[APPENDIX.]
Reading edition
G. P. O.
APPENDIX.
LIST OF MAIL COACHES WHICH WORKED OUT OF LONDON.
Bath, through { Hounslow, } From the
{ Maidenhead, } "Spread Eagle,"
{ Reading, } Gracechurch Street,
{ Newbury, } and
{ Hungerford, } "Swan with Two
{ Marlborough, } Necks,"
{ Devizes, } Lad Lane.
Birmingham, through { Aylesbury, } From the
{ Bicester, } "King's Arms,"
{ Banbury, } Holborn Bridge.
{ Leamington, }
{ Warwick, }
Brighton, through { Croydon, } From the
{ Reigate, } "Blossoms Inn,"
{ Crawley, } Lawrence Lane.
{ Cuckfield, }
Bristol, through { Hounslow, } From the
{ Reading, } "Swan with Two
{ Newbury, } Necks,"
{ Marlborough, } Lad Lane.
{ Calne, }
{ Chippenham, }
{ Bath, }
Carlisle—See Glasgow.
Chester, through { Barnet, } From the
{ St. Albans, } "Golden Cross,"
{ Dunstable, } Charing Cross.
{ Northampton, }
{ Hinckley, }
{ Atherstone, }
{ Lichfield, }
{ Stafford, }
{ Nantwich, }
{ Tarporley, }
Devonport, through { Hounslow, } From the
{ Bagshot, } "Swan with Two
{ Basingstoke, } Necks,"
{ Andover, } Lad Lane.
{ Salisbury; }
{ Sherborne; }
{ Chard, }
{ Honiton, }
{ Exeter }
Dover, through { Dartford, } From the
{ Rochester, } "Swan with Two
{ Sittingbourne, } Necks,"
{ Faversham, } Lad Lane.
{ Canterbury, }
Edinburgh, through { Ware, } From the
{ Buntingford, } "Bull and Mouth,"
{ Royston, } St. Martin's-le-Grand.
{ Caxton, }
{ Huntingdon, }
{ Grantham }
{ Newark }
{ Doncaster }
{ Ferry Bridge, }
{ York, }
{ Northallerton, }
{ Darlington, }
{ Durham, }
{ Newcastle, }
{ Alnwick, }
{ Berwick, }
{ Dunbar, }
{ Haddington, }
Exeter, through { Basingstoke, } From the
{ Andover, } "Bull and Mouth,"
{ Salisbury, } St Martin's-le-Grand.
{ Blandford, }
{ Dorchester, }
{ Bridport, }
{ Axminster, }
{ Honiton, }
Glasgow, through { Barnet, } From the
{ Hatfield, } "Bull and Mouth,"
{ Baldock, } St Martin's-le-Grand.
{ Biggleswade, }
{ Stilton, }
{ Stamford }
{ Grantham, }
{ Newark, }
{ Doncaster, }
{ Wetherby, }
{ Boroughbridge, }
{ Greta Bridge, }
{ Appleby, }
{ Carlisle, }
Gloucester, through { Hounslow, } From the
{ Maidenhead, } "Cross Keys,"
{ Henley, } Wood Street,
{ Nettlebed, } and
{ Oxford } "Golden Cross,"
{ Witney, } Charing Cross.
{ Burford, }
{ Cheltenham, }
Halifax, through { Barnet, } From the
{ Woburn, } "Swan with Two
{ Newport-Pagnel, } Necks,"
{ Market Harborough, } Lad Lane,
{ Nottingham, } and
{ Sheffield, } "Bull and Mouth,"
{ Huddersfield, } St. Martin's-le-Grand.
Hastings, through { Farnborough, { From the
{ Tunbridge, { "Golden Cross,"
{ Lamberhurst, { Charing Cross.
{ } and "Bolt in Tun,"
{ } Fleet Street.
Holyhead, through { Barnet, } From the
{ St. Albans, } "Swan with Two
{ Coventry, } Necks,
{ Birmingham, } Lad Lane.
{ Wolverhampton, }
{ Shrewsbury, }
{ Oswestry, }
{ North Wales, }
Hull, through { Barnet, } From the
{ Hertford, } "Spread Eagle,"
{ Biggleswade, } Gracechurch Street,
{ Stilton, } and
{ Peterborough, } "Swan with Two
{ Folkingham, } Necks,"
{ Lincoln, } Lad Lane.
