Are you going to Town for the season? In Regency Era England, this is more than a polite question about your plans. It’s asking if you’re going to London for the social season, a time of social events for high society.
In book two of The Enchanted Almveres Investigate, Lord and Lady Almvere will be heading to their version of London for the season. As for Miss Hazel Honeyfield of Blooms of Arcana, she’s already there because she works in London. Lavish Balls and social events aren’t first on her list of London activities…until a mystery or magic leads her there.
Either way, our heroes will need to travel!
Jane Austen on women traveling solo in Regency England
Solo travel for women was limited. As readers of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey know, Catherine Morland being placed on a coach without a chaperone or servant was highlighted as very shocking treatment. Yet that same chaperone or servant, a woman, would have had to return to Northanger Abbey solo. Take a moment to consider what that might mean in relation to class and gender.
Traveling in style
For the wealthy and well-to-do, using the family carriage was the best option for comfort and privacy. These four-wheeled carriages, pulled by two or more horses, had an enclosed space with windows on all sides and comfortable seating for four people.
No carriage, no problem – traveling long distance, Regency style
If you didn’t have the luxury of owning your own carriage and horses, you could still travel long distances by carriage. But it meant sharing space with strangers.
The official Mail Coaches followed fixed routes to transport the mail and passengers. Following strict schedules, Mail Coaches had their tired team of horses (from four to six, depending on the coach) replaced with rested horses at each stop, which, depending on terrain, were 7 to 10 miles apart.
At each stop, there would typically be one or more Coaching Inns. These performed a similar function to American stage stations; they provided stables for horses and a place for travellers to rest from the trials of travel. Coaching Inns also hired out a post-chaise, a smaller travelling carriage for two passengers, for private use.
A typical layout for a large Georgian coaching inn
As coaching inns have existed in England for centuries, there’s no one typical design. Larger Georgian coaching inns used during the Regency could typically be expected to include:
- First Yard – for the set of lodgings at the Inn.
- Second Yard – for horse stabling, coaches, and wagons.
- Courtyard – usually with an arched entryway, this space allowed passengers to safely alight and change out the horses.
- Ground floor – a bustling space that included a Dining Room, private parlours for coach passengers, and often a separate booking office for processing tickets. In the larger establishments there could be an assembly room and a coffee room.
- First floor – a drawing room.
- Upper floors – these were for lodging rooms, accessed by an internal staircase and an exterior hallway that overlooked the first yard.
Staying at the inn was not free but came with as much people watching as you could desire.
The cost of travelling in Regency England
If you wanted to make use of the facilities at a coaching inn, you’d need to bring enough money to pay for:
coach passage fare (if you don’t have your own carriage)
meals and drinks
room hire
items to use, e.g. candles, sheets, etc
tips to pay the maids, waiters, porters, etc
All this was before you arrived at your destination, where any social event was sure to cost you much more.
What would you want to do in Regency London during the season if money were no object?
If you want to travel through a magical version of Regency England in comfort and for free, you can read THE SCENT OF CHAMOMILE, a Blooms of Arcana short story, when you sign up for my newsletter.
