There are no records to show in what order of rotation the different mail coaches came into existence; but I know that the one to Shrewsbury commenced running in 1785, and many others must have been put on the roads about that time, as I find that in 1786, no less than twenty left London every evening, besides seven that were at work in different parts of England. The work, however, appears to have, been very imperfectly performed. The coaches must at first have been cumbersome.
In the year 1786, the coach to Norwich, viâ Newmarket, weighed 21 cwt. 2 qrs., and one to the same place, viâ Colchester, weighed 18 cwt., which, however, must have been well constructed, as those coaches were known to have carried as many as twenty-two passengers. There was also what was called a caravan, or three-bodied coach, via Ipswich, carrying twelve inside, weighing 21 cwt. 3 qrs., and is stated to have followed the horses very well indeed.
In November, 1786, Bezant's patent coach was first submitted to the post-office, and was first used on the coach roads in the spring of 1787. Previously the mail coaches were very heavy and badly constructed, and made of such inferior materials that accidents were general and of daily occurrence, so much so that the public became afraid to venture their lives in them.
The general establishment of mail coaches took place in the spring of 1788. The terms on which Mr. Bezant, the patentee of the patent coaches supplied then, was that he engaged to provide and keep them in constant and thorough repair at two pence halfpenny the double mile. At first, from want of system, these coaches were often sent on their journeys without being greased, and generally even without being washed and cleaned, with the result that seldom a day passed that a coach wheel did not fire.
As the business became more and more matured, spare coaches were put on the roads, so that each one on arriving in London should have two complete days for repair. This increased the number of coaches to nearly double. As each came into London it was sent to the factory at Millbank, nearly five miles off, to be cleaned, greased, and examined, for which the charge of one shilling was to be paid for each coach, and this price included the drawing of the coach to Millbank and back.
Before this arrangement was made, it was nothing unusual for passengers to be kept waiting for a couple of hours, whilst some repairs were being done, which were only discovered to be necessary just as the coach was about to start, and then the work was naturally done in such a hasty manner that the coach started in far from good condition.
The coach masters objected to this payment of one shilling for drawing and cleaning, and stated that if it was enforced they would require threepence per mile instead of one penny, which would have made a difference of twenty thousand pounds a year to the post-office revenue. In the end an agreement was made with the patentee, and the post-office paid the bills.
In 1791, Mr. Bezant, who was an engineer from Henley-on-Thames, died, and the business fell into the hands of Mr. Vidler, his partner, and in the following year there were one hundred and twenty of those coaches in use on the mail roads. Their weight was from 16 cwt. to 16 cwt. 2 qrs.
I have not been able to find any time-bills for this early stage of the work, and do not, therefore, know at what pace the mail coaches were expected to travel, but, judging from the rather unique instruction issued to a guard in the year 1796, great pace on the road was not desired. Perhaps, however, this omission is not important, as the time of arrival at the journey's end must have depended very much upon how many accidents were experienced on the road. It reminds me of the coachman on the Dover road, who, on being asked by a passenger what time he arrived in London, replied, "That the proper hour was six o'clock, but that he had been every hour of the four-and-twenty after it."
Instructions To a Guard Given in 1796.