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)
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Coach Inn Name
Alcester, Inn ?
Alton
Amersham, Inn ?
Ampthill, Inn ?
Aylesbury, Inn ?
Bagshot, Inn ?
Baldock, Inn ?
Banbury, Inn ?
Bangor, Inn ?
Barnet, Inn ?
Barton Upon Humber, Inn ?
Basingstoke, Inn ?
Bath, Inn ?
Bath, White Hart, Stall Street
Bedford, Inn ?
Bettws-y-Coed, Inn ?
Bicester, Inn ?
Biggleswade, Inn ?
Billericay, Inn ?
Birkhamsted, Inn ?
Birmingham, Hen and Chicken, High Street
Birmingham, Inn ?
Birmingham, The Albion ?
Bishops Stortford, Inn ?
Boar & Castle 6 Oxford Street
Bourne, Inn ?
Brackley, Inn ?
Brentwood, Inn ?
Brigg, Inn ?
Brighton Hine's Office 52 East Street
Buckingham, Inn ?
Calne, Inn ?
Camberley, Inn ?
Capel Curig, Inn ?
Capp's Office, 5 Castle Square, Brighton
Castle Square
Chester, Feather's Inn, Bridge Street
Chippenham, Inn ?
Coleshill, Inn ?
Corwen, Inn ?
Coventry, City Hotel, Broadgate
Coventry, Craven Arms, Coventry
Daventry, Inn ?
Devizes, Inn ?
Droitwich, Inn ?
Dunchurch, Inn ?
Dunstable, Inn ?
Ealing, Inn ?
Earl Shilton, Inn ?
Easton Socon, Inn ?
Egham, Inn ?
Elstree
Epping, Inn ?
Feckenham, Inn ?
Fenny Stratford, Inn ?
George & Blue Boar 270 Holborn
Harpenden, Inn ?
Hartley, Inn ?
Hatfield, Inn ?
Hemel Hempstead, Inn ?
Henley, Inn ?
Hertford, Inn ?
High Wycombe, Inn ?
Hinckley, Inn ?
Hitchin, Inn ?
Hoddesdon, Inn ?
Holyhead, Spencer's Hotel?
Hounslow, Inn ?
Hungerford, Inn ?
Ilford, Inn ?
Kingston, Inn ?
Knutsford, Inn ?
Leamington, Inn ?
Leicester, George Inn? / unknown
Lincoln, Inn ?
Litchfield, Inn ?
Liverpool, Angel Inn & Talbot Inn, Dale Street
Llangollen, Inn ?
London, Addlestone
London, Blossoms Inn, Lawrence Lane
London, Bolt-in-Tun, 64 Fleet Street
London, Bull and Mouth Inn
London, Edgware
London, Esher
London, Farnham
London, General Post Office
London, George and the Blue Bear, 270 Holborn High Street
London, George, Aldemanbury ?
London, Gerrard's Hall, Basing Lane / Bread Street ?
London, Golden Cross, Charing Cross
London, Guildford
London, Hampton
London, Kew
London, Kings Arms, Snow Hill
London, Molesey
London, Saracens Head, Snow Hill
London, Spread Eagle, Gracechurch Street
London, Teddington
London, The Belle Savage
London, The Swan with Two Necks, Lad Lane
London, Three Cups Aldersgate
London, Twickenham
London, Weybridge
London, White Horse, 90 Fetter Lane
Loughborough, Inn ?
Luton, Inn ?
Maidenhead, Inn ?
Manchester, Star Coaching House, Piccadilly Gardens
Manchester, The Mosley Arms Hotel, Piccadilly Gardens
Manchester, The Royal, Piccadilly Gardens
Market Deeping, Inn ?
Marlborough, Inn ?
Melksham, Inn ?
Melton Mowbray, Inn ?
Newbury, Inn?
Newcastle Under Lyme, Inn ?
Norman Cross
Nuneaton, Inn ?
Odiham, Inn ?
Oswestry, Inn ?
Oxford, Inn ?
Peterborough, Inn ?
Portman Street ?
Reading, Inn ?
Red Office, 10 Castle Square
Redbourn, Inn ?
Richmond, London
Romford, Inn ?
Sawbridgeworth, Inn ?
Shefford, Inn ?
Shifnal, Inn ?
Shipston on Stour, Inn ?
Shrewsbury, Lion Inn, Wyle Cop
Silsoe, Inn ?
Sleaford, Inn ?
Slough, Inn ?
Snow's Office, 3 Castle Square
Solihull, Inn ?
St Albans, Inn ?
Stains, Inn
Stamford, Inn ?
Stanmore, Inn ?
Stevenage, Inn ?
Stone, Inn ?
Stony Stratford, Inn ?
Stratford Upon Avon, Inn ?
The Bush
The Spread Eagle
Towcester, Inn ?
Tring, Inn ?
Uxbridge, Inn ?
Waltham Cross, Inn ?
Walton, London
Warrington, Inn ?
Warwick, Inn ?
Watford, Inn ?
Wendover
White Bear, Bassinghall Street
Winslow, Inn ?
Wolverhampton, Inn ?
Woodford, Inn ?
Woodstock, Inn ?
Worcester, Unicorn, Broad Street
Yorkshire Stingo
1512
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.
1629
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.
1706
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.
1784
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.
1784
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).
1830
15th September – Liverpool – Manchester Railway Opened
[12 years left for coach travel, 8 years for Coventry]
1836
Coach Travel was at its peak. Think of the logistics of organising a trip, for yourself, your luggage and accommodation.
1837
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]
1837
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.
1838
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]
1842
Nationally all long distance Stage Coaches had stopped. Only short distance feeder coaches to train stations remained in operation.
1846
6th January – Last Mail Coach Norwich via Newmarket – London
(and no one seemed to care)
1846
Coventry – Manchester:
Coventry – London:
1846
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.