A coach was originally a large, usually closed, four-wheeled carriage with two or more horses harnessed as a team, driven by a coachman. It had doors in the sides, with generally a front and a back seat inside and, for the driver, a small, usually elevated seat in front called a coach box. The name probably came from the Hungarian kocsi, a wagon from the village of Kocs, Hungary.[1] A coach with four horses is a coach-and-four.[2] A coach together with the horses, harness and attendants is a turnout.[3] A coach might have a built-in compartment called a boot, used originally as a seat for the coachman and later for storage. A luggage case for the top of a coach was called an imperial; the top, roof or second-story compartment of a coach was also known as an imperial.[4] The front and rear axles were connected by a main shaft called the perch or reach. A crossbar known as a splinter bar supported the springs. Coaches were often decorated by painters using a sable brush called a liner.
Types of coaches
There are a number of coach types, including:
- araba, aroba or arba: used in Turkey and neighboring countries
- charabanc or char-à-banc: usually open, originally having several rows of seats extending across its width and facing forward
- coachee: American, shaped like a coach but longer and open in front
- Concord coach: large, closed, horse-drawn; body swung on thorough braces, driver's seat outside in front, covered baggage compartment at the rear
- drag or park drag: private, seats on top, usually drawn by four horses
- fly: horse-drawn, public
- funeral coach: hearse
- hack or hackney: let for hire
- hackney coach or jarvey: used as a hackney carriage; especially, one with four wheels, drawn by two horses, seats for six persons
- fiacre: small
- rumble-tumble: heavy, moves with a deep rumbling sound
- stagecoach: heavy, usually four-in-hand, closed; formerly made regular trips between stations, carrying passengers and goods
- mail coach or post coach: used for carrying the mails
- mud wagon: lighter and smaller than the Concord coach, flat sides, simpler joinery
- road coach: revived in England during the last half of the 19th century
- tally-ho: a four-in-hand (the Tally-ho was the name of a coach that once plied between London and Birmingham)
- whirlicote: heavy, luxurious
The principal ceremonial coaches in the United Kingdom are the Gold State Coach, Irish State Coach and Scottish State Coach.
Coach miscellany
The business of a coachman (or coachee, formerly coacher) was to drive a coach. He was also called a jarvey or jarvie, especially in Ireland (Jarvey was a nickname for Jarvis). If he drove dangerously fast or recklessly he was a jehu (from Jehu, king of Israel, who was noted for his furious attacks in a chariot (2 Kings 9:20), or a Phaeton (from Greek Phaëton, son of Helios, who attempted to drive the chariot of the sun but managed to set the earth on fire). A postilion or postillion sometimes rode as a guide on the near horse of a pair or of one of the pairs attached to a coach, especially when there was no coachman. A guard on a horse-drawn coach was called a shooter. Traveling by coach, or pleasure driving in a coach, as in a tally-ho, was called coaching. In driving a coach, the coachman used a coachwhip, usually provided with a long lash. Coachmen and coach passengers might have worn a coach coat, a heavy overcoat with or without shoulder capes. A hammercloth, ornamented and often fringed, sometimes hung over the coachman's seat, especially on a ceremonial coach.[5] A coach horse or coacher is used or adapted for drawing a coach, as it is typically heavier and of more compact build than a road horse, and exhibits good style and action. Breeds include:
- German coach: large, rather coarse, heavy draft horse or harness horse; bay, brown or black in color
- Yorkshire coach horse: large, strong, bay or brown; dark legs, mane and tail; belongs to an English breed derived largely from the Cleveland bay
Sometimes an extra horse, called a cockhorse, was led behind a coach so that it could be hitched before the regular team to assist in passing over steep or difficult terrain. The Dalmatian is also known as a coach dog or carriage dog, because it was formerly used to run in attendance on a coach. A coach house was a building for keeping a private carriage in and it often also included stabling for the horses and accommodation for coachman, groom or other servants; it was usually an outbuilding on an estate or adjacent to a large house. A coaching inn, also called coaching house, located along a route followed by horse-drawn coaches, served coach travelers and offered stabling for the horses of stagecoaches and a place to change horses.
References
- ^ Translation coach in Collins English Dictionary & Thesaurus
- ^ Definition of coach-and-four by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.
- ^ Definition of turnout - Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.
- ^ Definition of imperial by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.
- ^ Hammercloth — Infoplease.com
