A
coachman was a man whose business it was to drive a
coachA coach was originally a large, usually closed, four-wheeled carriage with two or more horses harnessed as a team, controlled by a coachman and/or one or more postilions...
, a horse-drawn vehicle designed for the conveyance of more than one passenger — and of mail — and covered for protection from the elements. He was also called a
coachee,
coachy or
whip.
The term "coachman" is correctly applied to the driver of any type of coach, but it had a specialized meaning before the advent of
motor vehicleA motor vehicle is a wheeled vehicle whose propulsion is provided by an engine or motor . The internal combustion engine is the most common motor choice, although electric motors or other types are sometimes used. Motor vehicles or road vehicles typically run on public roads...
s, as the servant who preceded the
chauffeurA chauffeur is an individual who operates any self-propelled vehicle for a profession. While the term may refer to anybody who drives for a living, it usually implies a driver of an elegant passenger vehicle such as a horse-drawn carriage, luxury sedan, motor coach, or especially a limousine;...
in domestic service.
A
coachman was a man whose business it was to drive a
coachA coach was originally a large, usually closed, four-wheeled carriage with two or more horses harnessed as a team, controlled by a coachman and/or one or more postilions...
, a horse-drawn vehicle designed for the conveyance of more than one passenger — and of mail — and covered for protection from the elements. He was also called a
coachee,
coachy or
whip.
The term "coachman" is correctly applied to the driver of any type of coach, but it had a specialized meaning before the advent of
motor vehicleA motor vehicle is a wheeled vehicle whose propulsion is provided by an engine or motor . The internal combustion engine is the most common motor choice, although electric motors or other types are sometimes used. Motor vehicles or road vehicles typically run on public roads...
s, as the servant who preceded the
chauffeurA chauffeur is an individual who operates any self-propelled vehicle for a profession. While the term may refer to anybody who drives for a living, it usually implies a driver of an elegant passenger vehicle such as a horse-drawn carriage, luxury sedan, motor coach, or especially a limousine;...
in domestic service. In a
great houseA great house is a large and stately residence; the term encompasses different styles of dwelling in different countries. The name refers to the makeup of the household rather than to any particular architectural style. It particularly refers to large households of times past in Anglophone...
, this would have been a specialty, but in more modest households, the coachman would have doubled as the stablehand or
groomA groom is an employee who is responsible for some or all aspects of the welfare of a stable owner's horses and/or the care of the stables themselves.-Word history:...
.
In early coaches he sat on a built-in compartment called a
boot, bracing his feet on a footrest called a
footboard. He was often pictured wearing a
box coat or
box jacket, a heavy
overcoatAn overcoat is a type of long coat intended to be worn as the outermost garment. Overcoats usually extend below the knee, but are sometimes mistakenly referred to as topcoats, which are short coats that end at or above the knees. Topcoats and overcoats together are known as outercoats...
with or without shoulder capes, double-breasted, with fitted waist and wide lapels; its name derives from its use by coachmen riding on the box seat, exposed to all kinds of weather. An ornamented, often fringed cloth called a
hammercloth might have hung over the coachman's seat, especially of a ceremonial coach. He could be seen taking refreshments at a type of
public houseA public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises in countries and regions of British influence. Although the terms often have different connotations, there is little definitive difference between pubs, bars,...
called a
watering house.
A coachman was sometimes called a
jarvey or
jarvie, especially in
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
(Jarvey was a nickname for
JarvisJarvis is a surname and, less frequently, a male given name.* Jarvis "Joe" Deane was a photographer who lost an eye in the 1896 Crash at Crush."Jarvis" can also refer to:In fictional characters:* Edwin Jarvis, fictional Marvel Comics butler...
). One who drove dangerously fast or recklessly might invoke biblical or mytholological allusions: Some referred to him as a
jehu, recalling King
JehuJehu was king of Israel, the son of Jehoshaphat , and grandson of Nimshi. William F. Albright has dated his reign to 842 BC-815 BC, while E. R. Thiele offers the dates 841 BC-814 BC...
of
IsraelThe history of ancient Israel and Judah is known to us essentially from the Hebrew Bible...
, who was noted for his furious attacks in a
chariotThe chariot is the earliest and simplest type of carriage, used in both peace and war as the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples. Chariots were built in Mesopotamia by the Mesopotamians as early as 3000 BC and in China during the 2nd millennium BC. The original chariot was a fast, light, open,...
(2
KingsThe Books of Kings are books included in the Hebrew Bible. They were originally written in Hebrew and are recognised as scripture by Judaism and Christianity...
9:20) before he died about 816 BCE. Others dubbed him a
Phaeton, harking back to the Greek
PhaëtonIn Greek mythology, Phaëtōn or Phaethōn was the son of Helios . Perhaps the most famous version of the myth is given us through Ovid in his Metamorphoses . Phaeton seeks assurance that his mother, Clymene, is telling the truth that his father is the sun god Helios...
, son of
HeliosIn Greek mythology the sun was personified as Helios Homer often calls him simply Titan or Hyperion, while Hesiod and the Homeric Hymn separate him as a son of the Titans Hyperion and Theia or Euryphaessa and brother of the goddesses Selene, the moon, and Eos, the dawn...
who, attempting to drive the chariot of the sun, managed to set the earth on fire. When there was no coachman, a
postilion or
postillion sometimes rode as a guide on the near horse of a pair or of one of the pairs attached to a coach.
Coachman is also a synonym for the
pennant coralfishThe pennant coralfish, longfin bannerfish or Coachman, Heniochus acuminatus, is a tropical fish of the family Chaetodontidae. It is also known colloquially as the "poor man's moorish idol".-Appearance:...
(
Heniochus Monoceros).
Coachman is also a very famous fly used for flyfishing. The pattern exist as both a
dry-fly and wet-fly. The pattern is composed before 1860 in England.
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