ESTIMATE No. IV.

EXPENSE OF KEEPING A COACHMAN, AND A CARRIAGE AND TWO HORSES, IN YOUR OWN COACH-HOUSE AND STABLE.

£. _s._ _d._
A Peck of _Oats_ per Day for each Horse, when Corn is 25_s._ per Quarter; say 24 Quarters per Annum 30 0 0
A Quarter of a Truss of Hay for each Horse per Day, at £5 per Load; say 5½ Loads per Annum 27 10 0
One Truss of Straw each Horse per week; say three Loads per Annum, at 36_s._ 5 8 0
_Beans_, which are only wanted when Horses are worked very hard; and _Physic_, which (excepting the _Persuader_ prescribed--see Index) is as little wanted by a Horse, as it is by a Man. See OBS. _to Estimate No. I._ 4 0 0
Twenty-eight sets of _Shoes_, at 5_s._ per set 7 0 0
_Farriers’ Bills_,--the Risk of your Horses turning out unsound and inefficient,--the Expense of hiring other Horses while your own are Ill, &c., and the Interest of the Money paid for the purchase of the Horses, &c., cannot be estimated at less than £20. per Annum for each Horse 40 0 0
——————
113 18 0

Those Persons who are most dependent upon their Carriage, frequently require it to carry them only a Mile or Two, and may save the expense of hiring another Horse while one of their own is Ill, or is in want of a Day’s rest, by having a pair of Shafts made to fit on, and so use it with only one Horse—which will do all the work required by many infirm persons, almost as easily as Two:—we wonder that more Chariots are not so constructed.

The preceding Calculation shews that the Expense of keeping Two Horses, and the Risk of loss by Horses, &c. cannot well be set down at less than £113. 18s. per Annum.

A Hackneyman will furnish a pair of Horses, take all the Hazards, and bear all the expenses enumerated above; at from £135. to £160. per Annum, according to the quantity of Work, and the Age, Colour, and Quality of the Horses required.

If a Pair of Horses are hired for a Year, and they are given up at any time within that period, it is customary to give a couple of months’ notice, or a couple of months’ money. Have a written agreement about this.

The following is my Agreement for hiring Horses:—

“Memorandum. Mr. Thurston agrees to furnish Dr. Kitchiner with a Pair of Horses at £140. per Annum, to be paid Quarterly; and if Dr. K. wishes to give them up, he must give two months’ notice, or two months’ money: i. e. £24.

“From January 5th, 1827.

Wm. Kitchiner.

Jas. Thurston.”

I would not recommend a Carriage Horse to be less than Seven years old, especially if to be driven in Crowded Streets:—Horses that have not been taught how to behave in such situations, are extremely awkward and unmanageable, and often occasion Accidents.

As I have said, the Price charged for Job Horses varies as the goodness of the Horses, and as the Work required, does. Some persons do not Exercise their Horses enough;—others require Two Horses to do as much Labour as should be done by Three. Again, the price of Horses varies from less than £80. a Pair, to twice £80. a piece.

If you keep Horses for useful purposes, you must not be too nice about either their Colour, or the condition of their Coats.

The ordinary Town Carriage Work can be done just as well by a Pair of Horses, which may be had for £70. or £80. as with those that cost three times that Sum; indeed it will most likely be done better. If you have Horses worth an hundred pounds a piece, you will be afraid of using them when you most want them; i. e. in Cold and Wet Weather, for fear of their catching Cold and breaking their Coats, &c. Moreover, the Elegance of an Equipage, in the Eyes of most people, depends more upon the Carriage, Harness, and Liveries, than upon the Horses:—all can judge of the former, but few of the latter; and, provided they are the same Size and of the same Colour, the Million will be satisfied.

Horses in Pairs are sometimes worth double what they are, singly—and Horsedealers do not like to buy any but of the most common Colours; i. e. Bays and Browns; because of the ease in matching them. Horses of extraordinary Colours may be purchased at a proportionably cheap rate, unless they are in Pairs, and happen to be an extraordinary good match, when they will sometimes bring an extravagant price.

An Ancient Equestrian gives the following advice; and also gave us all those Paragraphs to which are affixed the initials A. E.:—

“If you have occasion to match your Horse, do not let the Dealer know you are seeking for a Match Horse, or he will demand a higher price; nor do not send your servant to select for you.”—See the “Hints to Purchasers of Horses,” in Chap. IV.

If you will be contented with the useful Qualities of your Horses, i. e. their Strength and Speed, and are not too nice about their matching in Colour, you may be provided with capital Horses, at half the cost of those who are particular about their Colour; and moreover, you may easily choose such as will do double the service.

The Judgment and Liberality of the Proprietors are not so questionable on account of the Horses (which all the Wit and all the Wealth in the World cannot always procure exactly what may be wished) as they are about those works of Art, a Carriage and a Livery; these, good Taste and Liberality can always command. The difference in the charge for the hire of an elegant New Carriage and a shabby Old one, does not exceed £25. per Annum; and £10. per Annum more will defray all the extra expense incurred by giving a handsome Livery; so there is not 10 per Cent saved in the Shabbiest turn out.

