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Windsor's Living Carriage Heritage
A Working Trade Since the Victorian Era
BY LICENCE & WITH KIND PERMISSION OF THE CROWN ESTATE
Long before the motorcar, Windsor’s licensed horse-drawn Hackney carriages carried residents and visitors through the royal town.
As motorcars replaced the horses, one licence remained horse-drawn. That is the licence we continue today, passed from one Windsor coachman to the next.
We preserve this working heritage under licence and with the permission of The Crown Estate. Its story follows the coachmen who carried it forward, the historic carriages they preserve and the responsibility we continue today.
How has a Victorian taxi
survived into the 21st century?
A LICENSE PASSED FROM COACHMAN TO COACHMAN
1800’s
We were Windsor's taxis. Licensed horse-drawn hackney carriages carried residents and visitors through Windsor long before the motorcar.
1900’s
The motorcar arrived.
Hackney Carriages became the motor taxis we recognise today. We continued with the horse and carriage.
TODAY
The final licence to remain horse-drawn. Passed from coachman to coachman, it continues today through Windsor Carriages, with working horses, historic carriages, our stories and the skills that keep the trade alive.
From Horse to Motor
The motorcar changed the vehicles, but the Hackney carriage licensing system continued. Windsor’s horse-drawn taxi licences gradually transferred to motorcars.
One remained horse-drawn. Ours.
Successive coachmen kept that licence working with horses, passing on their knowledge and responsibility alongside the historic Landau carriage.
Today, we continue that licensed trade through visits and events arranged by appointment. The way we welcome guests has evolved; the horse-drawn succession continues.
A SHORT HISTORY OF WINDSOR'S CARRIAGE TRADE
1654
Through an Act of Parliament, Oliver Cromwell licences Hackney carriages, creating the blueprint for commercial passenger transport throughout England, establishing for the first time regulated horse-drawn transport.
1687
A local historical account records that, from 25 April 1687, two Hackney Coaches were permitted to use a coach stand in Windsor.
1779
Windsor’s carriage trade flourished in the late 18th century. In 1779, the Mermaid and Castle Inn—now the Castle Hotel—hired out horses and carriages to wealthy travellers.
1848
The Windsor Improvement Act of 1848 paved the way for changes to Home Park. Part of the park was enclosed for private use. Hackney carriages were permitted to access certain thoroughfares with permission from The Crown Estate. (A privilege which did not extend to the later licensed motor cars.)
1851
Windsor’s 1851 Hackney Carriage by-laws regulated vehicle and driver licensing, identification plates, badges, fares and authorised stands. They named stands in Castle Street, High Street, Datchet Lane and at the railway stations, with additional stands determined by the Superintendent of Police.
1883
An 1883 newspaper report recorded pressure on Windsor’s horse drawn cab ranks:
“Another complaint was that, while there are about 112 licensed cabs in the town, there was only accommodation on the ranks for about 50; and that this operates to the exclusion of local cab-proprietors from the stands.”
Council records show that the licence passed from George Paget to John Seear, continuing the working tradition into another generation. Read More on John here.
1895
On 5 July 1895, Evelyn Ellis drove his French Panhard et Levassor 56 miles from Micheldever station to his home in Datchet. Britain’s first documented motor-car journey ended just outside Windsor, where horse-drawn Hackney carriages were still part of everyday life.
Council records show that the licence passed from George Paget to John Seear, continuing the working tradition into another generation. Read More on John here.
1901
The introduction of the motor car during the early twentieth century transformed public transport throughout Britain. In Windsor, however, the transition represented a change in vehicle rather than a change in law. Motor taxis were incorporated into the Borough's existing Hackney Carriage licensing system, continuing the same legal framework that had governed horse-drawn Hackney Carriages since the nineteenth century under the Hackney Carriage Acts.
Council records show that the licence passed from George Paget to John Seear, continuing the working tradition into another generation. Read More on John here.
1920
A photograph dated 1920 shows a carriage waiting outside St John the Baptist Church which was a hackney stand at that time. It is reported to show the Marston Landau carriage, passed down with our licence.
1959
Despite the rise of motor vehicles, Windsor’s horse-drawn Hackney carriage tradition continued. By 1959, only three licensed horse-drawn operators remained in Windsor.
TODAY
Today | A Living Heritage
Today, I continue this custodianship alongside our coachmen and wider team. Through community work, education and privately hosted visits, we give the trade a working place in modern Windsor.
Rebecca Seear, The Coachman’s Daughter
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