Windsor Hackney Carriages
The Coachmen Behind The Trade
Passed from Coachman to Coachman
In Victorian England, many coachmen owned horses, but fewer possessed a carriage suitable for licensed Hackney work.
Built in 1860, our Windsor Landau entered the town’s licensed Hackney carriage trade in 1890.
She was subsequently passed alongside the licence from one coachman to the next. That licence became Windsor’s final taxi licence to remain horse-drawn, and is the one we continue today.
Her story connects the coachmen who cared for her with our work today: preserving a historic carriage, practising traditional skills and keeping the trade alive.
Marston’s Landau
Built by John Marston's Carriage Works of Birmingham, renowned for its fine coachbuilding and award-winning craftsmanship.
Among the most prestigious carriages of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, the landau featured four wheels, inward-facing seats and a distinctive two-part folding roof. Favoured for formal occasions and private travel, it combined elegance with practicality.
Few examples of Marston's craftsmanship survive today, making the Windsor Landau an important piece of British carriage-making heritage.
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 licence and carriage to Joby Cooper (1872 - 1958) in 1910.
1939
As motor vehicles replaced horse-drawn transport, Windsor’s established horse-drawn licences reduced in number. By the 1960s, only three 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.
In the 1970s
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, Conway and Raymond Ford, known locally as the Ford brothers, continued working with their show-standard black mare, Bunchy.
2009
The Landau was retired from service in 2009. Its preservation and restoration continue the responsibility passed between generations of Windsor coachmen.
A fundraising campaign launched in 2019 to support its return to working condition.
2016
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.
In 2025, the specialist craftspeople needed for this extraordinary conservation project became available, and work began.
The Carriage I Grew Up With
From childhood memories alongside my father to the responsibility of preserving this remarkable carriage, its story has always been part of my own.
Pictured, my youngest sister on The Landau with our dad John Seear.
Preparing for a Return to Windsor in 2027
Her ongoing restoration continues that tradition of custodianship, with plans to return the Landau to Windsor in 2027.
