds, 5 p.m. ; arrived York, S p.m. Fares: inside 4s. 6d., out 3s. Performed by George Pennack and Charlotte Kidd. J\APID (1842-3).— Harrogate and Thirsk. Began July 28th, 1842, from the General Coach Office, Low Harrogate, daily, at 9-30 a.m., through Knaresbro', Boroughbridge, Topcliffe, to the Fleece Inn, Thirsk, in time for the Redcar coach and the north trains. Returned after arrival of 4-30 p.m. mail train from Darlington ; arrived Harrogate, 7-30 p.m. Performed by J. Pybus, Oliver and Barber. Recovery (1823). — Leeds, York, and Scarbro'. Season Coach. Began to run June 30th, 1833, from the White Horse, Leeds, daily, at 9-30 a.m. ; Elephant and Castle, and White Swan, York ; Talbot and New Inns, Scarbro', same evening. Left Scarbro' 7 a.m. ; arrived York, 12-30 noon, and Leeds, 5 p.m. Performed by William Leech, David Nicholson & Co. Red Rover (1836). — Leeds and Sheffield. In connection with the Birmingham, Bach, and Bristol coaches, from the Golden Lion, Leeds, at 2-45 p.m., daily. 228 The Old CoacJiing Days. Red Rover (1833-40).- Leeds and Halifax. Began to run August, 1833, from the Swan, Halifax, every morning by way of Whitehall, Hipperholme, Cleckheaton, Wike, Gomersal, Birkenshaw, Adwal- ton, Drighlington, Wortley, to the White Horse and Union Inns, Leeds ; returned at 6 p.m. In 1840 it ran from the Golden Lion, Leeds. Performed lay John Carr, Thos. Lee & Co. Red Rover (1833-34).— Leeds and Newcastle. Seepages 104-125-129. Regulator (1819-40). — Leeds and Manchester. See pages 190-19T. Rob Rov (1835-44).— Leeds, W^akefield, Barnsley, and Sheffield. Began to run July 2Cth, 1835, from Percival & Co.'s Offices, Wangate ; D. Hopkinson's, Flat Street; and the Rising Sun and King's Head, Sheffield ; at 6 a.m., every morning ; Coach and Horses, Barnsley ; Boy and Barrel, Wakefield ; arrived Leeds in time for the Union for Newcastle : returned from the Talbot Inn and Albion Hotel, Leeds, at 3-30 p.m. ; arrived Sheffield, 7-30 p.m. Fares : Leeds and Sheffield, 7s. 6d. in, 4s. 6d. out ; Leeds and Barnsley, 4s. in, 2s. out; Leeds and \\'akefield, 2s. in, is. out. Performed by Booth, Percival, Hopkinson, IHnns, William Skaife, and J. and W. Atkinson. Rocket (1835).— Leeds and Harrogate. Commenced May, 1835, to run from the Joint Stock Coach Office, Albion Hotel, Leeds, daily, at 1-45 p.m., to Binns Hotel, Harrogate. Rockingham (1781-1841).— London and Leeds. Seepages 51-199-200- 201-202-203. Rockingham (1823-40).— Leeds, Bradford, Skipton, and Halifax. The proprietors of the London Rockingham started this branch coach on April 14th, 1823, in connection with the London coach ; it left the Bowling Green Inn, Bradford, at 7 a.m. ; time from Bradford • to London, twenty-seven hours. In 1830 it began to run forward to the White Swan, Halifax. In 1834 another branch Rockingham was started, which ran through Bradford to Skipton. These two branch coaches left the Golden Lion, Leeds, at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. respectively. Rockingham (1832). — Leeds, York, and Hull. Ran daily, at 10-30 a.m., from the Bull and Mouth, Leeds, through Tadcaster, York, Pocklington, Market Weighton, Beverley, and Hull. Rodnev (182 i). — London and Hull. Ran from the Flower Pot, Bishop- gate, and the White Horse, Fetter Lane, at 9 a.m. and 8-30 a.m., daily, through Baldock, Doncaster, Thorne, and Snaith, to the Cross Keys, Hull, in thirty-six hours; returned from Hull at 7 a.m. List of Coaches. 229 Rodney (1S28).— Leeds and Thorparch. A new market coach, which ran from the Red Lion, Thorparch, every Tuesday and Saturday, at 7 a.m., through Roundhay, to the Dolphin Inn, \'icar Lane, Leeds ; returned at 4 p.m.; arrived Thorparch, 6 p.m. Proprietor: James Bickerdike. Royal Charlotte (1807-10).— Leeds, Boroughbridge, and Sunderland. Began to run October 5th, 1807, from the Rose and Crown, Leeds, daily, at 8 p.m.; met the Newcastle and (ilasgow coaches at Boroughbridge ; returned from Boroughbridge, daily, at 7 a.m. In 1809 it began to run forward beyond Boroughbridge, through Northallerton, Yarm, and Stockton, to Sunderland, where it arrived next day in time for dinner ; returned from the White Horse, Sunderland, at 7 a.m.; arrived Leeds, same evening. Fares: Leeds to Sunderland, ^i lis. Gd. in; £1 is. out. Per- formed by Fretwell, Hirst, & Co. Royal Forester (1809}. — Doncaster and Nottingham. Ran from the Ram and the Reindeer Inns, Doncaster, through Tickhill, Work- sop, and IMansfield. Performed by Foster & Wood. Royal Forester (1S21). — Leeds and. Ferrybridge. Began December 15th, 1821. Left Mr. Rusby's, Greyhound Inn, Feriybridge, 7 a.m,; JVIr. Harrison's, New Elephant Inn, Pontefract ; Glass Houghton, Castleford, Methley, Oulton, to the Bull and Mouth, Leeds, Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays,! and Satur- days ; returned from Leeds, 3-30 p.m. Performed Ijy William Higham & Co. Royal Forester (1832). — Dewsbury and Leeds. Ran from the King's Arms, Dewsbury, every morning, through Batley and Birstal, to the Rose and Crown, Leeds ; returned at 7 p.m. Performed by Frances and Coates. Royal Sovereign (1828-33). — Leeds and York. Ran from the Golden Lion, Bull and Mouth, and Rose and Crown, Leeds, daily, at 7 a.m., through Roundhay, Collingham, Wetherby, ^larston, and Acomb ; arrived Black Swan and York Tavern, at 10 a.m. ; returned at 2 p.m. This coach ran the same route as the High- flyer, except that the order of running was reversed, the Royal Sovereign leaving Leeds in the morning and returning in the afternoon. Both these coaches ran to the Black Swan and York Tavern, and were the joint property of the Leeds and York coach proprietors. Performed by Messrs. Crossland, Lee, Outhwaite, Frances, Clemishaw, Barber, Cattle, and Maddocks. 230 The Old Coaching Days. Royal Sovereign (182S-38). — Leeds and Wakefield. Ran from the Bull's Head, Wakefield, at 12 noon; returned from the Golden Lion and the Bull and Mouth, Leeds, at 7 p.m. ROVAI, Wharfedale (1822). — York and Liverpool. Was put upon the road August 5th, 1822, and ran daily, from the Elephant and Castle, Skeldergate, York, at 6 a.m., through Wetherby, Harewood, Otley, Ilkley, Addingham, Skipton, Gisburn, Clitheroe, Whalley, Blackburn, and Ormskirk, to the Crown Inn, Red Cross Street, Liverpool; returned 6 a.m.; arrived at each place the same evening at 9 p.m. Performed by George Flower & Co. Ruby (1838).— Leeds and Harrogate. Left Harrogate every morning; returned from the Royal and Albion Hotels, Leeds, at 5 p.m. Performed l)y I^.Iathew Outh\\aite and J. and W. Atkinson. Surprise (1837-S). --Leeds and Manchester. Began September 8th, 1837, from 123, Briggate, and the Talbot Inn, Leeds, at 11-45 a.m., daily, in five hours, through Huddersfield, Delph, Oldham, to the White Bear and Bee Hive, Manchester. Tally- PI o. -York and Harrogate. Ran in the season from the White Plorse Inn, Coppergate, York, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, at 7 a.m., to Mr. Frankland's, Crescent Inn, Low Harrogate. Tally-Ho (1819-26). — Leeds and Ripon. Began June 14th, 1819, from the Unicorn Inn, Ripon, at 6 a.m., daily ; returned from the Hotel and the Golden Lion, Leeds, alternately. Fares : Leeds and Harrogate, 4s. in ; 2s. 6d. out. Leeds and Ripon, 6s. in ; 4s. out. Proprietors : Lee, Sharpin, & Co. Tantivy (1834).