Hazards of Seventeenth Century Travel, 1697

On 26 June 1697 Sir John Bramston, of Skreens near Roxwell, decided to visit friends at Albyns near Stapleford Tawney. His daughter had taken the coach horses to London, so he was reduced to using two borrowed horses (one of which was young and inexperienced), as well as a borrowed coachman. All went well until ‘goeinge apace downe a hill beyond Ongar, a butcher comeing up loden, and not getting out of the way, the chariot run upon him, and threw the butcher off, and I was afraid had mischeived the fellow, for he cried out on his back; but my men helped him up again, and I presume he had no hurt, for I never heard more of it.’

He resumed his journey to Albyns but the younger horse proved excitable and difficult to control. On driving up the chase to the house, the young horse refused to stop and, on being reined in hard, fell to the ground kicking. It succeeded in dislodging the footboard, causing the coachman to topple off the box and fall between the animal’s legs. Only the swift intervention of the Albyn’s servants in restraining the horse saved the man’s life, as well as preventing the death or injury of those still inside the coach.

The footboard was nailed back, and Sir John returned to Skreens after his visit with a horse borrowed from Albyns to replace the excitable youngster, as well as another coachman. It should be noted that Sir John was nearly 88 years of age when this incident occurred, but reported these events in his autobiography in a matter-of-fact way. Accidents involving horses were probably a part of daily life.