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      • 48 A.D. to 410 A.D. Roman Period
      • 410 A.D. To 850 A.D. Early Medieval
      • 850 A.D. to 1350 A.D. High Medieval
      • 1350 A.D. to 1750 A.D. Early Modern
      • 1750 A.D. to 1945 A.D. Industrial
    • The Romans
    • The Danes
    • Conflict in Lincoln
      • The Battle of Lincoln
      • The Battle of Lincoln Fair
      • The Civil War
    • Lincoln's Reformation
    • 1790 Poll Book
    • Lincoln in 1810
    • The By-Election of 1823
    • Lincoln in 1855
    • 1903 Horse Fair
  • PEOPLE
    • Business & Professional
      • Akrill to Brogden
      • Brook to Dashper
      • Dickinson to Dyke
      • Ellison
      • Folley to Gresham
      • Hall to Hill
      • Hughes to Nelson
      • Newsum to Porter
      • Pratt to Seeley
      • Shuttleworth to Watkins
      • Watkins to Woodcook
      • Wriglesworth to Wyatt
    • City Mayors
      • 1314 to 1500
      • 1501 to 1700
      • 1701 to 1900
      • 1901 to
    • Architects
    • Bishops of Lincoln
    • Royal Visitors
    • Leonard James Keyworth, V.C.
    • James Anderton
    • Caroline Martyn
    • Lincoln Characters
    • The Italian Stone Man
    • They Gave Their Lives
    • Population
      • Population 1801 to 1901
      • Acreage and Population of Lincolnshire 1801 and 1871
    • Memories of Lincoln
  • PLACES
    • Street Names
      • 1872 Lincoln Street Directory
      • 1872 LIncoln Trade & Professional Directory
    • Domestic Buildings
      • Atton Place
      • Jews Court
      • Bracebridge Hall
        • Bracebridge Hall Club
      • Beaumont House
      • High Bridge
    • The Lost Houses of Lincoln
      • Boultham Hall
      • Cold Bath House
      • Eastcliffe House
      • Eastgate House
      • Hartsholme Hall
      • Monks Manor
      • Monks Tower
      • Sibthorp House
      • The Old House on Corporation Street
    • Places to visit in Lincoln
      • More Places to Visit in Lincoln
      • Around Lincoln
    • Religious Buildings
      • Lincoln Cathedral
      • The Churches
        • St Benedict and Old Kate
        • St Peter at Arches and St Giles Church
        • Lincoln Churches at the Reformation
      • The Close
      • The Priories & Friaries
      • The Malandry
      • Greestone Stairs
    • Entertainment
      • Lincolns Lost Cinemas
      • More Lost Cinemas
      • Pub, Inns, Hotels of Lincoln
        • The Dolphins
      • Horse Racing
      • Usher Gallery & Temple Gardens.
    • Other Buildings
      • Half Timbered Lincoln
      • Lincoln Castle
      • Lincoln's Gates
      • Lincoln Lunatic Asylum
      • The Bridge of Sighs
      • The Stonebow & Guildhall
    • Open Spaces
      • The Arboretum
      • The South Common
      • Boultham Park
      • Hartsholme Country Park
      • Steep Hill
      • Witham Valley Country Park
      • The Hidden Necropolis
    • Buildings of Local Importance
    • Lincoln's Listed Buildings
  • COMPANIES
    • Akrill to Penney
      • Akrill, Ruddock & Keyworth
      • Charles Duckering Ltd
      • Clarkes Crank & Forge
      • Clayton, Shuttleworth & Co
      • Doughty, Son & Richardson Ltd
      • F P Watson
      • H Newsum & Sons Ltd
      • Henry Poppleton & Sons
      • James Dawson & Son Ltd
      • John Cooke & Son (Lincoln) Limited
      • Lincoln Gas, Light and Coke Co
      • Mawer & Collingham
      • Penney & Co
    • Penney Porter to W Rainforth
      • Penney & Porter (1932) Ltd
      • JTB Porter & Co
      • R M Wright & Co Ltd
      • Robey
      • Ruston, Proctor & Co
      • Ruston & Hornsby Ltd
      • W Foster & Co
      • W Rainforth & Sons Ltd
      • More Companies
    • Old Adverts
      • 1853 Adverts
      • 1885 Adverts
      • 1901 Adverts
      • 1919 Adverts
      • 1941 Adverts
  • TRANSPORT
    • Foss Dyke
    • Mail Coach to London
    • The Horse Trams
    • The Electric Trams
  • WHAT THEY SAY
    • Quotes From the Famous
    • An American Tourists Perspective