{ Brigg, }
{ Across the Humber to }
{ Kingston-upon-Hull }
Leeds, through { Barnet, } From the
{ Bedford, } "Bull and Mouth,"
{ Higham Ferrers, } St. Martin's-le-Grand.
{ Kettering, }
{ Nottingham, }
{ Sheffield, }
{ Wakefield, }
Liverpool, through { Barnet, } From the
{ St. Albans, } "Swan with Two
{ Coventry, } Necks,"
{ Lichfield, } Lad Lane.
{ Newcastle-u-Lyne, }
{ Knutsford, }
{ Warrington, }
Louth, by Boston, through { Caxton, } From the
{ Peterborough, } "Bell and Crown,"
{ Deeping, } Holborn, and
{ Spalding, } "Saracen's Head,"
{ Spilsby, } Skinner Street.
Manchester, through { Barnet, } From the
{ St. Albans, } "Swan with Two
{ Dunstable, } Necks,"
{ Northampton, } Lad Lane.
{ Market Harborough, }
{ Leicester, }
{ Derby, }
{ Ashbourne, }
{ Congleton, }
{ Macclesfield, }
Norwich, by Ipswich, through { Ilford, } From the
{ Romford, } "Spread Eagle,"
{ Brentwood, } Gracechurch Street.
{ Chelmsford, }
{ Witham }
{ Colchester, }
Norwich, by Newmarket, through { Epping, } From the
{ Bury St. Edmunds, } "Belle Sauvage,"
{ Thetford, } Ludgate Hill.
Portsmouth, through { Kingston, } From the
{ Esher, } "White Horse,"
{ Guildford, } Fetter Lane and
{ Godalming, } "Bolt in Tun,"
{ Petersfield, } Fleet Street.
Southampton and Poole, through { Hounslow, } From the
{ Staines, } "Swan with Two
{ Bagshot } Necks,"
{ Alton, } Lad Lane, and
{ Alresford } "Bell and Crown,"
{ Winchester, } Holborn.
Stroud, through { Hounslow, } From the
{ Henley, } "Cross Keys," Wood
{ Abingdon, } Street, and the
{ Faringdon, } "Swan with Two Necks,"
{ Cirencester, } Lad Lane.
Wells (Norfolk), through { Lynn, } From the
{ Ely, } "Swan with Two
{ Cambridge, } Necks,"
{ Royston, } Lad Lane.
{ Ware, }
Worcester, through { Uxbridge, } From the
{ Beaconsfield, } "Bull and Mouth,"
{ High Wycombe, } St. Martin's-le-Grand.
{ Oxford, }
{ Woodstock, }
{ Chipping Norton, }
{ Moreton-in-Marsh, }
{ Evesham, }
{ Pershore, }
Yarmouth, through { Romford, } From the
{ Chelmsford, } "White Horse,"
{ Witham, } Fetter Lane.
{ Colchester, }
{ Ipswich, }
{ Saxmundham, }
{ Lowestoft, }
So much for the main arteries, but the account would hardly be complete without showing how the more remote and out-of-the-way districts were provided for. I will, therefore, add the routes of a few mails which might be considered as prolongations of some of those already mentioned, but they were worked under fresh contracts and with fresh coaches.
South Wales was served by three—one from Bristol and two from Gloucester, as shown below:—
Bristol to Milford Haven, by { New Passage Ferry,
{ Newport,
{ Cardiff,
{ Cowbridge,
{ Neath,
{ Caermarthen.
Gloucester to Milford Haven, by { Ross,
{ Monmouth,
{ Abergavenny,
{ Brecon,
{ Llandovery,
{ Caermarthen,
{ Haverfordwest.
Gloucester to Aberystwith, by Ross, Hereford, Kington, Rhayader, and Dyffryn Castle.
The Gloucester and Milford was, I think, driven out of Gloucester at one time by Jack Andrews, a very good coachman, and over the lower ground there was a man of the name of Jones. I may, perhaps, be told that that is not a very distinguishing mark of a man in those parts, perhaps it is not, but if the name failed to convey a knowledge of who he was, he, at any rate, possessed one very characteristic feature which was that he always drove without gloves whatever might be the state of the weather. If he saw his box passenger beating his hands against his body or going through any other process with the vain hope of restoring the circulation into his well-nigh frozen fingers, his delight was to hold out his gloveless hand and say, "Indeed, now there is a hand that never wore a glove."
