The Old English for ‘wain’ and the Dutch word ‘waggon’ both have a common root, and in medieval Latin documents, these were translated to plaustrum.[1] The use of both has covered much of the history of transport in Britain.
The light, two-wheeled wain was commonly used in Britain, even in highland areas, in the Middle Ages. The Domesday Book records the inhabitants of Hope in the Peak district as paying five wain-loads of lead as tribute to their manorial lord.[2] Sixteenth century probate inventories record wains much more commonly than sturdier carts. Wains were simple vehicles, continuing to be in use long after the introduction of the waggon, especially in highland and northern Britain.
The sixteenth century historian John Stow observed that ‘long waggons’ began to bring goods and passengers from Canterbury, Norwich, Gloucester, and other towns to London in the 1560s. These heavy, four-wheeled vehicles were introduced from the Low Countries to southern England. By the seventeenth century larger waggons with a swivelling front axle had been introduced. Waggons began to appear on farms, as evidenced by probate inventories, in the seventeenth century.
Illustration of the East Riding or wolds waggon from The Costume of Yorkshire (1814) by George Walker (1781-1856). Public Domain (CC BY 4.0)
Concern emerged about the damaging impact of heavy waggons on road surfaces. In 1618 the legal draught for waggons was limited to five horses. In 1662 this was increased to seven horses or eight oxen, but loads were limited to thirty hundredweight in summer and twenty in the winter. In 1696 a further horse was allowed and in 1708 Justices of the Peace were authorised to issue licences allowing greater numbers of horses or oxen to draw vehicles uphill in difficult terrain.[3]
Waggons were only used where the roads were passable and demand for two-way traffic was substantial. They were preferred to packhorses for conveying bulky and heavy goods over short and middle distances, especially by the London carriers. The coming of turnpike roads allowed the expansion of waggon services to London and major towns. Local newspapers carried advertisements offering quick services by ‘stage-waggons’ and ‘flying-waggons’. For example, by 1742 the ‘Derby Flying Waggon’ set off for London every Wednesday morning, arriving in the capital early Saturday morning.[4]
Waggons were used not only for transport but were crucial in the development of industry. Notably waggonways which were railways, initially using wooden rails, linking collieries with riverside wharves known as staiths. Coal would be carried on them in large waggons known as chaldrons. Each waggon would be under the control of one man with a horse.[5]
Waggons were also widespread for farm use. Becoming iconic symbols of our rural past. These developed over time and with regional variation, such as ‘Box’ and ‘Bow’ waggons.[6] When tractors and trailers became more common, wagons were often left to rot in hedgerows or barns, though many survive in museums or private hands.[7]
The landscape of Britain has been traversed in various ways and for many purposes as far back as any written records or archaeological evidence has shown. Considering this when observing and exploring the landscape of this country provides insight into a rich history of wayfaring and necessity of movement.
References and Resources:
Information for this post was taken from the excellent David Hey (ed.), The Oxford Companion to Local and Family History (1996), 478.
Stephen Porter, ‘Farm Transport in Huntingdonshire, 1610-1749’, Journal of Transport History, 3 (1982)
Dorian Gerhold, ‘Packhorses and Wheeled Vehicles in England, 1550-1800’ Journal of Transport History, 14/1 (1993)
Dorian Gerhold, Road Transport Before the Railways: Russell's London Flying Waggons (1993)
Dorian Gerhold, ‘The development of stage coaching and the impact of turnpike roads, 1653–1840’, Economic History Review, 67:3 (2014)
Philip Platt, The English farm waggon and the Oxfordshire tradition, https://england.prm.ox.ac.uk/englishness-Oxfordshire-waggons.html
Waggonways - The Land of Oak & Iron Heritage Education and Research Site
English farm wagons, carts and carriages - The MERL
[1] David Hey (ed.), The Oxford Companion to Local and Family History (1996), 478.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Waggonways - The Land of Oak & Iron Heritage Education and Research Site
[6] Philip Platt, The English farm waggon and the Oxfordshire tradition, https://england.prm.ox.ac.uk/englishness-Oxfordshire-waggons.html
[7] English farm wagons, carts and carriages - The MERL
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