— Leeds and Manchester. Commenced October 20th 1834, from the Bull and iMouth and Golden Lion, Leeds, at 11-45 a.m., daily, through Birstal, Huddersfield, Marsden, Delph, and Old- ham, to Manchester, in time for railway train to Liverpool. Performed by Mathew Outhwaite, William Lee, Son, & Co. Teazle (1835).— Leeds and Harrogate. Left the Promenade Coach Office, Harrogate, daily, at 8-30 a.m.; returned from the White Horse, Leeds, at 1-30 p.m. Performed by Dorothy HoUings and Thomas Pearson. Telegraph (17S1-1845).— Leeds and Newcastle. See pages 125-132- 151-152-153. Telegraph (1789- 1802). — Leeds, Halifax, Huddersfield, and Man- chester. See page 155. List of Coaches. 231 Telegraph (1807-40). Leeds and Birmingham. Seepages 162-165. Times (1829-40). — Leeds and Newcastle. Seepage 195. Times (i84o).^Leeds and Nottingham. From the Bull and Mouth and Royal Hotel, Leeds, at 5-15 a.m., daily, t/Zi;? Wakefield, Barnsley, and Sheffield. Tontine (1785- 1800). — Leeds and London. See pages 176-180. Tradesman (1823-30). — Leeds and Wakefield. Ran from Wakefield every morning ; returned from the Bull and Mouth, Leeds, at 6 p.m., same day. Trafalgar (1807-34). — Hull, York, and Manchester. From the Golden Lion, Manchester, daily, at 6 a.m.; arrived King's Arms, Leeds, 2 p.m.; George, Hull, 11 p.m.; returned from Hull every morning, through Beverley and Market Weighton, George Inn, York, 1 1 a.m.; Leeds, 3-30 p.m. Performed by Hawkin's, Hull ; Etteridge, York ; Frost, Tadcaster ; Horsfall & Co., Bradford. Afterwards ran from the Rose and Crown, Leeds, and the York Tavern, to the Cross Keys, Hull. See page 156. Trafalgar (1807). — York to Newcastle. From the George Inn, York, at II a.m., daily, by Thirsk, Yarm, Stockton, Sunderland, and Newcastle, whence it proceeded next morning to Edinburgh and Glasgow. Performed by Etteridge & Co. Transit. — York and Sheffield. Ran from the Black Swan and York Tavern, on alternate days, at 1-30 p.m., via Selby, Askern, Doncaster, and Rotherham, to Sheffield. Traveller (1826-43). — Leeds and Bradford. From the Union Inn, General Coach Office, Leeds, at 3-45 p.m., daily. Afterwards transferred to the Albion. Traveller (1828). — Leeds and Harrogate. Began to run June 4th, 1828, from the Union Inn. Briggate, Leeds, daily, 10-15 a.m., to the Wellington Inn, Low Harrogate ; returned at 2-30 p.m. Performed by William Wood. True Blue (1781-1844). — Leeds and Scarborough. See pages 204-205. True Blue (1821). — Knaresborough and Selby. Commenced running April i6th, 1821, from the Elephant and Castle and Bay Horse Inns, Knaresborough, daily, at 5 a.m.; arrived at Wetherby at 6 a.m., proceeded through Tadcaster and Sherburn, and arrived at Selby half-an-hour before steam packet sails for Hull. Performed by Kidd, Wood, and Pollard. True Blue (1825-40). — Leeds and Wakefield. Seepages 186-187. The Old Coadiiiig Days. TiiUK Blue (1844).— Leeds and Bradford. Ran from the Commercial and the New Inns, Bradford, at 7-45 a.m., daily ; returned from the Saddle, Fleece, and Saracen's Head Inns, Leeds, at 8-15 p.m. Fares : 2s. in ; is. out. Performed by Jacob Wood. Truk Briton (17S1-1817).— Leeds and London. See pages \Z^-\%b. True Briton (1812-40). — Hull and Manchester, ^^-^^^^^'j 192-193. True Briton (1814-16). — Bradford and Leeds. Began to run October 25th, 1814, from Hope and Anchor, Bradford, daily, except Thursdays, at 8-30 a.m.; returned from White Horse and Bull and Mouth, Leeds, at 5-30 p.m. In 1816 it ran through to the Old Crown, Halifax. Performed by Brotherton, Green, Muschamp, Hollings, tS: Co. True Briton (181 5).— Halifax, Leeds, and Bradford. Ran from the Old Crown Inn, Cow Green, Halifax, INIondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays^ at 5 a.m.; Hope and Anchor, Bradford, 6-30 a.m.; arrived Talbot Inn, Leeds, 8 a.m.; departed, S-45 ; arrived Lord Wellington, Low Harrogate, 12 noon ; returned, 2-45 p.m.; Talbot, Leeds, 6 p.m.; thence to Bradford and Halifax. This same coach set out from Halifax, Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, at 6-45 a.m., for Bradford and Leeds. Performed by Brotherton, Green, & Co. In 1816 it began to run forwards to the Bay Horse, Knaresborough. True Briton (1816-43).— Leeds and Kendal. Began June i8th, 1816, from the White Horse and the Bull and Mouth, Leeds, at 6 a.m., on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Fridays ; ran through Otley, Skipton, Settle, Kirby - Lonsdale ; returned at 8 a.m., the following mornings. Performed by Hollings, Leeds ; Proctor, Black Horse, Otley ; Ward, Black Horse, Skipton ; Hartley, Joiner's Arms, Settle; Hartley, Royal Oak, Kirby-Lonsdale ; Webster, Commer- cial Inn, Kendal. After 1825 this eoach was worked at the Leeds end by Mathew Outhwaite. True Briton (i 816).— Wakefield and Hull. Ran from the George Inn, Waketield, at 6 a.m., by Pontefract, Ferrybridge, Knottingley, Snaith, where it met the steam packet, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays ; returned to Wakefield on the following days, after the arrival of packet. Performed by Richard Rather & Co. True Briton (1817).— Leeds and Wakefield. Ran from Rose and Crown and White Horse, Leeds, daily, at 9-30 a.m., to the Stafford Arms, Talbot and Falcon Inns, W'akefield ; returned at 4-30 p.m. Fares: 2s. 6d. in; is. 6J. out. Performed l)y Hogg, Hollins, & Co. List of Coaches. 233 Union. — London and Newcastle. Ran by way of Leeds, Wetherby, Boroughbridge, Thirsk, Tontine Inn (Varm), Stockton, and Dur- ham. Left London, daily, at 8 a.m.; arrived at the Crown, Newcastle, next evening, at 9 p.m. Sec pages 172-173. Union. — York and Harrogate. Left York, daily, at 2 p.m., via Knares- borough. Union. — York and Hull. Ran daily, from the White .Swan, Pavement, York. See page Z2,. LJnion. — York and Sheffield. Ran 7'ia Doncaster. Seepage Si. Union (1807-43).— Leeds and Kendal. Was put upon the road May 25th, 1807, and ran from the Hotel, Leeds, at 6 a.m., ^Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, through Otley, Skipton, Settle, Ingleton, and Kirby-Lonsdale, to the King's Arms, Kendal ; returned from Kendal at 5 a.m., Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Performed hy John Greaves, Leeds ; Mary Smith, White Horse, Otley ; J. Rose, New Inn, Skipton ; George Proctor, Eagle, Settle. In 1S21 it left the Hotel at 10 a.m.; Skipton, 2-30 (dined); arrived Kendal, 9-30 p.m.; returned, 7-30 a.m.; Skipton, 2-30; Leeds, 7-15 p.m. Finally became a daily coach, and was worked at the Leeds end by Mathew Outhwaite. It went off the road in 1843. See page 164. Union (1809-1841). — Leeds and London. Seepages 171-172-173. Union (1815-28). — Leeds and Shefheld. Ran from the Rose and Crown, Leeds, at 10 a.m., daily, through Wakefield and Barnsley, to the Tontine and King's Head Inns, Sheffield. Fares : 6s. in ; 4s. out. In 1816 fares reduced to 3s. and 25., on account of opposition. In 18 17 raised to 8s. and 4s. After 18 18 it left Leeds at 2 p.m. Performed by Harwood & Co. Uniox (1819-40).