As most people Job their Carriage Horses, we shall continue our Estimate, and set down—

£._s._ _d._
For a Pair of Jobbed Horses (the lowest price at present) 135 0 0
The Duty on Two Horses 4 14 6
On a Four-Wheeled Carriage 6 0 0
On the Coachman 1 14 0
Wages[4] of the Coachman, not less than 10_s._ per week 26 0 0
Board, ditto, ditto, at 14_s._ per week 36 8 0

N.B. If there are no Lodging Rooms over the Coach-house, it is customary to allow a Coachmanabout 4_s._ per Week, _i. e._ about £10. per Year, to pay his Lodging.

Allowance for Oil and Grease, Towels and Leathers, to clean the Carriage, _at least_ 1_s._ per Week 2 12 0
Rent of Coach-house and Stable 25 0 0
Tax on ditto 3 0 0
——————
240 8 6
——————

The advice of our great Dramatic Bard cannot be quoted more aptly than in the following Maxim for choosing a Livery:—

“Costly thy Habit as thy Purse

Can buy, but not expressed in fancy,

Rich not gaudy: for the Apparel oft proclaims

The Man.”

Shakespeare.

We recommend a Blue, Brown, Drab, or Green Livery, the whole of the same Colour. To have a Coat of one Colour, and lined with another, a Waistcoat of another, and the other Clothes of another Colour, claims the Poet’s censure—it is “Gaudy”—unless for a full Dress Livery on a Gala Day:—we equally disapprove of the Capes of a Box Coat being alternately Blue and Yellow, or Brown and Red, &c.

Coachman’s Livery.

Those who affect an elegant Equipage, usually give their Coachman annually, say Two handsome Suits of what is termed the best Second Cloth (what is called Livery Cloth is a little cheaper, but much coarser, and not half so serviceable).

£. s. d.
Brought forward 240 8 6
Light Blue Cloth Double-breasted Coat, edged with Crimson, and linedwith Shalloon same colour as the Coat, with Gold-laced Collar and Button Holes—
Waistcoat, Blue Kerseymere, with Shalloon Sleeves;
Plush Breeches, lined, and gilt Knee Buckles		 14 14 0
30 Large and 18 Small Buttons with Crest[5] and Motto, &c. thereon 0 13 6
Working Dress, (once a Year), Drab Cord Breeches, Coat, Waistcoat, and Overalls (Drab Fustian, lined,) &c. 3 13 0
——————
259 9 0

For those who make but little use of their Carriage, One Livery a Year, or Two in Three Years, is enough, especially if you give a Working-dress, as the Livery is then worn merely when he mounts the Box to drive.

Those who give only One Livery in a Year, should do that in April, so that they may have the credit of it during the Summer months, while it is seen: during the Winter it is almost always covered by the Box Coat; when the Coat the man does his work in, will do as well as any. If a Livery Coat has a Laced Collar, wearing the Box Coat over it, will soon cut it to pieces.

Counsellor Cautious never gave a Coachman a Livery till he had served him for Three Months. Some Persons, instead of a Livery, allow 3s. or 4s. per Week extra, and the Coachman finds his own Clothes, a plain Blue Coat; they giving him only a Hat and Great Coat.

£. s.d.
Brought forward 259 9 0
A good full-made Box Coat, with six real Capes, and lined with Shalloon, about £7. (according to the number of Capes and the quality of the Cloth, the price varies from £5. to £8.), once in Three Years, at the end of which it is given to the Coachman, per Annum 2 7 0

Plain Liveries, without Lace, &c. one-third less, i. e.about £5. per Suit.

Two Plain Hats 2 10 0
——————
£264 6 0

With Gold Lace Binding, and a neat narrow Gold Band, they cost about double the above sum.

Some give, Annually, one plain Hat for common use, and one edged with Gold Lace and a Gold Band as a Dress Hat.

Those who like to see their Coachman neat and nice, give him a Clothes Box as well as a Clothes Brush, or, which is infinitely better, a Cupboard six feet high, about three feet deep, and three feet wide, with pegs to hang his Box Coat, Hat, and other Clothes on, which, without such a case, are soon spoiled by the Dust of the Hay Loft.

£.s.d.
Brought forward 264 6 0
The Yearly hire of a handsome new Chariot or Coach and Harness, from £70. to £84.: if it is hired for only three or four Years, and fitted up with Under-springs, Collinge’s Axles, &c., and finished in the best style, as described in Estimate No 9, it will be about 84 0 0
——————
Total 348 6 0

To the above Estimate is to be added the charges of Turnpikes—Short Baits[6]—Travelling Expenses, &c., extra Visiting, and numerous other Expenses, which would not be incurred without a Carriage to carry you to them: these will make the total amount of outgoings from keeping a Carriage come up to not less than £400 per Annum.

The Editor is aware that the foregoing Computations are rather higher than those random-guess Estimates, which some inexperienced persons have published: however, his Calculations are neither more nor less than the actual amount which he has himself paid; and he does not believe that the business can be done properly for less than the Sums set down;—therefore,

Prudent Peruser of the present Page,

To keep a Coach will add but Care to Age,

Unless your Annual Income is quite clear

Full Fifteen Hundred Pounds a Year.