And this recalls to my memory another anecdote which was told me a great many years ago, and which, though it refers to the other extremities, may not be inappropriately introduced here. It appertains to a very well known character already mentioned, the well known Billy Williams, often spoken of as Chester Billy. I am aware that tales are sometimes engrafted on remarkable characters which are also told of others, still I believe I shall not be doing a wrong to any one if I tell this as "'twas told to me," of our old friend Billy. At any rate, it is too good to be lost, so here it is.
On one very cold winter morning it happened that Billy had a box passenger who was stamping his feet on the footboard in the vain attempt to restore the circulation of the blood, which led Billy to remark, "Your feet seem cold this morning, sir," to which the gentleman answered, "I should think they were, are not yours?" "No," says Billy, "they're not;" adding, "I expect you wash 'em." "Wash them," says the passenger, "of course I do, don't you?" "No," was the reply, "I should think not, I iles 'em."
The Manchester mail was also prolonged to Carlisle, though the direct Carlisle mail went by a rather shorter route, but then the populous district on the west coast had to be provided for. It travelled through Preston, Lancaster, Kendal and Penrith. This was, over some of the ground at any rate, one of the fastest mails in England.
Again, in addition to these, which may be said to have had their origin in London, there existed a considerable number of what were called "cross country mails," some of which ran long distances and at high speed, connecting together many important districts. A few of them I will mention, beginning with the Bristol and Liverpool, which was a very fast one.
Bristol to Liverpool, by { Aust Passage Ferry,
{ Monmouth,
{ Hereford,
{ Shrewsbury,
{ Chester,
{ Woodside Ferry.
Bristol to Oxford, by { Bath,
{ Tetbury,
{ Cirencester,
{ Fairford,
{ Faringdon.
Liverpool to Hull, by { Warrington,
{ Manchester,
{ Rochdale,
{ Halifax,
{ Bradford,
{ Leeds,
{ Tadcaster,
{ York.
Bristol to Birmingham, by { Gloucester,
{ Wincanton,
{ Droitwich,
{ Bromsgrove.
Birmingham to Sheffield, by { Lichfield,
{ Derby,
{ Chesterfield.
And no doubt there were several others in one part of the country or another, but I have been unable to meet with any regular list of them, though it is very unlikely that such a road as that between Bristol and Exeter by Taunton, for example, should have been left out. This road certainly had a fast coach on it. The "Royal Exeter" ran from Cheltenham to Exeter through Gloucester and Bristol, driven between Cheltenham and Bristol at one time by Capt. Probyn, and afterwards by William Small. It was a fast coach, stopping for dinner at Nisblete's, at Bristol, and then proceeding on its journey to Exeter.
Then, again, there was a populous and important district through the Staffordshire Potteries, from Birmingham to Liverpool and Manchester, which must have been provided for somehow, but it is not impossible that this may have been effected by the bags being conveyed to Lichfield by the Sheffield, and then transferred to the down Liverpool and Chester mails.
There were also running short distances what were called third class mails, which carried twelve passengers, and the coachman was in charge of the bags. On one of them which ran between Shrewsbury and Newtown I did a good deal of my early practice.
And now, having given a list, more or less perfect, of the mails which traversed England and Wales, perhaps a few words on the subject of the pace at which they travelled may not be without interest.
After singling out the London and Birmingham day mail, which was timed at twelve miles an hour, it is impossible to say, at the present date, which was the fastest coach. That the "Quicksilver" was the fastest mail, I have no doubt, though I believe the palm has been disputed by the Bristol, and perhaps some others; for if a passenger asked a coachman which was the fastest, he was very likely to be told that the one he was travelling in was. I cannot, however, believe that any of these claims could have been supported by facts. "Cui bono?" We can see at a glance why the Devonport should be pushed along as fast as possible, because the journey was a long one; but the distance to Bristol was only one hundred and twenty miles, and whether the mail arrived there at eight or nine o'clock in the morning would have been thought little of in those days, but in a journey of two hundred and twenty-seven miles half a mile an hour makes an appreciable difference. It would seem reasonable, therefore, that the longer mails should have been accelerated as much as possible, and so I believe it really was the case, and that the Holyhead was, after the "Quicksilver," the fastest out of London. At any rate, I know that, when travelling by it, we always passed all the other mails going the same road, and that included a considerable number, as the north road and the Holyhead were synonymous as far as Barnet, and, moreover, the Post-Office was likely to have screwed up these two mails the tightest, as one carried the Irish bags and the other had the correspondence of an important dockyard and naval station.