— Ripon and Leeds. Began to run May 24lh, 1819, from the Black Bull, Ripon, at 6 a.m., daily, through Ripley, Harrogate, and Harewood ; arrived at the Bull and Mouth, and White Horse, Leeds, in time to meet London Union ; returned after arrival of Union from London. In 1823, left Ripon at 5 a.m. ; arrived Leeds in time for Commercial Union to Manchester. Ran in connection with this coach and the London Union ; returned from White Horse, Boar Lane, at 1-15 p.m. Performed by William Skelton, Mathew Outhwaite, T. Turnbull & Co. After July, 1834, Frances & Coates, of the Rose and Crown, Lccd?, joined the others 234 ^Ji-^ Old Coaching- Days. in working it, when it ran on alternate days from the Rose and Crown and White Horse, at 4-30 p.m., to Ripon. Sec pages 173-174- Union (1820). — Leeds and Liverpool. Put upon the road March ist,. 1820. Ran to Liverpool in eleven hours, from the White Horse, Leeds, at 8 a.m., daily, through Huddersfield, Marsden, Delph? Oldham, Manchester, Warrington, and Prescot ; arrived Liver- pool, 7 p.m. Left the Talbot, Market Street, Manchester, at 7 a.m.; arrived Leeds, 2 p.m. Performed by William Hollings & Co. Union (1822-35). — Leeds and Bradford. Began to run April 17th, 1822, in connection with the London and Ripon Unions, from the White Horse, Leeds, at 9-30 a.m., except Thursdays, when it left at 8 a.m. ; returned from the Sun Inn, Bradford, at 12 noon ; on Thursdays (Bradford Market) it returned at 5 p.m. Performed by Hollings & Co. Union (1823-34).— Leeds and Selby. Ran from the Bull and Mouth, Leeds, at 6 a.m., daily, through Garforth, Peckfield, Fryston, Hambleton, to Selby. Union (1828-35). — Leeds and York. Ran from York each morning; returned from the Golden Lion, Leeds, at 7 p.m. Performed by William Lee & Son. In 1834 it ran from the Union Inn, Briggate,. at 10 a.m., daily, via Thorparch to the White Horse, Coppergate, York, where it arrived i p.m. ; returned 2-30 p.m. ; arrived Leeds, 6 p.m. In the season, it ran forward through Malton, to the Blacksmith's Arms, Scarbro'. See page Z^i- Union (1832).— Leeds and Wakefield. Ran daily, from the White Horse, Boar Lane, Leeds, at 8-45 a.m. Performed by Dorothy Hollings. In 1834 it ran from the Union Inn General Coach Office, Briggate, at 8-45 a.m., through Wakefield to Doncaster. Union (1835). — Leeds and Manchester. Commenced running January 1 2th, 1835, from the Rose and Crown, Leeds, daily, at 3-30 p.m., through Birstal, Milnbridge, Huddersfield, Marsden, Delph, and Oldham ; arrived at the Swan, Flying Horse, and Commercial Inns, Manchester, at 8-30 p.m.; left Manchester, 5 a.m.; arrived Leeds, 10 a.m. This coach ran in connection with the Joint Stock, Leeds and Newcastle coach. In 1836 it also ran from the Albion, Leeds. Performed by Frances and Coates & Co. List of Coaches. 235 Union (1837). — Hull, Leeds, and Liverpool. Ran from the Cross Keys, London Mail, and Proctor's Coach Offices, Hull, daily, at 5-30 a.m., through Caves, Hovvden, Selby, Leeds ; arrived Bull and Mouth, Leeds, 12 noon. Did the journey from Hull to Liverpool (130 miles) in thirteen hours. No connection with the railway. Left Leeds at 2 p.m., for Hull, where it arrived at 8-30 p.m. Proprietors : Geldard & Proctor, Hull ; Hudson, Sugden, & Co., Howden & Caves ; Thackray, Firth & Outhwaite, Selby and Leeds ; Airton, Bennett, & Dunhill, Pontefract and Wakefield ; Lacy, Allen, Weatherald, Webster, & Co., Manchester. Union (1842). — Leeds and Ilkley. Began May 17th, 1842, from the Listers' Arms, Ilkley, Tuesdays and Saturdays, at 7-30 a.m., via Burley, Black Horse, Otley ; Wheat Sheaf and Albion, Leeds, 10 a.m.; returned at 4-30 p.m. Performed by Thomas Kettlewell & Co. Umpire. — York and Middleham. Called the original Wensleydale Coach. Left York every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday ; Malt Shovel, Boroughbridge ; Black Bull, Ripon ; Lord Nelson, Masham ; Black Swan, Middleham ; returned to York on the following days. Umpire (1823-40). — Leeds and Manchester. Ran from the Bull and Mouth and White Horse, Leeds, at 5-45 a.m., througli Dewsbury, Huddersfield, Marsden, Delph, Oldham; 1826, 8-15 a.m.; 1828, 9 a.m. ; 1829-32, 8-30 a.m. ; 1833, 8 a.m. ; 1839, 9-30 a.m. Fares : 8s. in, 5s. out. Performed by Outhwaite, Hollings, & Co. Umpire (1823-4). — Leeds, York, and Malton. Ran from the Bull and Mouth, Leeds, at 10-30 a.m., daily ; returned from the White Swan and T. Waite's Commercial Hotel, Castlegate, York, at 4 p.m. Performed by Mathew Outhwaite, T. Raper, and J. Robson. Sec pages 83-84. Umpire (1838-40). — Harrogate and Leeds. Ran from the Promenade Coach Office, Harrogate, daily, at 12-30 noon; returned from the Golden Lion, White Horse, and Bull and Mouth, Leeds, at 6-15 p.m. Performed by Lee, Hollings, and Pearson. Victoria.— York and Newcastle. Ran daily from York, l)y way of Easingwold and Thirsk. Volunteer (1820). — Leeds, Manchester, and Liverpool. From the Golden Lion, Leeds, daily, at 8 a.m., by way of Bradford, Halifax, and Rochdale ; returned the same route, arriving at Leeds at 5-30 p.m. Only on the road a short time. Proprietors : William Lee & Co. 236 The Old Coaching Dajs. Waterloo (1815). — Leeds and London. Commenced running Septem- ber, 181 5, from the Golden Lion, Leeds, at 2 p.m.; Wood's Offices, Doncaster, 6 p.m., via Retford, Newark, Grantham, and Baldock ; arrived Saracen's Head, Snow Hill, early following evening ; left Saracen's Head, 2 p.m.; arrived Leeds, 4 p.m. next day. Performed by William Lee & Co. See page 204. Waterloo (1818).— Leeds and Halifax. ] 55 Accident to the Newcastle Hero ... 195 Accommodation (Leeds and Selby Coach) I74> 209 Accommodation (Leeds and Wake- field Coach 1S6 Accommodation (Leeds and York Coach) 209 Accommodation (York and Shel- lield Coach) S2 Acts, Turnpike Road ... 140, 141 Adams, William ... ... ••• 21 Adkin, Tommy, the First York- shire Postboy ... ... ••• 3^ A Favourite Coach Guard ... 203 Age (Leeds and Harrogate Coach) 174, 210 Aire and Calder (Leeds and Selby Coach) 181, 210 Albion Hotel, Leeds 127, 178, 194, 197, 19S Alderson, Dr. George 47 Alexander (Leeds and Halifax Coach) 181, 210 Alexander (Leeds and Knaresbro' Coach) 209 Alexander (Leeds and Sheffield Coach) 186, 209 Alexander (Leeds and Skipton Coach) 181, 210 Alexander (Leeds and York Coach) 187, 210 Alexander (York and Liverpool Coach) 61, 210 Allerton Mauleverer 118 " All Sorts o' Glasses" ... ... 