| Abstract: | The mailcoach, more than any other mode of transport, has beenromanticized and portrayed as the epitome of old-fashioned travelfor Mr and Mrs Average. This idyllic picture dates from thegrowth of railway travel, which for ever altered perceptionsof earlier travelling patterns. In fact, before the coming ofthe railways things were very different. The introduction oftimetabled ordinari mailcoaches from the seventeenth centuryonwards brought about a transport revolution of entirely newproportions. The mail coaches were rapid, comfortable and reliable,and they brought about a new understanding of space and time.The expansion of travel enabled by the mail coaches opened thedoor to other new patterns of thought: the Enlightenment, andthe emancipation of ordinary people from the restrictions offeudal society. This new mode of transport reached its apotheosisin the early nineteenth century with the introduction of theexpress coaches and the rapid postal coaches. The overarchingprinciple, however, is that as the centuries pass, revolutionsin structures and infrastructures are the determining factorin enabling society to pass cultural milestones. |
