Windsor Hackney Carriage History
Windsor Coachmen
Thinking back to the 1840’s in England, while many coachmen would have owned their own horses, few would have possessed a passenger vehicle suitable for licensed Hackney carriage work. The Windsor Landau carriage is believed to be the only surviving working example by its maker. It is thought that the simple fact it was passed with the Hackney carriage licence helped protect it for nearly two centuries. The licence could continue only with the Landau, and so its care became a shared responsibility. It was maintained, stored dry, and treated with respect, not as a personal asset, but as something entrusted to each coachman in turn.
Passed from licence to licence, coachman to coachman, the Landau endured. Its survival is not the result of chance or ownership, but of continuity, responsibility, and duty. That continuity was not theoretical. It rested on something tangible — a single carriage entrusted to each generation in turn.
The Windsor Landau
For more than two centuries, Windsor’s carriages have been part of the town’s daily life—serving its people, welcoming its visitors, and carrying forward a living tradition found nowhere else in England.
Today, we are working to ensure this story is not forgotten. Our Landau Restoration Project will bring Windsor’s oldest licensed taxi carriage back to the road, while our Hackney Carriage Rank campaign seeks to install a commemorative plaque on Windsor High Street, marking the site where horse-drawn taxis once stood in service until 1991.
These efforts reflect our passion for heritage—not just as history, but as something alive, meaningful, and still carried on today through Windsor Carriages. By preserving the Landau and commemorating the rank, we hope future generations will remember Windsor’s place in transport history, just as we remain committed to continuing it.
If you would like to support the restoration or have a story about the history of Windsor’s carriages, we would be delighted to hear from you. Get in touch and help us keep our story alive.
Marston’s Landau
Built by John Marston’s Carriage Works Ltd, a distinguished Birmingham coachbuilder active from the mid-19th to the early 20th century and widely recognised for award-winning craftsmanship and bespoke vehicles.
The landau was among the most prestigious carriage types of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. A full-bodied, four-wheeled carriage with a two-part folding roof and inward-facing seating, it was traditionally associated with formal arrivals and private travel, combining practicality with status.
Surviving examples by Marstons are now considered rare, with well-preserved landaus regarded as highly significant by collectors and historians alike.
Unique To Windsor
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A1860 – Built by Marstons of Birmingham for Sir Daniel Gooch.
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1890 – Inherited by his son, Sir Daniel Fulthorpe Gooch, who released it into public service in Windsor, with the condition it must never leave The Long Walk.
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1890–2009 – Served as a licensed Hackney Carriage in Windsor, making it the last operational Victorian carriage of its kind. During this time, it worked through three monarchs, two world wars, five coronations, and countless jubilees.
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2016 – Passed into our care. The Royal Mews referred her to the Royal Warrant holders responsible for restoring Her Late Majesty’s own carriages, who placed the Landau into protected storage, where it has remained safely for nearly a decade.
Timeline of Windsor Coachmen & The Landau
1860
The Windsor Landau carriage was built in 1860 by John Marston Coach builders of Birmingham and purchased new by Sir Daniel Gooch of Clewer Park, Windsor (1816 - 1889). It would have served as the family’s principal form of transport.
1890
Sir Daniel Gooch’s son sold the Landau into service on the Windsor Hackney carriage rank to coachman Daniel Chapman, (1863 - 1940). Daniel passed the license and carriage to Joby Cooper (1872 - 1958) in 1910.
1939
After 1939, no new horse-drawn Hackney licences were issued. By the 1960s, only three Windsor licences remained. The Landau was driven by George Paget of Eton Wick (1914–2002), a well-known Windsor figure, rag-and-bone man, and Carry On film carriage master. Watch a Clip of George & The Landau here.
1974
The Landau was passed to John Seear (1939 - 2016) By the 1980s, only two Windsor carriages remained, making Windsor Carriages the oldest licensed horse-drawn Hackney carriage still in operation. Watch a Video of John on The Long Walk Here.
Alongside John, Coachman Conway (1925 - 1998) and Raymond Ford (1927 - 2000), known locally as the Ford Brothers, also the Pig Brothers, as they reared pigs, who worked with their show-standard black mare, Bunchy.
2009
The Landau was retired from service in 2009 and moved to Her Majesty’s coachbuilders, Rowland & Son, for restoration. A fundraising campaign launched in 2019 to return the carriage to working condition in Windsor.
Picture Post Card Memories
I cannot pretend this project is not personal. I grew up with this carriage. I have always known her history and felt her place in Windsor instinctively.
Five monarchs would have seen her pass along The Long Walk and through the town. I remember Her Late Majesty pausing to speak with the coachmen. This is not distant history; it is lived memory, carried within the Landau itself.
Pictured in the early 1990s, John Seear, Windsor coachman, drives Welsh Cob brothers Billy and Icarus with our Landau carriage — a scene that reflects generations of working tradition.
Today, his daughter, (me) Rebecca Seear, continues that custodianship, ensuring this time-honoured craft endures in Windsor for generations to come.
The Windsor Hackney Carriage Rank
We are working on a campaign to honour Windsor’s unique place in transport history with the installation of a commemorative plaque on Windsor High Street.
For over a century, the Windsor Hackney Carriage Rank stood outside the Curfew Tower, where horse-drawn carriages lined up daily to serve townspeople and visitors. Until its closure in the 1990’s, it remained the last horse-drawn taxi rank in England, operating under Windsor’s original hackney carriage licence, first issued in 1654 under Oliver Cromwell.
Records show the first hackney carriage rank in Windsor stood on Castle Hill and was opened on 25th April 1687.
Our Proposal
We are committed to fully funding the design and installation of a dignified plaque, in partnership with the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Blue Plaque Scheme.
This project reflects our mission to protect Windsor’s character, celebrate its overlooked heritage, and ensure the story of the Windsor Hackney Carriage Rank is never forgotten.
Suggested Plaque Inscription
“The Windsor Hackney Carriage Rank
Horse-drawn carriages stood here from the 1850s until 1991,
operating under Windsor’s original hackney carriage licence,
first issued in 1654 under Oliver Cromwell.
The last horse-drawn taxi rank in England.”
We also wish to have the metal bars used for the carriages to be listed with English Heritage to protect them. Watch our Viral Video on them here.
Why It Matters?
Why It Matters
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A living tradition – Unlike most towns that transitioned fully to motorised taxis, Windsor’s coachmen preserved this heritage through generations, passing their licensing down directly from coachman to coachman.
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Civic history – The rank stood as a daily reminder of Windsor’s distinctive character, where history and modern life met on the High Street.
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Honouring horses and people – The plaque will recognise not just the coachmen, but also the working horses whose service shaped everyday life in the town.
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Continuity today – Windsor Carriages continues the tradition with Crown Estate permission, operating hosted estate drives that are not re-enactment but an unbroken line of carriage service stretching back over 175 years.
THOUGHTFULLY GUIDED & HOSTED
For some visits, this looks intimate and familial. For others, it extends to estate luncheons, team gatherings up to 96 guests, or occasions held beneath the oaks. However it takes shape, your experience is guided, coordinated, and cared for, so you can remain present, rather than managing the details.
‘Thank you for all the careful planning and patience. Our clients were absolutely delighted"
Windsor Hospitality, Properly Hosted