55 Amateur Whips ... ... ... 15 Amity (Leeds and Birmingham Coach) 163, 174, 210 Amity (Leeds and York Coach) 184, 211 Andrews, Mr. William .. ... 97 Angel Inn, Bawtry 22 Angel Inn, Catterick ... 128, 129 Angel Inn, Doncaster, Early His- tory of the Old 26 Angel Inn, Doncaster, the New 25, 29 Angel Inn, Doncaster, the Old 12, 25 Angel Inn, Ferrybridge ... 47, 48 Angel Inn, Tadcaster 59, 60, 62, 63 Angel Inn, Wetherby ... 113 — 116 Antelope (Leeds and York Coach) 198, 211 Anticipation (Leeds and Skipton Coach) 177, 181, 211 Assize Time, Doncaster ... 26, 27 Atkinson, Messrs. J. and W. .. 198 Atkinson, Mr 51 Ayres, Miss ... --. ••• 160 Index. 239 Backhouse, Richard ... ... 151 Backhouse, William •••59, 61, 17S Baines, Billy, Junior, Postboy 97, 98 Baines, Billy, the Thirsk Bostboy 97 Baines, George, Postboy 97 Balloon (Leeds and London Coach) 153, 154 Bar and Inn, York ... 41 Barber, Mr. James... ... 68, 76 Barker, George, the Ferrybridge Postboy... ... ... 51 Barn by Moor Barnby Moor to Bawtry ... Barnsdale Bar Battle of Harewood Bridge Batty, Mr Bawtry ... ... ... 14, 2 Bawtry to Kossington Bridge Bay Horse Inn, Wentbridge Bee Hive (Leeds and Thorparch Coach) ... Beeston Bar... " Beefy," Postboy .. Belcher, Robert Bills, Old Coaching Black Boy Inn, Doncaster Black Bull Inn, Northallerton 99, loi, 102 Black, Coach Guard on the Rock- ingham, Accident to ... ... 203 Blacksmith's Arms, Great Smeatou 107 Black Swan Inn, Leeds ... ... 187 Black Swan Inn, York 65, 67, 75, 76, 204 Blucher (Leeds and Selby Coach) 164, 211 Blucher (Leeds and Scarbro' Coach) 61, 77, 177, 205 Blucher (Leeds and Sheffield Coach) ... ... ... ... 206 Blue Bell Inn, Barnby Moor 16, 17 Blue Bell Inn, Wentbridge, the 45 , no 15 20 44 142 76 1, 22 23 45 182, 211 143 52 28 6, 9, 144, 1^5 ;;o, 31 Old Blythe, Mr. George ... 92, 94, 96 Boast, Harry, Coachman ... 196 Boot and Shoe Inn, Leeds ... 187 Bootham Bar, York ... ... 85 Booth, Mr 31 Boroughbridge ... ... 119 — 122 Boroughbridge to Leeming Lane and Scotch Corner ... 123, 124 Bosvile, Charles ... ... ... 24 Bowes ... ... ... ... 134 Boyne, Edward ... ... ... 182 Braithwaite, Abraham ... 79, 82 Bramley, William, Coachman ... 203 Briggate, Leeds, in the Old Coach- ing Days ... ... 156, 157 Briggs, Samuel, Postboy ... ... 36 Brilliant (Leeds and Bradford Coach) 174, 211 Brilliant (Leeds and Harrogate Coach) 19S, 211 Brilliant (Leeds and Derby Coach) 196, 211, 212 Britain, George, Postboy ... ... 128 Britannia (Leeds and Huddersfitld Coach) 212 Britannia (Leeds and Skipton Coach) 177, 212 British Queen (Leeds and Ilkley Coach) 182, 212 British Queen (Leeds and Man- chester Coach) ... ... 167, 212 Briton, J 116 Broad Wheels ... 11 Brotherton ... ... ... ... 57 Brown, Stephen, Postboy 104 Bull and Mouth Hotel, Leeds 104, 125, 160, 166, 167, 179, 18S— 196 Bulmer, Mr. 102 Bulmer, Uriah 191 Burgoyne, Coach Guard ... ... 195 Biirrill, Mr. James 187 240 The Old Coaching Days. 124 cS, 165 ... 112 103 164 S7, 8S ... 92, 93, 96 128 ... 129 61 68, 88, 91, loi 1S2 Caldwell, Mr. Henry Calvcrlcy, Sir Waltei Campston, John Carriss, John Carter, Jolin Carver, Mrs. Wille Cass, Mrs. Alice ... Catterick Catterick Bridge ... Cattle, George Cattle & Maddocks' Cawthorne, Jo-sepli Celerity (Leeds and ?^Ianchester Coach) 19S "Chalk" at the Old Fox,Wethcrby iiS Child, Joseph 144 Clarke, Mr. George, of Barnby Moor 17, 18, 19 Clarke, Mr., York 76 Clarke's Hotel, York 76 Clayton, Mr. 84 Cleminshaw, John, .Senior and Junior ... ... ... ... 114 Cleveland (Leeds and I-iedcar Coach) 96, 120, 212 Clothier (Leeds and London Coach) 212, 213 Coach and Horses Inn, York ... 84 Coach, Early Edinbro' ... ... 11 Coach, Early York and London 7, 9 Coaches, Early ... ••• ■■• i- Coaches, Early Leeds 139, 144, 145, 146 Coaches from the Rose and Crown, Leeds, Principal ... .-■ 179 Coaches from the Talbot Inn, Leeds i^vf Coaches, List of Leeds ... 148,149 Coaches, London ... --.S, 180, iSi Coaches, Opposition 125, 126, 127, 163, 172, 105 Coaches, Trincipal Bull and ?*'o .th 193, 194 Coach Journeys, Early ... 6, 7, 10 Coach, Leeds and Harrogate Stage, 213 Coach, Leeds and London Old Stage ... 144, 145, 146, 151 Coach, Leeds and Newcastle ... 213. Coach, Leeds and Sheffield ... 213 Coach, Leeds and Skipton ... 213 Coach, Leeds and Thorparch ... 214 Coach, London, Leeds, and Car- lisle ... ... ... ... 213 Coach, York and Bridlington ... 213 Coach, Ycrk and Manchester ... 213 Coaching Bills, Old 6, 9, 144, 145 Coaching History of Leeds, the Early 13S— '45 Coaching Pictures at the Fleece, Thirsk ... ... ... ... 96 Coaching Progress ... ... 5 — i - Coaching Stables Intact ... ... 119 Coachmen, Mail ... ... ... 112 Coach, the First ... 9 Coates, Mary ... ... ... Si Coates, Thomas ... ... ... 173 Coates, Wm. ... ... ... 61 Cock and Bottle Inn, Leeds ... 186 "Cockings" at the Rose and Crown, Leeds ... ... ••• I75 "Cockings" at the Salutation in the Low Street... ... ... 131 Colbert, Sam, Postboy 52 Comet (Leeds and London Coach) 164, 214 Commerce (Leeds and Ilkley Coach) 182, 214 Commerce (Leeds and Manchester Coach) 214 Commercial Inn and Coffee House, York 82, 84 Commercial Union (Leeds and Manchester Coach) ... 166, 195 Cooke, Mr. Richard ... 120, 151 Cooke, Mrs. Mary i.^i Cope, Mr. Chas 187^ Index 241 Cornwallis (Leeds and Manchester Coach) ... ... 173. 193, 215 Courrier (Leeds and Edinliro' Coach) ... ... ... ... 104 Courrier (Leeds and Halifa.x Coach) 215 Courrier (Leeds and London Coach) ... ... ■•. ■•• iSi Courrier (Leeds and Richmond Coach) 181, 182, 214 Cowling's Hotel, Leeds ... 159, 180 Cowling, the Widow ... ... 159 Crossland, Mr. Richard 155, 159, 162, 105 Crossland, Mrs. Sarah ... ... 159 Crossland, Suicide of ... ... 160 Crossland, William ... ... 159 Crossland's Hotel ... ... ... 159 Crown Inn, Bawtry ... ... 21 Crown Inn, Boroughbridge 119 — 122 Crown Inn, Thirsk... ... ... 92 Crown Union (Keighlcy and Leeds Coach) 196, 215 Cullingworth, John ... ... 118 Curious Coaching Advertisement 205 Cusworth Hall ... ... ... 41 Dalby, Mr 118 Dan Ferguson and the Duke of Cleveland ... ... ... 131 Dangers of Coach Travelling 10, 140 Darlington Mail 120 Dart (Leeds and Harrogate Coach) 215 Dart (Leeds and Iluddersfield Coach) 196, 215 Day, Mr 28 Day, Tom, Coach Ciuard ... ... 75 Deacon, lIarii>on, & Co ... 62 Defence (Leeds and Bradford Coach) .. ... ... 181, 216 Defence (Leeds and Harrogate Coach) 1S2, 216 Defence (Leeds and Manchester Coach) 1S4, 215 R Defr^nce (Leeds and Newcastle Coach) ... ... 92, 120, 164, 215 Defiance (Leeds and Harrogate Coach) ... 174, 216 Defiance (Leeds and Hull Coach) 176, 216 Defiance (Leeds and Ilkley Coach) 196- Defiance (Leeds and Liverpool Coach) 155, 174, 205, 216 Derby and Birmingham Railway... 163 Dickenson, William, Coachman 112, 203 Diligence, Leeds and Harrogate... 