York's hidden history - how we got around before the car

York residents and visitors alike often complain about vehicle congestion in this city. We are being made aware of our carbon footprint when we undertake long journeys. And this year has seen the price of petrol and diesel soar because of the cost-of-living crisis.

All this has prompted me to ask: what was it like to live in York before the motor car was invented? How did people get around? And how did changes in travel impact people’s lives?

In 1822, many York people would have spent most of their lives in the place where they were born. Most travelled no more than three days walk from their home. Walking was sometimes associated with vagrancy and extreme poverty. Walking long distances was dangerous and difficult. Roads were uneven and footpads - or highwaymen - were ready to jump out at unsuspecting travellers, rob them, and even kill them in some cases. And you never dared travel alone, only in groups.

Trams in York's Queen Street

Goods were transported by horse-drawn carts and also along the navigable stretches of the River Ouse.

Longer distance passenger travel was possible in covered wagons, but it wasn’t until 1698 that stagecoach travel from York to London was being advertised at The Black Swan in Coney Street.

The Black Swan survived the advent of the railways but finally closed in 1939; the building was demolished in 1968.

In 1706, a stagecoach company was formed to provide a regular service between York and London. Other coaching inns in York were The Golden Fleece in Pavement, The Old White Swan in Goodramgate, The Olde Starre Stonegate (all three still standing), and Bluitt’s Inn, Museum Street (later to become Thomas’s Hotel and subsequently Thomas’s Bar).

Coaches left three days a week and the cost of the journey was £2.

By 1750, the journey took four-six days. The route to London was along the Great North Road (more or less the present-day A1). Travelling outside cities was still dangerous, especially because of the threats from highwaymen or ‘gentlemen of the road’ such as Dick Turpin.

Highwaymen would stop a coach on horseback and threaten the travellers with pistols to ‘stand and deliver’ their money and valuables. The penalty for those who were caught was hanging, a fate Turpin suffered at the Knavesmire, York on April 7, 1739.

Stagecoach travel improved significantly in the early years of the 19th century. Improvements in both coach design, mainly better suspension, and road construction led to greater speed and comfort for the passengers. By 1836, the journey from York to London took under 24 hours travelling at around 10-12 mph rather than at previous speeds of less than 8mph.

Horse and cart in York's Shambles

Within the city horse-drawn vehicles were a common sight. You could see carts, drays, barouches, landaus, victorias and broughams which carried passengers according to their social status and wealth. The words for these vehicles have, of course, passed out of everyday usage.

The arrival of the railways in York in 1839 signalled the death knell for the stagecoach, and York was one of the first cities in England to benefit from steam trains. It revolutionised the economy of the city enabling new businesses to flourish and transforming mobility for thousands of people. Thanks to George Hudson, the Railway King, York people were able to travel to London Euston with changes at Normanton, Derby, and Birmingham. The journey took ten hours, one third of the time it had taken by stagecoach. In the 1850s there were 13 trains each day between York and London. By 1888 there were 294 trains each day.

Travel within the city at the dawn of the 20th century was by horse-drawn tram and cab for the well-to-do. It wasn’t until 1909 that trams were electrified, and in January 1910 an electric tram service was opened from Fulford to the city centre. A further line was then added from Dringhouses to the city centre. Trams from South Bank to the railway station started running in 1913 and a line was opened along the Hull Road in 1916.

The outbreak of the First World War in 1914 saw the introduction of motorbuses and trolleybuses and by 1926 there were 15 motorbuses, four trolleybuses and 37 trams. However, such was the growth and development of motor buses that in January 1935, trolleybuses were withdrawn and in November of the same year motorbuses alone provided the transport services within the city.

York was ideal for getting around by bike. By the turn of the 20th century there were already several cycling clubs in the city. For example, the Clifton Cycling Club which was founded at the Old Grey Mare pub on Clifton Green in 1895 and is still going strong.

New jobs sprang up and quickly disappeared with the development of successive forms of transport. There were ostlers and stable boys at coaching inns, footplatemen and stokers who worked on the railways.

With the development of each new mode of transport, it became possible for trade to increase over longer distances, and new job opportunities were created which brought prosperity to greater numbers of people. Above all, enhanced mobility made it possible for more York residents to travel for pleasure, see beyond the confines of their city, meet new people, and generally expand their horizons.

Mobility is a precious commodity which no one should take for granted.

David Wilson is a Community Writer for The Press