Hansom cabs and horse-drawn omnibuses

A cab yard, perhaps somewhere to the east of the City. When business was slow each day, normally in the afternoon or late in the evening, cabbies took their vehicles to one of many yards where washers cleaned and polished the cab and horse-keepers groomed the horse, ready for the next period of work.

The faster one-horse, two-wheeled hansom cab arrived in London in the mid-19th century. The original design was by Joseph Aloysius Hansom of York and patented in 1834. He sold the patent but was never paid and the version that became ubiquitous on London’s streets was a variation from 1836 by John Chapman. Its appearance was similar to a sedan chair, with two passengers sheltered inside a cab between two large wheels, and the driver sitting above and behind them. The term ‘cab’ was derived from its cabriolet-style. (The term ‘taxi cab’ did not come into existence until the early 20th century with the introduction of taxi meters). Another form of carriage was the four-wheeled Clarence after Prince William, Duke of Clarence, or ‘Growler’ as they were generally known based on the sound they made on cobbled streets. They could accommodate a greater number of people than the hansom, as well as luggage, and these often worked from railway stations. Hansom cabs and Clarences became the standard in the second half of the 19th century and remained on London’s streets until replaced by motorized taxis in the early 20th century.

Cabbies normally wore a top hat, although being worn daily for several years usually left the headwear looking somewhat grubby. Hansom cab drivers tended to be more smartly dressed than those of growlers. Cab drivers did not have the best of reputations and were notorious for overcharging when they thought they could get away with it, despite the regulations. That was particularly so when cabs were hard to come by, such as during periods of fog or snow, and on public holidays.

Cabs were popular with those attending the theatre or cricket matches at Lords, or late at night after omnibuses and trams had finished. They were particularly necessary for passengers arriving at London’s new railway termini from the 1840s. At the beginning, trains were few and far between and did not necessarily arrive at the scheduled times. It was therefore not lucrative for cab drivers to wait around for train arrivals. In 1844 the London & Birmingham Railway solved this problem by arranging for 45 ‘privileged cabs’ to be available solely to pick up fares at Euston station. These cabs were regulated by the railway company. The Eastern Counties railway provided a number of cabs at its Shoreditch terminus. The privileged cab system was adopted by all the train companies and continued until 1907.

A further Act of Parliament was passed in 1853 following the widespread cheating on fares by cabbies when vast numbers of people visited London for the Great Exhibition of 1851. From 1834 cabs and cabbies were licensed by the Coach Office but the 1853 Act handed control of licensing and enforcement of regulations to the Commissioner of Police. The minimum fare was also reduced to 6d (six pence), much to the annoyance of cabbies. In July they went on strike and the government appeased the men with alterations to the Act. The 6d fare remained until the Metropolitan Street Act of 1867, however, when it was raised to 1s (one shilling). This latter Act required each cab to have a plate fixed to show it was fit for hire, with vehicles examined regularly by the police.

The London General Cab Company was formed in 1862 with the aim of attracting customers by providing a better quality of cab. In 1890 the Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot launched the Shrewsbury-Talbot Cab Company, with the first cabs to be fitted with india rubber tyres making the journey slightly more comfortable.

In times before state pensions cab drivers usually worked until they died or were no longer able to work. The Cab Drivers’ Benevolent Association was formed in 1870 and aided elderly cabmen. Each year the pensioners mustered on Westminster Bridge to be treated to a trip to Hampton Court. When waiting at cab-stands for a fare during inclement weather drivers tended to take refuge within their cab. In February 1875 a cabmans’ shelter was opened at St. John’s Wood, providing shelter, food and drink. At the end of the century there were 45 shelters in London, of which 13 still exist. For many years in the 19th century cab and omnibus drivers who passed the home of the wealthy Rothschilds were rewarded at Christmas with a Christmas box containing a brace of pheasants. Around 3,000 were distributed each Christmas. In appreciation, drivers attached rosettes in the Rothschild racing colours to their whips. The number of licensed cabs increased, with 7,500 hansoms and 3,700 four-wheelers at the end of the century. There were then around 15,000 licensed cab drivers.

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