217 Diligence, Leeds and Kendal ... 216 Diligence, Leeds and Liverpool 176, 181 Diligence, Leeds and London 199, 200 Diligence, Leeds and Manchester 176, t8i Diligence, Leeds and Newcastle ... 1S6 Diligence, Leeds and Scarbro' ... 184 Diligence, Leeds and Thorparch 155. 216 Diligence, Leeds, York, and Hidl 183, 184 Diligence, Old Leeds and New- castle 102, 184 Diligence, York and Leeds ... 81 Diligence, York and Scarbro' 153, 1S4 Dodds, Mr. 87 Doings at Doncaster ... ... 28 Dolphin Inn, Leeds ... ... 1S7 Donaldson, James ... ... ... 183 Doncaster ... 25 — 39 Doncaster Postboys ... 36, 39 Doncaster to Kohiii Hood's Well 40, 41, 42 Dotheboys Hall 133 Douglas, James, Coachman ... 84 Down the Roatl ... ••. i, 2, 3, 4 Driving Lessons in Herring's Studio 112 Drovers, Scotch 45, "17 242 The Old Coacliiiig Days. Duchess of Leeds (Leeds and Manchester Coach) ... lS6, 217 Diickwortli, ,\[r 169 Duckvvortli, Mrs. Mary ... ... 169 Duke of Leeds (Leeds and Man- chester Coach) 196, 217 Duke of York (Leeds and York Coach) 186, 217 Dunkersley, Mr. John ... ... 195 Dunning, Thanny, Northallerton, Postboy loi Duxlniry, Mr. ... ... ... 61 Eagle (Doncaster and Leeds Coach) 167, 217 Earl of Zetland (Leeds and Redcar Coach) 198, 217 Ea'ly Coach Joupiieys ... 6, 7, 10 Early Travelling ... ... ... 5 Easingwold ... ... ... 85 — 91 Easingwold to Thirsk ... ... 9' Ebor (Leeds and Bradford Coach) 218 Ebor (Leeds and Harrogate Coach) 164, 174, 218 Ebor (Leeds and Selby Coach) 167, 218 Ebor (Leeds and Sheffield Coach) 206, 218 EI)or (Leeds ar.d York Coach) 181, 218 Ebor (.Scarbro' and riirminghani Coach) 77, 217 Eclipse (Leeds and Birmingham Co.ich) 168, 186 Eclipse (Leeds and Ilkley Coach) i85, 218 Eclipse (Leeds and London Coach) 184 Eclipse (Leeds and Scarbro' Coach) 168, 186 Economist (Leeds and Newcastle Coach) 127, 19S, 218 Edinbro' Coach, Early ... ... 11 F.dinbro' Mail 13, 29, 71 — ^T , 96, 104 Etlinbro' Mail on the Coronation- Day 72 Edinbro' Mail, the Death of the 74, 75 Edinbro' ALiil, Monthly Settle- ment of the ... ... 73> 74 Edwards, Coachman ... ... 173 Elephant and Castle, York ... 83 Elliot, Peter 96 Elliot, Peter, and the Pig 96 Elliot, Peter, Junior, Coach Guard 104 Elliot, Kit, Northallerton, Post- boy ... ... lOI Emerald (Leeds and Pontefract Conch) 167, 21S Emerald (Leedsand Redcar Coach) 196, 218 Empson, Mr. Jonathan ... ... 93 England, William ... ... ... 43 Enter Common ... ... ... 107 Enterprise (Leeds and Bradford Coach) ... 198, 219 Enterprise (Leeds and Buxton Coach) 196, 219 Erin-go-Bragh (Leeds and Harro- gate Coach) 164 Etteridge's Hotel, York ... 66, 68, 79 Etteridge, "Tommy" ... 79, 156 Ex]iedition (Leeds and Newcastle Coach) 114, 120, 219 Express, Accident to the Leeds ... 162 Express (Leeds and London Coach) 161, 162 Express (Leeds and RLanchester Coach) 174, 219 Express (Leeds and Newcastle Coach) 195 Express (Scarbro' Coach) 77 Express, the (London and Carlisle Conch) ...51, 62, 77, 87, 96, 105, no, 120, 132, 133, 134, 161, 162 Fngdin, Tom, Postboy Fergusson, Mr. Daniel Ferrybridge... Ferrybridge to Aberford ... " Ferrybridge Gentleman," the Ferrybriilge Postboys 5- 129, 130, 131 47—55 108 no , 51 Judex. 243 Ferrybridge to Tadcaster ... 56, 57, 58 First Coach, the ... ... ... 5 First Coachman on the Leeds Old Stage Coach ... ... ... 176 First Mail, the 12 Firth, George, Postboy ... ... 130 Fisher, Thomas ... ... ... 20 Fleece Inn, Thirsk... ... 92 — 97 Fleece Inn Yard, Thirsk ... ... 95 Flower, Mr. George ... ... ^t, Flower, Mr. William 84 Fly, the 11, 12, 147 Fly, the New ... ... ... 147 Flying Machines 144, 145, 146, 151 Fox at Brotherton, the Old ... 57 Fox Inn, Wetherby, the Old loS, 1 17 Frances, Mr. John... ... ... 178 Fretwell, Mr. . . ... ... 120 Freetrader (Leeds and Bradford Coach) ... 167, 219 Frescoes at the Talbot, Leeds ... 183 Frost, Mr. ... ... 157 Fryer, Mr. John ... ... ... 130 Furniss, Guard on the Rockingham 203 George Inn, Catterick Bridge 12S, 129, 130 George Inn, Greta Bridge ... 132 George Inn, York ... 65, 76, 77, 78 George IV. CLeeds and Knotting- Ity Coach) ... ... 1S2, 219 Gill, George, York Postboy ... 77 Gipsy King, the ... ... ... 23 Glasgow Mail 109, no, III, 112, 120, 132, 164 Glasgow Mail Monthly Settle- ment ... ... ... Ill, 112 Golden Lion Inn, Catterick 128, 129 Golden Lion, Enter Common ... 107 Golden Lion Inn, Ferrybridge ... 49 Golden Lion Inn, Leeds 104, 125, 153, 155, 162, 170, 199—206 Golden Lion, Northalleiton 99, 100, lOI Golden Lion, Northallerton, the Old ... 99, 103 Golden Lion, Tadcaster ... .. 62 Great Smeaton ... ... ... 107 Greaves' Hotel, Leeds ... ... 159 Greaves, Mr. John ... 156, 159 Greyhound Inn, Ferrybridge ... 50 Greyhounds Inn, Boroughbridge 120, 121 Half-way House to Edinburgh ... I17 Hall, John ... 49 Hall. Mr. John 94 Hall, Mr. William 91, 95, loi Hall, Mrs. Mary 94 Hall, Thomas 49, 57 Hall, William, Coachman 173, 203 Hardcasile, Mrs. ... ... ... 82 Harding, Mr.- ... ... ... 76 Harewood Bridge Par ... 141, 142 Harker, Mr 68, 69 Ilarker's Hotel, York 68 Hark-Forward (Leeds and Ilkley Coach) .. 182, 219 Harrison, John, the Philanthropist 150 Hartley, John ... ...60, 62, 178 Harwood, Mr. ... ... ... 17^ Hawkes, Mr. Thomas ... ... 87 Ha}ford, William, Postmaster, IJoncaster ... ... ... 26 Herald (London and Glasgow Coach) 132, 164, 219 Ilerfield, William 187 Hero (Leeds and Halifax Coach) 164 Hero (Leeds and Huddersfield Coach) 220 Hero (Leeds and Newcastle Coach) 96, 104, 120, 195 Herring and the Coach Painter ... 2)i Herring as Coachman - cum - Sign P-iinter ^2>^ 34 244 The Old Coaching Days. PACE Iletriii!^, John Frederic ... ... 32 Herring's Achieveni'jiiis ... ... 35 Ileslop, Mr. ... ... ... 129 Hick, John 151, 152, 155, 170, 173, 185 Hick, Williiun ... ... 169, 173 Highflyer, the 22, 30, 59, 77, 88, 105 Highflyer (Leeds and Harrogate Coach) ... ... ... ... 220 Highflyer (Leeds and Hehnsley Cuacli) ... 182, 220 Highflyer (Leeds and Manchester Coacli) ... ... ... 179, iSo Highflyer (Leeds and Middleliam Coach) 181, 220 Highflyer (Leeds and Newcastle Coach) ... ... ... ... 220 Highflyer (Leeds and York Coach) 114, 17S, 179, 180, 220 Highflyer, the Wensieydale ... 84 Highflyer (York and Harrogate Coach) ... ... .. ... 77 Highflyer (York and Helmsley Coacli) ... ... ... ... 77 Highflyer (York, Manchester, and Liverpool Coach) 61, 77, 178, 179, iSo Highflyer (York and Scarbro' Coach) 79 Hindle, Mr. Joseph ... 155, 176, 205 Hindle, Richard, Fell 122 Hind, Mrs 122 Hird, Mr 114 Hirst, Mr. Frank 87? 9i> 96 100, loi, 105 Hobson, J. ... 169 Hogg, John 176, 177 Hollings' Father, Son, and Widow 170 Hollings, John ... ... 170, 189 Hollings, Mrs. Dorothy ... 199, 202 Holmes, Mr. ... ... ... 167 Holtby, Tom ... ... 63, 69, 70 Holtby's Coaching Career... 70, 71 Hope (Leeds and Bradford Coach) 196, 221 Hope (Leeds and Redcar Coach) 196, 221 Hope (Leeds and Sheffield Coach) 181, 221 Hope (Leeds and York Coach) 155, 22O' Hope (Sheffield and London Coach) ... ... ... ... 