To single out the fastest coach would be still more impossible. The "Wonder" had a world-wide reputation, which was well deserved, both for the pace and regularity with which she travelled and the admirable manner in which she was appointed in every way; but what gave that coach its preponderating name was the fact of its being the first which undertook to be a day coach over a distance much exceeding one hundred and twenty miles. The Manchester Telegraph must have surpassed the "Wonder" in pace, and, certainly, when we consider the difference of the roads and the hills by which she was opposed in her journey through Derbyshire, had the most difficult task to accomplish; and, again, the "Hirondelle" was timed to go the journey of one hundred and thirty-three miles between Cheltenham and Liverpool in twelve hours and a half, which is a higher rate of speed than the "Wonder," which was allowed fifteen and a half hours to cover the one hundred and fifty-four miles between London and Shrewsbury, and on a far superior road.
I have been induced to enter into this subject because one sometimes now-a-days meets with people who appear to have a somewhat hazy idea about it, and talk glibly of twelve miles an hour as if it was nothing so very great after all. Well, I am not going to deny that it can be done, because I know that it has been effected by the Birmingham day mail, as already stated, and I have also been told by an old inspector of mails that in the latter days they did contrive to screw some Scotch mails up to that speed; but I am sure I can safely say that no mail or stage-coach ever was timed at even eleven miles an hour during the main coaching days, however much faster they might have gone when racing or on special occasions, though I believe it would have been attempted, at any rate, if road travelling had not been put an end to by the railways.
Twelve miles an hour is very great work to accomplish. Why, when stoppages of all sorts are allowed for, it means thirteen miles, and that means galloping for the greater part of the way.
Though the subjoined List is not comprehensive, nor indeed absolutely accurate, it may be worth inserting, as conveying a fair idea of what coaches ran.
PRINCIPAL NIGHT MAILS SOME NOTED DAY COACHES
Miles from London. TO Time (including stoppages) of Mail
h. m.
110½ Bath 11 0 "Beaufort Hunt," "York House," "White Hart."
50 Bedford "Times."
119 Birmingham 11 56 "Tally-Ho," "Tantivy," "Greyhound," "Economist," "Rocket," "Eclipse," "Triumph," "Crown Prince," "Emerald," "Albion," "Day," etc.
Brecon "Red Rover."
53 Brighton "Red Rover," "Times," "Age," "Quicksilver," "Pearl," "Dart," "Arrow," "Vivid."
121 Bristol 11 45 "Prince of Wales," "Monarch," "Regulator."
50 Cambridge "Star."
95 Cheltenham (see below) "Berkeley Hunt," "Rival," "Magnet," "Favourite."
181 Chester "Criterion."
217½ Devonport 23 45 "Quicksilver."
71 Dover
176 Exeter 19 0 "Telegraph" (165 miles) 17 hours; "Defiance" (168 miles), 19 hours; "Nonpareil," "Herald."
111 Gloucester 11 55
195½ Halifax 20 5 "Hope."
68 Hastings
135 Hereford "Champion," "Tiger."
259 Holyhead 26 55
172½ Hull 18 12
197 Leeds 21 0 "Courier," "Rockingham.'
201½ Liverpool 20 50 "Umpire," "Fair Trader," "Express," "Erin-go-bragh."
148 Louth 16 0
99 Lynn 10 33
185 Manchester 19 0 Telegraph" (186 miles), 18 hours 15 minutes, "Beehive", "Estafette," "Peveril of the Peak," "Cobourg," "Red Rover."
129 Monmouth "Mazeppa," "Royal Forester."
113½ Norwich viâ Ipswich 11 38 "Shannon."
117½ Norwich viâ Newmarket 13 0 "Phenomenon."
106 Poole "Phœnix."
73 Portsmouth "Diligence," "Regulator," "Hero."
158 Shrewsbury "Wonder," (15 hours 45 minutes;) "Nimrod," "Stag," "Union," "Oxonian."
Southampton "Star."
105 Stroud 12 9
195 Wetherby (Glasgow Mail) 20 36
128 Weymouth "King's Royal."
23 Windsor "Taglioni."
114 Worcester 12 20
197 York (Edinburgh Mail) 20 54 "Wellington."
30 Liverpool and Preston197
129½ Edinburgh and Aberdeen "Defiance" (12 hrs. 10 min., including 30 min. Ferry).