    • Nathaniel Hawthorne
    • City of My Dreams
  • USEFUL LINKS
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    • Events In Lincoln
    • Facebook Pages & Groups
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  • MAPS, IMAGES & VIDEOS
    • Photo Galleries
      • Greyfriars
      • Some Less Notable Buildings
      • More Less Notable Buildings
      • Look Up, Look Down, Look Around
    • A High Street Journey
    • A Journey Around Brayford Pool
    • Old Images of Lincoln
      • High Street, High Bridge and Stonebow
      • Lincoln's Waterside
      • Brayford
      • High Street - St Benedicts Square to St Mary Street
      • Steep Hill & Strait
      • Broadgate
      • The Bail
      • Lincoln Cathedral
      • Waterside - Stamp End
      • Silver Street
    • Lincoln Videos
    • Maps
      • Map Of Roman Lincoln
      • Lincoln in 12th c
      • Map of the Battle of Lincoln
      • Lincoln Map 1722
      • Lincoln Map 1779
      • Lincoln Map 1882
      • LIncoln Map 1898
      • Lincoln Map Early 20th Century
  • BOOKS ABOUT LINCOLN
    • It's About Lincoln books
    • Lincoln in Fiction
    • MY BLOGS
      • It's About Lincoln Blog
      • It's About Lincolnshire Blog
      • List of Blogposts
  • LINCOLNSHIRE
    • A Historical Description of the County of Lincolnshire
  • HOME
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Copyright
  • Most Popular Pages/Articles
  • HISTORY
    • How Did Lincoln Get Its Name
    • Timeline of Lincoln's History
      • 48 A.D. to 410 A.D. Roman Period
      • 410 A.D. To 850 A.D. Early Medieval
      • 850 A.D. to 1350 A.D. High Medieval
      • 1350 A.D. to 1750 A.D. Early Modern
      • 1750 A.D. to 1945 A.D. Industrial
    • The Romans
    • The Danes
    • Conflict in Lincoln
      • The Battle of Lincoln
      • The Battle of Lincoln Fair
      • The Civil War
    • Lincoln's Reformation
    • 1790 Poll Book
    • Lincoln in 1810
    • The By-Election of 1823
    • Lincoln in 1855
    • 1903 Horse Fair
  • PEOPLE
    • Business & Professional
      • Akrill to Brogden
      • Brook to Dashper
      • Dickinson to Dyke
      • Ellison
      • Folley to Gresham
      • Hall to Hill
      • Hughes to Nelson
      • Newsum to Porter
      • Pratt to Seeley
      • Shuttleworth to Watkins
      • Watkins to Woodcook
      • Wriglesworth to Wyatt
    • City Mayors
      • 1314 to 1500
      • 1501 to 1700
      • 1701 to 1900
      • 1901 to
    • Architects
    • Bishops of Lincoln
    • Royal Visitors
    • Leonard James Keyworth, V.C.
    • James Anderton
    • Caroline Martyn
    • Lincoln Characters
    • The Italian Stone Man
    • They Gave Their Lives
    • Population
      • Population 1801 to 1901
      • Acreage and Population of Lincolnshire 1801 and 1871
    • Memories of Lincoln
  • PLACES
    • Street Names
      • 1872 Lincoln Street Directory
      • 1872 LIncoln Trade & Professional Directory
    • Domestic Buildings
      • Atton Place
      • Jews Court
      • Bracebridge Hall
        • Bracebridge Hall Club
      • Beaumont House
      • High Bridge
    • The Lost Houses of Lincoln
      • Boultham Hall
      • Cold Bath House
      • Eastcliffe House
      • Eastgate House
      • Hartsholme Hall
      • Monks Manor
      • Monks Tower
      • Sibthorp House
      • The Old House on Corporation Street
    • Places to visit in Lincoln
      • More Places to Visit in Lincoln
      • Around Lincoln
    • Religious Buildings
      • Lincoln Cathedral
      • The Churches
        • St Benedict and Old Kate
        • St Peter at Arches and St Giles Church
        • Lincoln Churches at the Reformation
      • The Close
      • The Priories & Friaries
      • The Malandry
      • Greestone Stairs
    • Entertainment
      • Lincolns Lost Cinemas
      • More Lost Cinemas
      • Pub, Inns, Hotels of Lincoln
        • The Dolphins
      • Horse Racing
      • Usher Gallery & Temple Gardens.