22 r Hope, \Vm. ... ... ... 173. Hornsey, Mr. ... ... ... 84 [lorsfall, Mr. 157 Hotel, thf, Leeds 104, 125, 153, 155, 156, 162, 168, 185, Howe, Mr. ... ... ... ... 57 Ilunsler, John ... ... ... 116 Hutchinson, Tommy, the Easing- wold Postboy 88 — 91 Ilkley Coaches 182 Independent (Leeds and Liverpool Coach) ... 164, 221 Inett, Mr 19 Invincible (Leeds and Preston Coach) ... ... ... 164, 221 Jack Ainslie and the Runaway Couple 134, 135 Jeffreys, James ... 183 Jenkinson, Robert... ... ... 57 Johnson, Tom, and the Parsons ... 163 Johnson, Tom, Coachman ... 163 Joint-Stock Coach Company 197, 19S Joint Stock (Leeds and Newcastle Coach) ... 125, 126, 127, 195, 19S Jubb, Mr 77 Judd, Mr 76, 87 Kemplar, Mr. ... ... ... 88 Kidd, Charlie ... ... ... 62 Kidd, Mathew (Father and Son) 57> 59—63 Kidd, Mrs. Charlotte 49 King's Aims Inn, Leeds, New The 146, 147, 158—161 Index. H5 Kini^'s Anns Inn, Leeils, ' Id The 132, 143. 150- King's Mead Inn, Xorlhallerton 99, Kiishaw, Richard ... Lacy, Mr. Benjamin Landlords at the Golden Lion, Leeds Landlords at the White Horse, Leeds ... ... ... 169, Lateness of Coaching in Leeds, Comparative La} field, Thomas, Coachman on the Wellington... ... 105, Leach, George Leeds ... ... ... 136 — Leeds Cuacliing Inns Leeds Coaching Inns, Maji of Leeds Mail... ... 12, 153, 154, Leeds Minor Coaching Inns Lee38 137 173 185 '97 124 199 199 90 221 222 149 »59 151 180 177 189 180 168 68 Maddocks, Mr Mails 20, 49, 59, 61, SS, 91, 92, 102, 107, 113, 154 I'AGE Mail Coaching ... ... ... 12 Mail Coach, the First 12 Mail, Leeds and Lomlon 12, 153, 154, 164, 173 Mail, the Edinbro' 13, 29, 63, 71 — 75 Mail, the Glasgow 109, no, III, 112, 120, 164 Mail, the Hull and Liverpool New 179, ^23 ]\Iail, the Leeds and Ijirmingham 222 Mail, the Leeds and Darlington 120, 223 Mail, the Leeds anil Darlington New 198 Mail, the Leeds and Halifa-K New 206, 223 Mail, the Leeds and Iludderstield New 166, 167 Mail, the Leeds and Knaresbro' 164, 224 Mail, the Leeds and Lancaster ... 223 Mail, the Leetls and Liverpool ... 222 Mail, the Leeds and Manchester... 223 Mail, the Leeds and Newcastle 154, 155 Mail, the Leeds and Newcastle New ... ... ... ... 223 Mail, the Leeds and .Shields 103, 120, 223 Mail, the Leeds and York Morning 179 Mail, the Leeds, Whitby, and Scarbro'... ... ... 17S, 222 Mail, the Liverpool and York Old 77, 61 Mail, the .Scarbro' ... Mail, the York and Hull New .. Mail, the York and Liverpool Mail, the York and Hull Mail, the York and Whitby "Main of Cocks" Advertisement Map of Leeds Coaching Inns May-Day Solemnity Medley, Tom, Si age Coachman 77 n 178 77 176 137 10 113 246 The Old Coadiing Days. Merry WV.keficld (Leeds and Ski] ton Coach) Merry Wakefield (Wakefield and Doncaster Coach ) Merry Wakefield (Wakefield and Leeds) ... Minor Coaches from the l>ull an Mouth, Leeds ... Minor Coaches from the Rose an Crown, Leeds ... Minor Coaching Inns in Leeds ., "More War !" Moriss, Mr. 109 Morley. Mr. Monk Bar, York Monkman, Mrs. Moody, Mary ... Moot Hall, Leeds, the Old Morrell, John Motrham, Wm Mountain, Robert ... Mountaine, Mr. Peter Mr. Wackford Squeers Mundig's Derby and the Vicar of Tadcaster Mural Paintings at the Angel Wetherby Musij''ave, William Myers, George, Postboy ... Myers, Mr. ... a Ferrvbridiie iSi 224 224 196 iSi 185 205 1 10 195 65 50 1S8 104 203 122 202 133 63 116 52 15S New Inn, Allerton... ... iiS, 119 New Inn, Easingwold ... 86, 87, 97 New Inn, Greta Bridge ... ... 132 New Inn, Leeds ... ... ... 158 New Inn, Leeming Lane ... ... 124 New Inn, Robin Hood's Well ... 43 Neptune (Leeds and Liverpool Coach) ... ... ... 206, 224 Neptune (Leeds and Whitby Coach) ... ... 77, 182, 224 Newbould, Jackey, Postboy ... 101 1' m; K Newbould, Jimmy, Postboy ... 101 Newlove, George ... 156, 157, 170 Newsham, John ... ... ... 183 Newsome, J. ... ... ... 167 Nicholas Nickleby ... ... ... 133 Northallerton ... ... 99 — 104 Northallerton to Croft Spa io5, 107 North Briton (Leeds and New- castle Coach) 92, 93, 114, 120, 224 Noith Courrier (Leeds and New- castle Coach) ... ... 104, 120 North Highflyer ... ... 93, 120 North Road, the Great 14, 57, loS, 123 North Star (Leeds and Carlisle Coach) ... ... ... 120, 224 Nottingham, Mr 151 Oak Tree Inn, Leeming Lane 123, 125 Old Commercial Buildings, Leeds 165 Old Entrance to the White Swan, York 82 Old George Inn, Leeds ... 165, 166 Old Sand Hillinn, York 83 Opposition Coaches 105, 125, 126, 127, 163, 172 Outhwaitp's Coaching Stables ... 19 1 Outhwaite, Mathew 160, 171, 173, 184, 191, 192, 195, 202 Pack Horse Inn, York ... ... 84 Packet (Leeds and I!iiigley Coicli) 168, 169 Packet (Leeds and .Selby Coach)... 167 Palmer, Mr. Charles ... ... 81 Palmer, Mr. John ... 5, 12, 153, 154 Paikpr, Jeremiah ... ... ... 151 Parker, Mr. 114 Parker, Mr. Edward ... ... 6 Paul Jones (Leeds and Londdu Coach) 28, 200 Paul Pry (Leeds and Wakefield Coach) 206, 225 Pearl (Leeds and Manchester Coach) 186, 225 Index. 247 I'AGE Pearson, Thomas ... ... ... 174 Pcckfield Bar loS Perseverance (Leeds and Barnsley Coach) 196, 225 Perseverance (Leeds and Doncasler Coach) 225 Perseverance (Leeds and Iludders- field Coach) 196, 225 I'eter Mountaine's Team of Greys 202 I'everil of the Peak (Leeds and Buxton Coach) ... ... 198,225 Phenomena (Leeds and ^L^ncbe^ter Coach) ... ... ... 164, 225 Phrenix (Leeds and Newcastle Coach) ... ...114, 120, 225, 226 Pilot (Leeds and Birmingham Coach) 120, 155, 163, 186, 193, 198, 226 Pilot (Leeds and Newcastle Coach) 195, 226 Pilot (York and Liverpool Coach) 114, 226 Pledge (Yorlc and Newcastle Coach) ... ... ... 82, 226 Poole, Tom... ... ... ... 79 Postboys, Father of the Old York- shire ... ... ... ... 38 Postbo\s' Modus OpeTiiiidi, the Old 37,38 Postboys, Old ... 32, 36, 37, 51 Postboys"', "The Three Jolly ... 52 Postboys' Trials and Hardships ... 89 Post-Chaise Inn, Leeds ... ... 144 Post Office, Tadcaster, the Old 56, 60 Powell, Bob ... ... ... 195 Powell, Mr. ... ... ... 195 Prince Regent (Leeds and London Coach) 171. 172, 226 Proctor, Thomas ... 196 Progress of Stage Coaching 5 — 12 Providence (Leeds and Thorparcli Coach) 187, 226 Providence (York and Selby Coach) 84 Pulleyn, Mr 68 Pye, Thomas PAGE 29 Quicksilver (Leeds and Iludders- field Coach) ... 198, 226, 227 Railway (Knaresbro" and Mickle- field Coach) ... ... ... 227 Ram Inn, Doncaster ... ... 30 Raper, Tommy ... ... ... 84 Rapid (Harrogate and Thirsk Coach)... ... ... 120, 227 Rapid (Leeds and York Coach) 167, 227 Rate of Travelling... ... 8, 12, 13 Rayner, J. ... ... ... 169, 173 Ray, Tommy ... ... ... 104 Read, C. ... ... ... ... 162 Recovery (Leeds and Scarbro' Coach) ... ... ... S3, 227 Recovery (Leeds, York, and Scar- bro' Coach) ... ... 174, 227 Red Bear Inn, Sherburn ... 57. 58- Red House Inn ... ... 41, 42 Red Lion Inn, Doncaster... 12, 28 Red Rover (Leeds and Halifax Coach) ... 