Cheltenham and Liverpool "Hirondelle," "Hibernia" (see above).
Shrewsbury and Welshpool and Aberystwith "Royal Oak," "Nettle," "Engineer."
Notes.
The fastest coaches were the "Defiance" (Edinburgh and Aberdeen), the "Wonder" (Shrewsbury and London), for which alone 150 horses were kept, and the mail from Liverpool to Preston. The next fastest were the Holyhead, Exeter, and Scotch mails, and those to Bath and Bristol (which last ones did not stop for meals on the road). The slowest is the Stroud mail, but formerly was the Worcester mail, which used to be most frequently overturned of any. The Hastings and Brighton mails had only two horses. For some reason or other, with which I am not acquainted, the Liverpool mail, and, I believe, the Halifax also, though leaving London at the same time as the others, had a day coach on the up journey, arriving at St. Martin's-le-Grand about 7 p.m. One of the Birmingham coaches was lighted by gas for a time, as far back as 1834. A coach running every day between London and Birmingham paid annually for toll-gates the sum of £1,428. The double miles of the mails travelling reached at one time 6,619 a journey.
SCOTCH AND IRISH MAILS.
It is interesting to compare the running of the Edinburgh and Glasgow coaches out of London. Both left St. Martin's at the same hour, but by a different road. At Alconbury (65 miles out of London) the two coaches must have frequently been in sight of each other on a moonlight night—if punctual a bare four minutes divided them (not a yokel in that part of Huntingdonshire but could discuss the merits of the rival whips)—and at Grantham (108 miles out) they probably transferred some mail bags picked up upon their different roads.
At Doncaster (159 miles from London) less than a quarter of an hour divided the two vehicles after travelling all through the night and portion of the following day, a feat successfully performed that would make the hair of a modern South-Eastern Railway guard stand upon end. Indeed, tradition says that the up and down coaches nearly always "crossed" within a few yards of the same bridge. Even that northern metropolis, Newcastle, was treated with scant ceremony; as soon as fresh horses were attached and the mail bags exchanged, the coach went forward without pause, the next "stop and examine coach" after York being at Belford (near Berwick-upon-Tweed).
With the Edinburgh coach there were three halts only upon the road for refreshments, and these were liable to curtailment in heavy weather when any minutes had been lost on the way—at the ordinary stages the changes of horses being sometimes made in less than a minute.
The Glasgow coach, though over a considerably more uneven road, was slightly the quicker of the two, the rival distances by road being almost identical. This coach was not encumbered with heavy bags for the Highlands, and had the additional stimulus for the first dozen miles or so out of London of racing the Holyhead mail through Barnet. This celebrated mail made its "first stop" (other than for change of horses) at Birmingham, its second at Shrewsbury, its third at Corwen, and its fourth at Bangor. The speed of this mail was no less than nine and three-quarters miles an hour, or over ten miles if stoppages are taken into account.
At Shrewsbury five minutes only were allowed for refreshments, and the timing of this coach was so close that it was due there one minute before the beautiful, varied, and sonorous clocks of that proud borough struck the hour of noon (11.59 a.m.). At Wolverhampton it was timed to arrive also at one minute past the hour (9.1 a.m.), while the timepieces of the guards were checked once or twice on the road by special clocks, and the discrepancy, if any, taken note of in writing.
Another notable piece of "good running" was shown by the rival mails to Caermarthen, which reached there from town the following evening. The Gloucester coach arrived at eight o'clock (224 miles), and was followed at only half-an-hour's interval by the Bristol (238 miles) coming by a different road the whole journey, and having often to face a rough sea when transferring its passengers at Aust Passage, near Chepstow. This last mail was one of the quickest of all out of London; as far as Bristol it was expedited in 1837 to run at the speed of ten miles and three furlongs an hour, prior to which time it had to cede the palm to the celebrated Falmouth (or, as it was often miscalled, Devonport—confusing it with the Plymouth coach) Quicksilver mail. No doubt a higher speed still would have been attained in the winter months had these coaches not to include so much night work in their running.
It is very difficult, unless precise dates are attached, to give now the absolute distances travelled. Each year roads were straightened out and bends removed, gradients modified, or minor deviations to towns of less importance struck out. A list of such accelerations will be found in Mogg's edition of Paterson and of the principal ordinary routes traversed in Paterson, Leigh, or Cary.
