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>> This blog is collated from my new social history of Britain 1780 to 1840. While I am very much interested in this sort of history, I doubt I would enjoy thi

>> This blog is collated from my new social history of Britain 1780 to 1840. While I am very much interested in this sort of history, I doubt I would enjoy this book. This blog entry is too sensationally for my tastes. It appears to be based on contemporary journals, newspapers and advice pamphlets. Rather than secondhand summaries of secondhand stories, I would prefer to see a more academic examination of the situation. How much did it cost to operate these establishments? How much effort was it to maintain a pair of horses? And what were the other options? The dangers of not staying in an inn might seem obvious, but was one legally obligated to stay at an inn rather than drive through the night?

bencollier49 5y ago
I think that at some point the horses would need changing or resting, so you'd be obliged to stop.
- sandworm101 5y ago
  Horses were like gas tanks. When they got tired you picked up new ones as easily as we would pump gas. They were not pets. Once they were too old or lame to keep the standard pace they became food.
  - hutzlibu 5y ago
    "Once they were too old or lame to keep the standard pace they became food." That is still common in some areas.
  - phreeza 5y ago
    How did this work when swapping horses of different fitness? Did people have to negotiate the price differential every time? I can see how it would work for a network like the pony express, but harder to imagine for individuals.
    - PeterHolzwarth 5y ago
      In another article on that blog, the author hints that it was all quite organized: "William Waterhouse of the Swan with Two Necks Coaching Inn owned 400 horses, which he used to pull stagecoaches for their first part of the journey out of London. By 1817 he claimed to be spending £2 per horse on food, accommodation, tax .Waterhouse had distribution centres all over the Home Counties, including a warehouse in South Mimms in Essex." https://about1816.wordpress.com/2018/09/12/back-from-obscurity-thomas-dawkins-agricultural-labourer-and-convict1796-1820/ https://about1816.wordpress.com/2018/09/12/back-from-obscuri...
shever73 5y ago
>> While I am very much interested in this sort of history, I doubt I would enjoy this book. I tend to agree. I felt like I was being asked a lot of questions with few answers or explanation. The pictures were not elaborated on either, so I’m still not sure what the threat lurking outside the window at the coach house breakfast was.
zokier 5y ago
> secondhand summaries of secondhand stories Reading these sorts of articles makes me feel like if people tried to describe current-day life based on instagram posts or something. Sure, its not necessarily completely false, but it also fails to capture how mainstream people experience life.

bencollier49 5y ago

I think that at some point the horses would need changing or resting, so you'd be obliged to stop.

sandworm101 5y ago
Horses were like gas tanks. When they got tired you picked up new ones as easily as we would pump gas. They were not pets. Once they were too old or lame to keep the standard pace they became food.
- hutzlibu 5y ago
  "Once they were too old or lame to keep the standard pace they became food." That is still common in some areas.
- phreeza 5y ago
  How did this work when swapping horses of different fitness? Did people have to negotiate the price differential every time? I can see how it would work for a network like the pony express, but harder to imagine for individuals.
  - PeterHolzwarth 5y ago
    In another article on that blog, the author hints that it was all quite organized: "William Waterhouse of the Swan with Two Necks Coaching Inn owned 400 horses, which he used to pull stagecoaches for their first part of the journey out of London. By 1817 he claimed to be spending £2 per horse on food, accommodation, tax .Waterhouse had distribution centres all over the Home Counties, including a warehouse in South Mimms in Essex." https://about1816.wordpress.com/2018/09/12/back-from-obscurity-thomas-dawkins-agricultural-labourer-and-convict1796-1820/ https://about1816.wordpress.com/2018/09/12/back-from-obscuri...

shever73 5y ago

>> While I am very much interested in this sort of history, I doubt I would enjoy this book. I tend to agree. I felt like I was being asked a lot of questions with few answers or explanation. The pictures were not elaborated on either, so I’m still not sure what the threat lurking outside the window at the coach house breakfast was.

zokier 5y ago

> secondhand summaries of secondhand stories Reading these sorts of articles makes me feel like if people tried to describe current-day life based on instagram posts or something. Sure, its not necessarily completely false, but it also fails to capture how mainstream people experience life.