Before steam trains, passengers and mail were transported across the country via a system of Inns and Coaches. Coventry was an important staging post on the route between Birmingham and London.
To put this into context, here is a potted history of how the network developed and disappeared due to the rapidly developing railway network. The map below is a work in progress.. there are a lot of inns and routes to plot (about 1/4 done so far)
Henry VIII sent messages via his own royal mail, this was headed up by the Post Master General. This was useful for the running of the country, communicating with the army, navy and foreign courts. Only the king and his officials could use the Royal Mail. Private mail by unofficial post boys could spread treason and was discouraged by pain of death.
Charles the first needed to raise money. He allowed private messages to be carried via the Royal Mail. In 1631 a Public Post Office was opened in London. Six routes were available: Dover, Yarmouth, Edinburgh, Holyhead, Milford Haven and Plymouth. Private mail on these routes was banned, making the Royal Mail a monopoly. Inn keepers along the route rented the passing business from the King, becoming Post Masters. From these Inns post boys would distribute mail to minor the minor routes.
The receiver (not the sender) paid the postage and could refuse to receive. The charge was based on the distance travelled and the number of pages. This meant a lot of post was refused, making the system very inefficient and expensive.
Turnpike System Developed – The government leased routes to local trusts. The trust would collect tolls from the roads and be responsible for maintenance.
Pierre Trésaguet developed an effective road building method that was slowly adopted through the UK. This vastly improved the speed and reliability of road travel.
John Palmer (Bath Theatre Manager) with no experience of the postal service petitioned the government with an idea: The government would own a network of Mail Coaches that ran to a strict time table. Passengers would offset the costs 4 inside and 3 outside. Post would be carried in the boot. (Essentially setting up the first national transit system). The scheme worked and Palmer became Controller General of the Post Office in 1786.
There was no room for luggage and most passengers had to send it separately via a slower means (Pickfords).
John McAdam developed a road surface with stone, gravel and a cement /tar, along with good drainage cut down the maintenance costs. This was one of the greatest improvements in road building since the roman times. Precursor to Tarmac(Adam) see 1846.
Roads improved – Private Stage Coaches became popular, mainly because they travelled during the day whereas Mail Coaches travelled at unsociable times. Passengers would arrive when everything was shut!
Stage Coaches included stops for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They were able to accommodate 4 passengers inside and up to 11 outside. Mail coaches were restricted to 4 inside and 3 outside.
Horses would work for 1 hour (10 miles) a day, for 3 days and rested the fourth day. They would last for 2 years before being changed to lighter / slower work (Pickfords).
15th September – Liverpool – Manchester Railway Opened
[12 years left for coach travel, 8 years for Coventry]
Coach Travel was at its peak. Think of the logistics of organising a trip, for yourself, your luggage and accommodation.
4th July – Birmingham (Curzon Street) – Newton Junction Railway Opened (connecting Birmingham to Liverpool and Manchester)
[5 years left for coach travel, 1 year for Coventry]
28th October Red Rover Stage Coach re-established London – Coventry – Walsall – Stafford – Newcastle – Under-Lyne – Congleton – Macclesfield – Stockport – Manchester. This was the last effort to try and save the way of Coach travel.. it was doomed to fail.
4th July – Birmingham (Curzon Street) – Newton Junction Railway Opened (connecting Birmingham to Liverpool and Manchester)
[5 years left for coach travel, 1 year for Coventry]
Turnpikes: Without stage or Mail Coaches they could only receive tolls from farmers with Cattle / flocks. Roads fell in to disrepair, neighbouring properties often ‘stole’ land from the road. So a 30 yard (27.4) road became 12m or narrower. It was only until the invention of the motor car (the late 1880s) did attention turn to the quality of intercity roads again. In 1902 Tarmacadam was invented.
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