What prospects the Coventry bicycle might have had before the arrival of the telegraph and railway epoch it is difficult to conjecture; but its speed must then have placed it in the first rank of means of locomotion.
1837. Scotch Mails. DOWN.
TO THURSO VIÂ EDINBURGH.
Miles St. Martin's-le-Grand. p.m.
LONDON dep. 8. 0 night
12½ Waltham Cross arr. 9.25 ——
22 Ware " 10.26 ——
35¼ Buckland " 11.52 ——
a.m.
45½ Arrington " 12.57 ——
60 Huntingdon " 2.30 ——
65¼ Alconbury Hill " 3. 3 ——
72¼ Stilton " 3.45 ——
87 Stamford " 5.15 ——
95 Stretton " 6. 3 day
108½ GRANTHAM arr. 7.23 ——
dep. 8. 3 ——
115¾ Long Bennington arr. 8.53 ——
122¼ Newark " 9.30 ——
132¾ Scarthing Moor " 10.34 ——
145½ Barnby Moor " 11.49 ——
p.m.
155¼ Rossington Bridge " 12.47 ——
159½ Doncaster " 1.12 ——
166¼ Askerne " 1.55 ——
179¾ Selby " 3.21 ——
194 YORK arr. 4.54 ——
dep. 5.34 ——
207¼ Easingwold arr. 6.54 night
218 Thirsk " 7.58 ——
227 Northallerton " 8.52 ——
243 Darlington " 10.28 ——
a.m. ——
261½ Durham " 12.23 ——
276 Newcastle-on-Tyne arr. 1.50 ——
dep. 1.53 ——
290½ Morpeth arr. 3.22 ——
300½ Felton " 4.23 ——
309¾ Alnwick " 5.17 ——
324½ BELFORD arr. 6.47 day
dep. 7.17 ——
339¾ Berwick-on-Tweed arr. 8.47 ——
353½ Houndswood " 0. 9 ——
369¼ Dunbar " 11.41 ——
p.m. ——
380¼ Haddington " 12.45 ——
397¼ Edinburgh G.P.O. " 2.23 ——
(Time on road 42 h. 23 m. The quickest train time the journey has been performed in was on August 31, 1888, when the King's Cross train arrived in 7h. 27m.)
444 Perth arr. 9. 0 night
466 Dundee " 11.15 ——
a.m. ——
534 Aberdeen " 6.22 day
p.m. ——
641 Iverness " 8. 6 night
a.m. ——
783 Thurso " 8.10 day
TO GLASGOW.
Miles St. Martin's-le-Grand. p.m.
LONDON dep. 8. 0 night
11¼ Barnet arr. 9.18 ——
25¼ Welwyn " 10.46 ——
a.m. ——
37½ Baldock " 12. 6 ——
46¾ Caldecot " 1. 2 ——
55¼ Eaton " 1.55 ——
65¾ Alconbury Church " 2.59 ——
75¼ Stilton " 3.56 ——
90 Stamford " 5.28 ——
98 Stretton " 6.18 day
111½ GRANTHAM arr. 7.40 ——
dep. 8.20 ——
117½ Foston arr. 8.56 ——
125½ Newark " 9.44 ——
138½ Ollerton " 11. 3 ——
143 Worksop " 11.52 ——
p.m. ——
151½ Bagley " 12.40 ——
159¾ Doncaster " 1.26 ——
174¼ Pontefract " 2.53 ——
∴ Change for Leeds and Wakefield
184¼ Aberford arr. 3.52 ——
∴ Change for Bradford
191¾ WETHERBY. arr. 4.36 ——
dep. 5.11 ——
∴ Change here for York
204 Boroughbridge arr. 6.23 night
216 Leeming " 7.35 ——
227 Catterick Bridge " 8.41 ——
236 Foxhall " 9.35 ——
240½ Greta Bridge " 10. 2 ——
250½ New Spital " 11.10 ——
a.m. ——
260 Brough " 12.15 ——
268 Appleby " 1. 7 ——
282 Penrith " 2.28 ——
293 Hesketh " 3.23 ——
Manchester Mail 3.0 p.m., reaches Carlisle G.P.O. 4.48 a.m.