174, 227 Red Rover (Leeds and Newcastle Coach) 104, 125, 126, 128, 129, 182 Red Rover (Leeds and Shefiiield Coach) 206, 228 Regulator (Leeds and Manchester Coach) 164, 190, 191 Reindeer Inn, Doncaster ... ... 30 Rhodes, Richard 196 Riccali, Mr. Joseph ... ... 84 Richardson, W. ... ... ... 145 Ridsdale, George ... 122 Ridsdale, William I2Z Riots, Turnpike ... ... ... il Rippon, ^Yalter, ihc I'irst Coach - builder ... ... 5 Road in England, the Finot 22, 23 Roads, Better State of 12 ?48 TJie Old Coaching Days. Koads. the I'lail State of 6, 8, lo, 139, 140 Koatl V. Kail ... ... 207, 20S Robin Hood Inn, Robin Hood'.s Well 43 Robin Tlootl Inn, York ... ... 84 Robin Hood's Well . 40, 42 Robin Hood's Well to Ferrybridge 44 Rob Roy (Leeds and Sheffield Coach) 198, 228 Robson, Isaac ... ... 83, 84 Robson, Michael ... ... ... 130 1 iijket (Leeds and Harrogate Coach) 19S, 22S Kockingham (Leeds, Bradford, and Halifa.K Coach)... ... 206, 22S RiK-1-iii^ham (Leeds, York, and 1 hill Coaches) ... ... 196,228 Rockingham, llie 22, 30, 51, 199 — 203 Rodney (Leeds and Thorparch Coach) ... ... ... 22S, 229 Rodney (London and Hull Coach) 228 Rooler, John ... ... ... 42 Roscoe, Mrs. Elizabeth ... 80, 81 Rose and Crown Inn, Easingwold 86, 87 Rose and Crown, Leeds 104, 126, 153, 155, 175 to 1S2 Rose and Crown, Leeds, Principal Coaches from ... ... ... 179 Rose ^ind Crown, Tadcaster 59, 60, 61 Ros«ington Bridge Inn and Toll 15^ir 23, 24 ]\()S.>ington Bridge to Doncaster ... 24 Royal Charlotte (Leeds and Borough bridge Coach)... 181, 229 Royal Forester (Dewsbmy and Leeds Coach) ... ... ... 229 Royal Forester (Doncasier and Nottingham Coach) 229 Royal Forester (Leeds and Ferry- bridge Coach) ... ... ... 229 Royal Hotel, Leeds 146, 147, 153, 155, 156, 158 Royal Sovereign (Leeds and Wake- field Coach) ... ... 206, Royal Sovereign (Leeds and York Coach) ... ... ... 114, Royal Wharfedale (York and Liver- jiool Coach) Ruby (Leeds and Harrogate Coich) 198, Ruildock, John Rusby, Samuel ... ... 50, Saddle Inn, Leeds... 165, 166, Sanden, George .Schofield, Jerry Scotch Corner lo Westmoreland 132, 45. Scotch Drovers .Scott (Coachman) ... Scott, Jerry .Scot', Joe ... Scolt, Mr. Fenton 116, Scott, Mrs 88, Scrooby, Inn, Old ... Senior, (}eorge Shambles, Leeds, Back of the ... Shepherd, John, Postboy, North- allerton ... Sherburn Ship Inn, Briggate... .Shipton Shutt, Catterick Bridge Postboy ... Simpson, Bill, Po~,tboy, North- allerton ... Simpson, Bob, Catterick Bridge Postboy ... Simpson, Charlie, Postboy, North- allerton ... Simpson, Mrs. Elizabeth ... Smith, James, Doncaster Postboy Smith, John... Smith, John... Smith, Robert ... 102, 104, Soulsby, Ralph, Stage Coachman 229 229 230 230 45 . 51 167 125 62 133 117 105 196 126 117 103 20 42 175 lOI 57 186 .^5 130 130 lOI I S3 39 116 176 107 105 Index. 249 lAGK Sowerby, Mrs. Mary ... ... Si Spedding, George ... ... ... 128 Spink, Thomas ... ... ... 144 Sporting element at the Talbot, Leeds ... ... ... ••• 1S3 Stage Wagg ns ... ...5, 1S9, 190 Stanuel, Mr. ... ... ... 12 Star and Gaiter Inn, Leed^ 102, 1S5 Steam Packet Company's York and Selby Coach ... ... 84 Stephenson, WilHam ... ... 22 Stevenson, Mr. ... ... ... 88 St. Lcger Results ... ... ... S3 Stoney, \Ym. ... ... 169, 170 Stott, Dr. Hugh 120 Strickland, Mr 1S5 Surprise (Leeds and Manchester Coach) ... ... ... 184, 230 Swan and Talbot Inn, Welheiby 113, 114, 116 Swan Inn, Aberford ... 109, no Swan Inn, Bawtry, The Old 14, 20 Swan Inn, Ferrybridge ... ... 49 Swan Inn, Leeds ... ... .. iSo Tadcaster ... ... ... 59 to 63 Tadcaster to York ... ... ... 64 Talbot Inn, Leeds ... 1S2, 1S3, iS| Tally-ho (Leeds and Ripon Coach) 206, 230 Tally-ho (York and 1 1 arrogate Coach) ... ... ... 77, 230 Tantivy (Leeds and Manchester Coach) ... ... ... 196, 230 Tate, Wm. ... ... ... ... 61 Taylor, Holy ... ... ... 195 Taylor, Mr.... ... ... ... 83 Teazle (Leeds and Harrogate Coach) ... ... .. 174, 230 Telegrapli (Leeds and Birmingham Coach) ... ... 162, 163, 165 Telegraph (Leeds and Newcastle Co.icli) 125, 127, 132, 151, 153, 206 Telegrap'i (Leeds and Manchester Coach) ... ... ... ... 155 Terry, James, Postboy ... ... 51 The Irishman and Chesterfield .Steeple... ... ... ... 202 The .Swearing Postboy and the Wnlitrby Magistrates 117 Thirsk ... ... ... 92 to 98 Thirsk to Northallerton ... ... 99 Thomas' Hotel, York ... ... 79 Thomas, Stephen ... ... ... 61 Thomas, \Yilliam ... ... ... 125 Thompson ... ... ... ... 61 Thompson, William ... ... 107 Thoresby, Ralph ... ... 7, 183 Thornton, Old, Northallerton Post- boy ... ... ... ... lOI Thornton, Thomas... ... ... 1S3 Thormanby... ... ... ... 91 Three Tuns Inn, Thirsk ... 92, 93, 97 Thwaites, William... ... ... 49 Times (Leeds and Newcastle Coach) 96, 127, 172, 173, 195 Times (Leeds and Nottingham Coach) 196, 231 Times (York and .Shields Coach) 77,88 Tiplady, York Postboy ... ... 77 Toll Bars Destroyed ... ... 142 Tontine (Leeds and London Coach) 176, I So Topham, Christopher ... ... 183 Townsend, John, Stage Coachman 182 Tiadesman (Leeds and Wakefield Coach) 196, 231 Trafalgar (Manchester, York, and Hull Coach) ... 77, 156, 182, 231 Trafalgar (York and Newcastle Coach) 231 Transit (York and Sheffield Coach) 77. 231 Tr.iveller (Leeds and Bradford Coach) 186, 231 250 TJic Old Coacliiiig Days. Traveller (Leeds and Harmgate Coach) jS6, 231 Travelling, early ... ... ... 5 True Blue (Knaresborough ami Selby Coach) ... ... ... 231 True Blue (Leeds and Bradford Coach) .. 167, 231 True Blue (Leeds and Scarbru' Coach) The Old n. 184, 199, 204, 205 True Blue (Leeds and WakefieM Coach) 1S6, 1S7 True Briton (Bradford and Leech Coach) ... ... ... ... 232 True Briton (Halifax and ILan-ogiJe Coach) ... ... ... 184, 232 True Briton (Leeds and Kendal Coach) ... ... ... ... 232 True Biiton (Leeds and London Coach) 155, 1S5, 1S6 True Briton (Leeds and .Scarbro' Coach) ... ... ... 61, 77 True Briton (Leeds and Wakefie'd Coach) 232, 233 True Briton (Manchester, "\"ork, and Hull Coach) 77, 192, 193 True Briton (Wakefield and Hull Coach) ... ... ... ... 232 Turnbull, T. ... ... ... 170 Turner, Thomas ... ... ... 164 Turnpike Riots ... 11, 140, 142, 143 Turnpike Road Acts ...8, 140, (41 Turnpike Roads, Lnprovements in 144 Tweedie, Mr. William ... ... 107 Umpire (Leeds and Harrogate Coach) ... ... ... 174, 235 Umpire (Leeds and Manchester Coach) 235 Umpire (Leeds and Scarbro' Coach) S3, 84, 196, 235 Umpire (York and Wensleydale Coach) 83, 235 Union, Accident to the Leeds ... 173 Union (Hull, Leeds, and Liverpool Coach) 196, 234, 235 Union Lin, Briggate, Leeds ... 1S6 Union (Leeds and Bradford Coach) 174, 234 Union (Leeds and Ilkley Coach)... 235 Union (Leeds and Kendal Coach) 164, 233 Union (Leeds and Liverpool Coach) 174, 196, 234 Union (Leeds and Manchester Coach) ... ... 234 Union (Leeds and Ripon Coach) 174, -^V:, Union (Leeds and Scarbro' Coach) S3 Union (Leeds and Selby Coach) 195. 