Travel

Travel in 18th Century England

Travel in 18th century Britain was slow and uncomfortable, particularly at the beginning of the century before the majority of the turnpikes were built. The following represents the information I have been able to find about fares and travel times.

For more information see also London Coaching Inns.

Travelling around London

The following information comes from William Stowe's Survey dating to 1722.

Hackney Carriages and Chairmen
For one Day of 12 Hours	10s. 0d.
For one Hour	1s. 6d.
For every Hour after the first	1s. 0d.
From any of the Inns of Court to any part of St. James's, or City of Westminster, except beyond Tuttle street	1s. 0d.
From the Inns of Court, or thereabouts, to the Royal Exchange	1s. 0d.
From any of the Inns of Court to the Tower, Aldgate, Bishopsgate, or thereabouts	1s. 6d.

Don Manoel Gonzales, writing in 1731, states that a hackney will carry you a mile and a half for 1s. but for a chair the cost is 1s. 4d.

Watermen	Oars	Sculls
From London Bridge to Limehouse, New Crane, Shadwell Dock, Bell Wharf, Ratcliff Cross	1s. 0d.	0s. 6d.
To Wapping Dock, Wapping New & Old Stairs, the Hermitage, Rotherhith Church Stairs	0s. 6d.	0s. 3d.
From St. Olave's to Rotherhith Church Stairs, and Rotherhith Stairs	0s. 6d.	0s. 3d.
From Billingsgate and St. Olave's to St. Saviour's Mill	0s. 6d.	0s. 3d.
All the Stairs between London Bridge and Westminster	0s. 6d.	0s. 3d.
From either side above Bridge to Lambeth and Vauxhall	1s. 0d.	0s. 6d.
From Whitehall to Lambeth & Vauxhall	0s. 6d.	0s. 3d.
From the Temple, Dorset, Blackfriars Stairs, and Paul's Wharf, to Lambeth	0s. 8d.	0s. 4d.
Over the Water directly betwixt Vauxhall and Limehouse	0s. 4d.	0s. 2d.

Travelling around the Country

For towns serviced by coaches and other vehicles see London Coaching Inns.

Fares for Hired Coaches

Vehicle	Example and Date	Cost
Highflyer	London to York 1790	£2 10s. inside the coach; £1 5s. outside
Mail Coach	London to York 1790	£3 3s. inside the coach; £1 11s. 6d. outside
Mail Coach	London to Ipswich 1796	£1 1s. inside the coach; 10s. 6d. outside
Post Chaise	4 wheels, 2 horses 1757-1781	9d. per mile
Post Chaise	4 wheels, 2 horses 1793-1799	1s. per mile
Post Chaise	Oxford to Castle Cary, Somerset 1774	£1 18s.
Post Coach	London to Exeter 1781	£1 18s.
Stage Coach		2d.-3d. per mile

The Stage Coach was not as cheap as it sounded. Passengers were expected to tip the guards and the coachmen and to pay for their own food and lodging. Sir Walter Scott, travelling from Edinburgh to London, spent nine times the basic fare on these extras.

Source: Olsen, Kirstin, Daily life in 18th-century England Greenwood Publishing Group, 1999

Turnpikes

The 18th century saw a massive development in privately run toll roads or turnpikes. At the beginning of the century there were virtually none (the first toll road in England was authorised in 1663, the second in 1695). By the end of the century there were more than 500 turnpike trusts administering approximately 13,000 miles of road. Travel times were slashed.

Destroying a tollgate was made a capital offense around 1735.

To/From	In 1700	In 1800
Bath	50 hours	16 hours
Bristol	2 days	less than 12 hours
Edinburgh	256 hours	60 hours
Manchester	90 hours	28 hours
Newcastle	6 days	3 days
Norwich	50 hours	19 hours