303 CARLISLE G.P.O. arr. 4.17 ——
dep. 5. 0 ——
312¾ Gretna arr.. 5.55 ——
322 Ecclefechan " 6.48 day
332¾ Dunwoodie " 7.49 ——
342½ Beattock Bridge " 8.42 ——
361 Abington " 10.26 ——
370 Douglas Mill " 11.18 ——
376 Lesmahagow Bar. " bags dropped ——
p.m. ——
387¼ Hamilton " 12.57 ——
397¾ GLASGOW G.P.O. " 2. 0 ——
(Time on road, 42 hours.)
1837. Irish Mails. DOWN.
TO KINGSTOWN VIÂ HOLYHEAD.
Miles St. Martin's-le-Grand. p.m.
LONDON dep. 8. 0 night
11¼ Harriet arr. —— ——
20½ St. Albans " —— ——
24½ Redbourne " 10.44 ——
33½ Dunstable " —— ——
a.m. ——
42¼ Brickhill " 12.32 ——
51¼ Stony Stratford " 1.26 ——
59 Towcester " 2.12 ——
71¼ Daventry " 3.25 ——
79 Dunchurch " 4.11 ——
90¼ Coventry " 5.18 ——
108½ BIRMINGHAM arr. 7. 8 day
dep. 7.43 ——
116½ Wednesbury arr. 8.28 ——
122 Wolverhampton " 9. 1 ——
134½ Shiffnal " 10.14 ——
142¼ Heygate Junction. " 10.59 ——
144½ Wellington " 11.20 ——
152½ SHREWSBURY arr. 11.59 ——
p.m. ——
dep. 12. 4 ——
161 Netcliffe arr. 12.52 ——
170½ Oswestry " 1.45 ——
176¼ Chirk " —— ——
183 Llangollen " 2.57 ——
193¼ CORWEN arr. 3.57 ——
dep. 4.25 ——
199½ Tynant arr. 5. 1 ——
206¼ Cernioge " 5.39 ——
213½ "New Stables" " 6.21 night
220¾ Capel Curig " 7. 2 ——
228¼ Tyn-y-maes " 7.46 ——
BANGOR arr. 8.20 ——
dep. 8.25 ——
Anglesea Ferry arr. 8.43 ——
Here cross the Menai Straits at night by ferry until the opening of Telford's Suspension Bridge, in 1826.
Mona Inn arr. 9.43 ——
259 Holyhead Post Office arr. 10.55 ——
dep.
323 Kingstown arr.
327 Dublin "
(Time on journey, h. m. Present time on journey, h. m.)
∴ It may be curious to note that the present train mail service is under the liability of a penalty of £1 14s. for each minute it is after time through any avoidable cause.
TO WATERFORD (P) VIÂ GLOUCESTER AND MILFORD.
Miles St. Martin's-le-Grand. p.m.
LONDON dep. 8. 0 night
12¼ Hounslow arr. 9.20 ——
19¾ Colnbrook " —— ——
23¾ Slough " —— ——
29 Maidenhead " 11. 8 ——
38¼ Henley-on-Thames " —— ——
43 Nettlebed " —— ——
a.m. ——
61¼ OXFORD arr. 2.38 ——
dep. —— ——
72¾ Witney arr. 3.58 ——
80 Burford " —— ——
89¾ Northleach " 5.43 ——
97¼ Andoverford " —— day
102¾ CHELTENHAM arr. 7. 3 ——
12 dep. —— ——
112 GLOUCESTER arr. 8. 0 ——
12 dep. —— ——
129 Ross arr. 10. 8 ——
139 Monmouth " 11.11 ——
p.m. ——
156 Abergavenny " 12.53 ——
176 Brecon " 3. 1 ——
197 Llandovery " 5.22 ——
224 Carmarthen " 8. 0 night
Haverfordwest "
Hubberston "
∴ Compare the quicker relative time to Carmarthen made by the Bristol mail immediately following, notwithstanding having to cross the Bristol Channel.
TO WATERFORD (P) VIÂ BRISTOL AND PEMBROKE.
Miles St. Martin's-le-Grand. p.m.