    • Other Buildings
      • Half Timbered Lincoln
      • Lincoln Castle
      • Lincoln's Gates
      • Lincoln Lunatic Asylum
      • The Bridge of Sighs
      • The Stonebow & Guildhall
    • Open Spaces
      • The Arboretum
      • The South Common
      • Boultham Park
      • Hartsholme Country Park
      • Steep Hill
      • Witham Valley Country Park
      • The Hidden Necropolis
    • Buildings of Local Importance
    • Lincoln's Listed Buildings
  • COMPANIES
    • Akrill to Penney
      • Akrill, Ruddock & Keyworth
      • Charles Duckering Ltd
      • Clarkes Crank & Forge
      • Clayton, Shuttleworth & Co
      • Doughty, Son & Richardson Ltd
      • F P Watson
      • H Newsum & Sons Ltd
      • Henry Poppleton & Sons
      • James Dawson & Son Ltd
      • John Cooke & Son (Lincoln) Limited
      • Lincoln Gas, Light and Coke Co
      • Mawer & Collingham
      • Penney & Co
    • Penney Porter to W Rainforth
      • Penney & Porter (1932) Ltd
      • JTB Porter & Co
      • R M Wright & Co Ltd
      • Robey
      • Ruston, Proctor & Co
      • Ruston & Hornsby Ltd
      • W Foster & Co
      • W Rainforth & Sons Ltd
      • More Companies
    • Old Adverts
      • 1853 Adverts
      • 1885 Adverts
      • 1901 Adverts
      • 1919 Adverts
      • 1941 Adverts
  • TRANSPORT
    • Foss Dyke
    • Mail Coach to London
    • The Horse Trams
    • The Electric Trams
  • WHAT THEY SAY
    • Quotes From the Famous
    • An American Tourists Perspective
    • Nathaniel Hawthorne
    • City of My Dreams
  • USEFUL LINKS
    • Local Links
    • UK Links
    • Events In Lincoln
    • Facebook Pages & Groups
    • Photographic Links
  • MAPS, IMAGES & VIDEOS
    • Photo Galleries
      • Greyfriars
      • Some Less Notable Buildings
      • More Less Notable Buildings
      • Look Up, Look Down, Look Around
    • A High Street Journey
    • A Journey Around Brayford Pool
    • Old Images of Lincoln
      • High Street, High Bridge and Stonebow
      • Lincoln's Waterside
      • Brayford
      • High Street - St Benedicts Square to St Mary Street
      • Steep Hill & Strait
      • Broadgate
      • The Bail
      • Lincoln Cathedral
      • Waterside - Stamp End
      • Silver Street
    • Lincoln Videos
    • Maps
      • Map Of Roman Lincoln
      • Lincoln in 12th c
      • Map of the Battle of Lincoln
      • Lincoln Map 1722
      • Lincoln Map 1779
      • Lincoln Map 1882
      • LIncoln Map 1898
      • Lincoln Map Early 20th Century
  • BOOKS ABOUT LINCOLN
    • It's About Lincoln books
    • Lincoln in Fiction
    • MY BLOGS
      • It's About Lincoln Blog
      • It's About Lincolnshire Blog
      • List of Blogposts
  • LINCOLNSHIRE
    • A Historical Description of the County of Lincolnshire

Mail Coach to London

Picture
The Stonebow and Guildhall, Lincoln. Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection.
Before the arrival of the railways getting from point A to point B wasn't easy. Walking was probably the most common form of travel for most people, travelling by horse was for those who could afford it but the more fortunate would travel by Mail Coach.

