Coach (carriage)

A coach is 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. It had doors in the sides, with generally a front and a back seat inside and, for the driver, a small, usually elevated seat in front called a box, box seat or coach box. The term "coach" first came into use in the 15th century, and spread across Europe. There are a number of types of coaches, with differentiations based on use, location and size. Special breeds of horses, such as the now-extinct Yorkshire Coach Horse, were developed to pull the vehicles.

Kocs (pronounced "kotch") was the Hungarian post town in the 15th century onwards, which gave its name to a fast light vehicle, which later spread across Europe. Therefore, the English word coach, the Spanish and Portuguese coche, the German Kutsche, and the Slovak and Czech koč all probably derive from the Hungarian word "kocsi", literally meaning "of Kocs".

It was not until about the middle of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, that coaches were introduced to England. Coaches were reputedly introduced into England from France by Henry FitzAlan, 19th Earl of Arundel.

A coach with four horses is a coach-and-four. A coach together with the horses, harness and attendants is a turnout.

The bodies of early coaches, as of American Concord stagecoaches, were hung on leather straps. In the eighteenth century steel springs were substituted, an improvement in suspension. An advertisement in the Edinburgh Courant for 1754 reads:

The Edinburgh stage-coach, for the better accommodation of passengers, will be altered to a new genteel two-end glass coach-machine, hung on steel springs, exceedingly light and easy...

A coach might have a built-in compartment called a boot, used originally as a seat for the coachman and later for storage. A luggage case for the top of a coach was called an imperial; the top, roof or second-story compartment of a coach was also known as an imperial. The front and rear axles were connected by a main shaft called the perch or reach. A crossbar known as a splinter bar supported the springs. Coaches were often decorated by painters using a sable brush called a liner.

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