The Windsor Landau
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 1992.
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 contribute to the legacy of Windsor’s carriages, we would be delighted to hear from you. Get in touch and help us keep this story alive.
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 Majesty’s own carriages, who placed the Landau into protected storage, where it has remained safely for nearly a decade.
Picture Post Card Memories
As the UK’s last remaining licensed carriage operator with continuous service since the Victorian period, we are committed to preserving this rare tradition while evolving to meet the expectations of today’s visitors. With a steadfast dedication to high standards of equine welfare, we ensure our horses not only thrive but truly love what they do.
A Postcard from the Past Pictured in the early 1990s, John Seear, Windsor coachman, drives Welsh Cob brothers Billy and Icarus with our Landau carriage—a scene that echoes generations of tradition. Today, his daughter, Rebecca Seea, continues this legacy as the custodian of Windsor Carriages, ensuring that this time-honoured craft endures 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.
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.
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 1992,
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.