The Mail Coach came into being in the late 18th century.  Until 1794 all mail was delivered countrywide on horseback, in that year the first mailcoach was was inaugurated on the London to Bath route.  The first Lincoln mailcoach began running in 1801. Stagecoaches ran from the early 17th but, generally, they were not as comfortable, lacking in any suspension, a journey from Manchester to London would take four and a half days, as the mailcoaches and were often owned by the landlord/proprietor of the inns from which they operated.
The period from 1810 to 1830 was the "Golden Age" of coach travel, road surfaces had improved and coaches could attain average speeds of 12 mph, a much faster journey than previously.

​This is a record of the Journey by mail coach from Lincoln to London, before the arrival of the railway:

"Leaving Lincoln by the mail at 2 p.m., supping at Peterborough at 9, the traveller, after composing himself for an uneasy slumber about Yaxley Barracks (from whence the waters of Whittlesea Mere might be seen shimmering in the moonlight), grumbling through a weary night at the obstinate legs of his opposite neighbour, and sorely pinched in the small of the back, was only delivered, cold and cross, at the Spread Eagle, Gracechurch Street, about 5 the next morning. He had then the choice of going to bed, with feet like ice, in a fireless room, opening out on an open-air gallery (where a box was fixed for the barber to shave travellers), or of sulking in a fusty coffee-room till the waiters were astir and the world was aired." - The Lincoln Pocket Guide, Sir Charles H J Anderson.
Fifteen hours to London may seem slow to us today but in the 1840s it must have been quite rapid.  People made their wills before they were "received into the York stage-coach, which performed the journey to London (if God permitted) in four days."
​

In 1786 the cost of a coach from Lincoln to London via Newark, Grantham, Stamford, etc. was £1 11s 6d (£1.58) for inside passengers and 15s 9d (£0.79) for the less fortunate on the outside.  To put the price into perspective, in 1797 an agricultural labourer earned £30.03 per annum and surgeons £174.95 per annum.
Mail coaches continued into the 1840s but the arrival about this time of the railways spelled the end of this "romantic" form of travel.
Picture
Coaches from Lincoln in 1828
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  • HOME
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Copyright
  • Most Popular Pages/Articles
  • HISTORY
    • How Did Lincoln Get Its Name
    • Timeline of Lincoln's History
      • 48 A.D. to 410 A.D. Roman Period
      • 410 A.D. To 850 A.D. Early Medieval
      • 850 A.D. to 1350 A.D. High Medieval
      • 1350 A.D. to 1750 A.D. Early Modern
      • 1750 A.D. to 1945 A.D. Industrial
    • The Romans
    • The Danes
    • Conflict in Lincoln
      • The Battle of Lincoln
      • The Battle of Lincoln Fair
      • The Civil War
    • Lincoln's Reformation
    • 1790 Poll Book
    • Lincoln in 1810
    • The By-Election of 1823
    • Lincoln in 1855
    • 1903 Horse Fair
  • PEOPLE
    • Business & Professional
      • Akrill to Brogden
      • Brook to Dashper
      • Dickinson to Dyke
      • Ellison
      • Folley to Gresham
      • Hall to Hill
      • Hughes to Nelson
      • Newsum to Porter
      • Pratt to Seeley
      • Shuttleworth to Watkins
      • Watkins to Woodcook
      • Wriglesworth to Wyatt
    • City Mayors
      • 1314 to 1500
      • 1501 to 1700
      • 1701 to 1900
      • 1901 to
    • Architects
    • Bishops of Lincoln
    • Royal Visitors
    • Leonard James Keyworth, V.C.