LONDON dep. 8. 0 night
12¼ Hounslow arr. 9.12 ——
29 Maidenhead " 10.50 ——
Reading " —— ——
a.m. ——
59 Newbury " 1.41 ——
Marlborough " —— ——
90 Calne " 4.49 ——
Chippenham " —— ——
109 Bath " 6.32 day
122 BRISTOL arr. 7.45 ——
12 dep. —— ——
134 New Passage Ferry arr. 9.12 ——
Newport " —— ——
p.m. ——
166 CARDIFF " 12.53 ——
Cowbridge " —— ——
Neath " —— ——
211 Swansea " 5.18 ——
238 Carmarthen " 8.31 night
a.m. ——
273 Hobbs Point " 12.34 ——
Pembroke " 1. 9 ——
Western and Foreign Mails.—1837.—Up and Down.
Falmouth Mail.[5] Exeter Mail. Devonport Mail.
ST. MARTIN'S-LE-GRAND dep. 8. 0 p.m. 8. 0 p.m. 8. 0 p.m.
12 Hounslow arr. —— —— 9.12
19 Staines " —— 9.56 ——
23 Slough " —— —— ——
29 Maidenhead " —— —— 10.40
58 Newbury " —— —— 1.53 a.m.
77 Marlborough " —— —— 3.43
91 Devizes " —— —— 5. 6
109 Bath " —— —— 7. 0
149 Bridgewater " —— —— 11.30
160 Taunton " —— —— 12.35 p.m.
180 Collumpton " —— —— 2.42
29 Bagshot " 10.47 p.m. —— ——
67 Andover " 2.20 a.m. 2.42 a.m. ——
84 Salisbury " —— 4.27 ——
126 Yeovil " —— 8.53 ——
143 Chard " —— 11. 0 ——
80 Amesbury " 3.39 2.42 ——
125 Ilchester " 7.50 2.42 ——
Honiton " 11. 0 12.31 p.m. .
EXETER arr. 12.34 p.m. 2.12 3.57
dep. 12.44 ——
210 Newton arr. —— 6.33
218 Totnes " —— 7.25
190 Ashburton " 2.41 ——
214 Plymouth " 5. 5 ——
DEVONPORT arr. 5.14 10. 5
dep. ——
234 Liskeard arr. 7.55
246 Lostwithiel " 9.12
254 St. Austell " 10.20
268 Truro " 11.55
279 FALMOUTH " 1. 5 a.m.
Naval Station for the departure of the foreign packets.
Miles from London:—Honiton, via Amesbury, 154; via Salisbury, 156. Exeter, via Amesbury, 170; via Salisbury, 173; via, Taunton, 193. Devonport, via Amesbury, 216; via Taunton, 243.
Packet arrives from abroad.
FALMOUTH dep. 1.45 a.m.
Truro arr. 2.55
St. Austell " 4.29
Lostwithiel " 5.36
Liskeard " 6.52
DEVONPORT arr. ——
dep. 9.30 4.45 a.m.
Plymouth dep. —— ——
Ashburton " 12. 3 p.m. ——
Totnes " —— 7.30
Newton " —— 8.25
EXETER arr. 2. 0 ——
dep. 2.20 11.50 p.m. 10.15
Honiton dep. 4. 4 1.27 a.m. ——
Ilchester " 6.49 —— ——
Amesbury " 11. 0 —— ——
Chard " —— 2.55 ——
Yeovil " —— 4.30 ——
Salisbury " —— 8.50 ——
Andover " 12.19 a.m. 11. 0 ——
Bagshot " 4. 2 —— ——
Collumpton " —— —— 11.38
Taunton " —— —— 1.37 p.m.
Bridgewater " —— —— 2.52
Bath " —— —— 7.30
Devizes " —— —— 9.24
Marlborough " —— —— 10.49
Newbury " —— —— 12.42 a.m.
Maidenhead " —— —— 3.44
Slough " —— —— ——
Staines " —— 3.46 p.m. ——
Hounslow " —— —— 5.26
ST. MARTIN'S-LE-GRAND arr. 6.50 5.42 6.40
Notes.—Greenwich time throughout. The mails left London one hour earlier (at 7.0 p.m.) on Sundays. The Falmouth (nicknamed the "Quicksilver") mail averaged over 10 miles an hour between London and Devonport.
[5]
Note. The Falmouth mail was allowed 25 minutes stoppage at Ilminster (8.58 a.m. to 9.23), notwithstanding which it travelled between London and Exeter at the average speed of 10 miles and 2 furlongs an hour.
Simmons & Botten, Printers, London, E.C.
Transcriber's Note:
Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note.
Irregularities and inconsistencies in the text have been retained as printed.