Collections Online

This type of carriage was named after Queen Victoria for whom it was first built in the mid-nineteenth century. It became very popular as a summer carriage for the gentry in the 1870s by being used by the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII). This example was built by D. James and Sons, Cardigan, who were in operation until 1935. It seated two passengers facing forward, and the coachman and groom on the box seat. The wide, low, open doorways made it easy to get in and out, and also to allow fashionable clothing to be shown whilst travelling through town or in a park. A pole and shafts came with the carriage so that it could be pulled by a single horse or a pair.