    • James Anderton
    • Caroline Martyn
    • Lincoln Characters
    • The Italian Stone Man
    • They Gave Their Lives
    • Population
      • Population 1801 to 1901
      • Acreage and Population of Lincolnshire 1801 and 1871
    • Memories of Lincoln
  • PLACES
    • Street Names
      • 1872 Lincoln Street Directory
      • 1872 LIncoln Trade & Professional Directory
    • Domestic Buildings
      • Atton Place
      • Jews Court
      • Bracebridge Hall
        • Bracebridge Hall Club
      • Beaumont House
      • High Bridge
    • The Lost Houses of Lincoln
      • Boultham Hall
      • Cold Bath House
      • Eastcliffe House
      • Eastgate House
      • Hartsholme Hall
      • Monks Manor
      • Monks Tower
      • Sibthorp House
      • The Old House on Corporation Street
    • Places to visit in Lincoln
      • More Places to Visit in Lincoln
      • Around Lincoln
    • Religious Buildings
      • Lincoln Cathedral
      • The Churches
        • St Benedict and Old Kate
        • St Peter at Arches and St Giles Church
        • Lincoln Churches at the Reformation
      • The Close
      • The Priories & Friaries
      • The Malandry
      • Greestone Stairs
    • Entertainment
      • Lincolns Lost Cinemas
      • More Lost Cinemas
      • Pub, Inns, Hotels of Lincoln
        • The Dolphins
      • Horse Racing
      • Usher Gallery & Temple Gardens.
    • Other Buildings
      • Half Timbered Lincoln
      • Lincoln Castle
      • Lincoln's Gates
      • Lincoln Lunatic Asylum
      • The Bridge of Sighs
      • The Stonebow & Guildhall
    • Open Spaces
      • The Arboretum
      • The South Common
      • Boultham Park
      • Hartsholme Country Park
      • Steep Hill
      • Witham Valley Country Park
      • The Hidden Necropolis
    • Buildings of Local Importance
    • Lincoln's Listed Buildings
  • COMPANIES
    • Akrill to Penney
      • Akrill, Ruddock & Keyworth
      • Charles Duckering Ltd
      • Clarkes Crank & Forge
      • Clayton, Shuttleworth & Co
      • Doughty, Son & Richardson Ltd
      • F P Watson
      • H Newsum & Sons Ltd
      • Henry Poppleton & Sons
      • James Dawson & Son Ltd
      • John Cooke & Son (Lincoln) Limited
      • Lincoln Gas, Light and Coke Co
      • Mawer & Collingham
      • Penney & Co
    • Penney Porter to W Rainforth
      • Penney & Porter (1932) Ltd
      • JTB Porter & Co
      • R M Wright & Co Ltd
      • Robey
      • Ruston, Proctor & Co
      • Ruston & Hornsby Ltd
      • W Foster & Co
      • W Rainforth & Sons Ltd
      • More Companies
    • Old Adverts
      • 1853 Adverts
      • 1885 Adverts
      • 1901 Adverts
      • 1919 Adverts
      • 1941 Adverts
  • TRANSPORT
    • Foss Dyke
    • Mail Coach to London
    • The Horse Trams
    • The Electric Trams
  • WHAT THEY SAY
    • Quotes From the Famous
    • An American Tourists Perspective
    • Nathaniel Hawthorne
    • City of My Dreams
  • USEFUL LINKS
    • Local Links
    • UK Links
    • Events In Lincoln
    • Facebook Pages & Groups
    • Photographic Links
  • MAPS, IMAGES & VIDEOS
    • Photo Galleries
      • Greyfriars
      • Some Less Notable Buildings
      • More Less Notable Buildings
      • Look Up, Look Down, Look Around
    • A High Street Journey
    • A Journey Around Brayford Pool
    • Old Images of Lincoln
      • High Street, High Bridge and Stonebow
      • Lincoln's Waterside
      • Brayford
      • High Street - St Benedicts Square to St Mary Street
      • Steep Hill & Strait
      • Broadgate
      • The Bail
      • Lincoln Cathedral
      • Waterside - Stamp End
      • Silver Street
    • Lincoln Videos
    • Maps
      • Map Of Roman Lincoln
      • Lincoln in 12th c
      • Map of the Battle of Lincoln
      • Lincoln Map 1722
      • Lincoln Map 1779
      • Lincoln Map 1882
      • LIncoln Map 1898
      • Lincoln Map Early 20th Century
  • BOOKS ABOUT LINCOLN
    • It's About Lincoln books
    • Lincoln in Fiction
    • MY BLOGS
      • It's About Lincoln Blog
      • It's About Lincolnshire Blog
      • List of Blogposts
  • LINCOLNSHIRE
    • A Historical Description of the County of Lincolnshire