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Regency Authors Research Pages
Linda Banche
Sources and Notes: I admit, the majority of my sources were the very talented and knowledgeable writers in my RWA Regency group called The Beau Monde. However, other sources are as follows:
19th
Century American Carriages: Their Manufacture, Decoration and Use
The Museums at Stony Brook 19th Century American Carriages, pp. 34-65 Ibid., "Before the Cart: The Relationship Between Horses and Carriages", Ferrell, Merri McIntyre, pp. 154-174 http://members.aol.com/LaFollet/conveyances.htm Getting Around: Carriages in Regency & Victorian Times by Ellen Micheletti |
Bow Street Runners, Legends and Facts Next to Robin Hood’s Merry Men, few other groups inspire images of mystery and intrigue quite as well as Bow Street Runners. They were a unique and unprecedented fighting force that paved the way for the modern police. They are also no longer in existence, and very little is actually known about them. Hence the mystery. And the tragedy. Before they were formed, there was no organized police. The few constables in London were untrained and failed to do much to protect the innocent or bring justice to the guilty. There was a night watch that was supposed to be served on a rotating basis by the men in a particular district, but most working class men wouldn’t or couldn’t be up all night keeping watch. Besides, it was dangerous. So they hired out others to take their turn, often elderly men who needed the money because they could no longer work. These night watchmen typically huddled in groups around the nearest light and hoped no one would harass them. Needless to say, they were too feeble to affect much of a threat to a thief. Therefore, the majority of the arrests were performed by the average citizen. The citizen who’d been wronged had to gather all his own evidence, perform the arrest, drag the person before the magistrate (judge) and convince the magistrate this was their man. Investigator, policeman, and lawyer all in one. A daunting task, to be sure. Although since the accused were considered guilty unless proven innocent, receiving a guilty verdict was usually a no-brainer. Into this ineffective chaos step the Fielding brothers. Henry Fielding was a magistrate who operated his office on Bow Street. In 1750, he organized an elite fighting force of highly trained and disciplined young men known as the Bow Street Runners. Nick-named the “Robins Redbreasts” for their distinctive red waistcoats, they knew how to conduct investigations including a rudimentary forensics, and question witnesses and victims. They even carried handcuffs. How early they began carrying them and wearing the red waistcoats is anyone’s guess but there are Bow Street Runners with handcuffs and red waistcoats in a book by Robert Louis Stevenson. In the early years, there were only six Bow Street Runners in London and for some reason, that number was kept constant. But later, those figures grew and there was even a mounted patrol who protected the highways from the dreaded and dangerous highwaymen. The patrol changed safety, and therefore nature, of travel. While the office of a magistrate belonged exclusively to gentlemen of the nobility or gentry, the Bow Street Runners were working class men. They were smart, skilled and cunning, and hand-picked by the Fielding brothers. Though they typically remained in the London area, there are accounts of them tracking fugitives as far as the Scottish border. They drew a modest salary from Bow Street, so most of their pay came in the form of a bounty or reward, usually paid by the victim or a group who had a vested interest in solving the crime. Runners could also be hired out to conduct special investigations, or act as body guards. I have found no evidence of any foul play or briberies taken, suggesting that they were men of honor and that they had a strong loyalty to their magistrate. Other magistrates followed the Fielding’s example by having a specific group of investigators, but none achieved the acclaim that the Runners did. In 1830, when Scotland Yard was organized, the Bow Street Runners became obsolete. Much of Scotland Yard’s procedures were adopted from those created by the Runners, and I can only assume that many Runners became investigators for Scotland Yard. Progress is usually a good thing, but I feel a sense of loss whenever such a unique organization is swept away to make room for something better. And yes, I’m plotting a book with a Bow Street Runner as the hero. In my years of research, I’ve compiled a massive amount of research information. It all came from a wide variety of sources. Carriages People in Regency England depended upon either horseback or carriage to get around. Many of them traveled extensively from their country homes to London for the Season, which was both a social and political time of year while the House of Lords was in session. Roads were terrible, and weather and highwaymen often made travel uncomfortable as well as dangerous. To accommodate the Regency gentry or nobility, the styles, paint design and features of carriages were as varied as today’s automobiles. Image, status, and money, as well as personal taste, were all factors in choosing a carriage. Nobility had their family coat of arms painted on the side of their family coach. A reader may come across a number of different names for carriages, and unless one is willing to do some research, these names may mean nothing. So, to help you out, here are some of the more commonly used carriages: Family coach: a closed carriage that comfortably seated four passengers and was driven by a driver who sat up front, way up high. It had windows, curtains, lanterns and usually storage compartments for refreshments. They also normally featured small desks for writing the many extensive letters Regency people were so mad about sending and receiving. Barouche: a very expensive and large, four passenger carriage pulled by four horses. Its folding hood could be raised but it only covered two of the passengers. This was viewed as a status symbol to own. Landau: an open carriage with folding hoods that could be raised to protect the passengers. It was the carriage to use when one wanted to see and be seen. It, too, had a driver up front and was pulled by four horses. Phaeton: a smaller two-seater used by owners who drove themselves. It had a roof, but the front and sides were open, although some pictures show it as having a folding hood. The front two wheels were smaller than the back wheels. Often the seat was very high, in which case it was referred to as the high-perch phaeton. It was considered stylish and rakish. Curricle was a vehicle meant for two horses, but was extremely small and only had two wheels. It had a hood that folded down, like a convertible. It was lightweight and very fast, often used in racing, but tipped over easily, so it was also dangerous. Governess cart: also called a “jaunting cart,” was sometimes driven by ladies but most often by children. It was very small and light, and pulled by one pony or donkey Dog cart: named so because owners often used it for taking fox hounds to a hunt. It had a seat in front for one driver, and a seat facing the rear of the carriage that could fold down for two passengers. It was best for transporting cargo. Gig: much like the dog cart, often popular with country doctors. Hackney: like the modern day taxi cab, these could be carriages of any kind, but typically those that were closed, and driven by the cab driver, called a jarvey. They were used in London. One could hail them from the street, or go to a hackney stand where the jarveys hung out until they found a passenger. Post Chaise: a small carriage which could be pulled by two or four horses. Often painted yellow, it could be hired out by someone who wished to travel privately and not with a group of strangers such as a stage coach or mail coach. Generally it only had room for one seat, which seated two, but it also had an outside, rear facing seat for servants and a platform in front for luggage. The driver, called a postillion, rode on the backs of the horses instead of on a bench on the chariot. There were also stage coaches and mail coaches, which were public transportation for the person who didn’t mind (or were forced by the size of their purse) to travel with other passengers. They followed select routes and stopped at inns for food and for changing out the team of horses. The mail coach was the cheapest way to travel, and the most uncomfortable because it’s primary function is to carry mail rather than passengers. Sometimes, passengers were obliged to ride on top and there are stories of that proving a fatal way to travel. |