234 Union (Leeds and Sheffield Coach) iSi, 233 Union (Leedsand Wakefield Coach) 174, 234 Union (Leeds and York Coach) 196, 206, 234 Union (London and Newcastle Coach) 172, 173, 232, 233 Union (Scarbro' and Shefifield Coach) 77, Si Union, The Leeds and London 29, 162, 171, 172, 173, 233 Union (York and Harrogate Coach) ^Z, 233 Union (York and Hull Coach) S3. 196, 233 Yarley, Tom, alias Tom Croom ... 52 Victoria (Leeds and Mancliester Coach) ... ... ... ... 167 Victoria (York and Newcastle Coach) 96, 235 Vincent, Mr. Samuel ... 153, 155 Volunteer (Leeds and Liverpool Coach) 206, 235 Wade, Sarah 199 Wade, William 199 Waggons, Stage 5, 1S9, 190 Waites, Tom ... ... ... 84 Index. 2U PAGE Walshford Bridge "9 Ward, William ... ■■• iH '91 Wardle, George i6o, i6i Waterloo (Leedsand Halifax Coach) i8i, 236 Waterloo (Leeds and London Coach) 206, 235, 236 Watling Street 123 Watson, Jimmy, Ferrybridge Post boy Waterwitch (Bradford and Leed Coach) ... 52 2^6 Waterwitch (York and Nottingham Coach) 77> 236 Wellington (Yorkand Leeds Coach) 77, 164, 236 Wellington, The 29, 49> 52, 59, 87> 96, 105, 106 Wellington, The end of the ... 105 Wellmgton (Wakefield and Leeds Coach) ... Wentbridge... Wetherby ... Wetherby to Boroughbridge Wharfedale Bee Wheels, Broad Whitaker, James Whitaker, Richard White Cross Inn, Leeds ... White Horse Inn, Barnby Moor.. 236 44, 45 113—117 118, 119 196, 236 ... II ... 27 ... 26 ... 186 17 PAGE White Horse Inn, Leeds 153, 154, 159, 167—174, 1S5, 193, 205 White Horse Inn, Tadcaster 59 — 62 White Horse Inn, York ... 79, 80 White Swan Inn, York .. 66, 81, 82 Wilkinson, Mr 3° William IV. (Leedsand Knottingley Coach) 182, 236 Wilson, Dr. Robert 198 Wilson Mr 116— 117 Winn, Mrs 77 I Woodcock, Mr 12, 27 Woodhead's Famous Bay Mare, Mr. 38 Wood, Mr. Richard 30 31, 204, 205 Wood, Mr. William 151 Woodpecker (Leeds and Pudsey Coach) 184, 236, 237 Wonder (Leeds and Pontefract Coach) 186, 236 Wrigglesworth, F. ... ... ... 7^ Yates, Father and Son, Doncaster Postboys... ■•• ••• ■•■ 39 York Bar and Inn ■-. ■•. ••. 4^ York Coaching Inns 66 Yorkshire, Coaching in 14 Yorkshire Hussar (York and Ripon Coach) S3, 237 York Tavern 65, 67, 68 York to Easingwold ... ... 85 JOHN SMITH, The Brewery FA DC ASTER. -^^^l^ri^.^^x^u ^-X^'^^^-I^Jt Celebrated Ales and Stouts. AWARDED SIX GOLD MEDALS. THE YORKSHIRE POST, The leading Conservative Organ in the North of England, Pltblished Daily, Price ONE PENNY, Has a larger circulation than any other Newspaper in the Provinces, and circulates throughout Yorkshire, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, and Durham. Aboiii 3,000 copies are sent daily through the post to the nobility, gentry, land- oivners, partners, and professional men in the counties mentioned. No efforts are spared to obtain the latest and most reliable information in every department of news. A special staff of reporters is maintained in the Houses of Parliament, for the purpose of giving full and complete reports of the proceedings, which are transmitted over two private wires, connecting the Branch Office in London with the Head Office. The commercial intelligence is unsurpassed for fulness and accuracy. Great care and attention is paid to sports of every description, and the paper is considered the best authority in the North of England on cricket,, football, lawn tennis, and racing. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION FOR PAPERS SENT BY POST, 10/6 PER QUARTER, PAYABLE IN ADVANCE. UNEQUALLED AS AN ADYERTISING MEDIUM In the districts in which it circulates. Head Office: ALBION STREET, LEEDS. Branch Office: 49, FLEET STREET, LONDON. Branch Office: 73, ^lYTONGATE, HULL. THE YORKSHIRE WEEKLY POST, AN EXCELLENT FAMILY NEWSPAPER, (With Illustrations,) PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY, PRICE ONE PENNY, CONTAINS : — Serial Stories by the best authors of the day, WHICH HAVE INCLUDED Rider Haggard, Wilkie Collins, Miss Braddon, Walter Besant, Mrs. Oliphant, Marion Crawford, Hall Caine, John Clark Russell, Mrs. Bourton Marshall ; Special Articles on Social and Scientific Subjects ; Echoes of Fashion ; Angling Notes, written in a humorous and interesting style ; Extracts from the best Magazines ; American Wit and Humour; Household Recipes; Artistic, Antiquarian, and Agricultural Notes ; Walnuts and Wine, — Gossip on Current Events ; And Summary of the Week's News. SeNI' 1!V POSI' TO ANY ADDRESS FOR 3/6 PER HaLF-YEAR, Payable in Advance. DISEASES & DISORDERS OF THE HORSE, By Messrs. GRESS\VELL, of Louth. Dedicated by permission to Lord Randolph Churchill. A Treatise on Equine Medicine and Surgery, REVISED FROM ARTICLES ON "STABLE MEDICINE and SURGERY," WHICH APPEARED IN ^'THE YORKSHIRE WEEKLY POST." PRICE FIVE SHILLINGS. A" handbook designed for the use of veterinarj' practitioners and students no less than for that of all who have to do with horses. As the title implies, it deals with all the more general ailments and maladies which affect the most valuab.e and serviceable of our dornesticated animals. Ihe work is written with the view of dispelling in some degree the clouds of ignorance which still so largely hang around the Art and Science of Veterinary Medicine and Surge.'y in the public mind, and as such will be of great value to all horsemen who wish to be in possession of the most receni knowledge relating thereto. " The book is a verita' le encyclopaedia of matters relating to the horse and its diseases, and as such calculated to be widely useful. I'o experts the w-ork will be of great value, while, to the general body of people interested in horses it will be a guide on which in the absence of skilled professional assistance they may rely with confidence." — The Nottingliam Guardian. " In the many works on the Diseases and Disorders of the Horse, one of the most valuable is that which has just been written by Albert Gresswell and James Brodie Gresswell, M.R.C.V.S. One great beauty of the work, which is dedicated to Lord Randolph Chiirchill, is the simple langu.ige used by the waiters ; and, where necessary, in order to explain the subject, plates : re given. It is a book that should have a large sale amongst those Interested in horses." — Sport.ng 'J'iiiics. "Landed proprietors, farmers, and manufacturers, and, indeed all who keep horses for purposes of either pleasure or profit will find within the pages now before us a clear resume of the more important ailments, medical and surgical, to which the horse is li.-ible."—7'//t' Montkly Alagazine oj P/iarinacy, Chemistry, and Medicine. " O.iginally the papers appeared in the columns of The^ Vorkshiie Weekly Post, one of the best new.p.ipci" authorities on equine subjects." — Publishers' Circular. LEEDS: "THE YORKSHIRE POST," Albion Street; And ALL Booksellers. 4 n ^ f University ol Calilornia, Los Anget L 005 213 863 3 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY AA 000 929 772 2