The coach road, the stage coach era, the development of the postal service, coaching inns and highwaymen – famous themes of the Great North Road.
Stage-coach History
Stagecoach history is intertwined with societal changes in travel habits, technical innovation, the roots of industrial revolution, population growth and...
London Coaching Inns
By the early 19th century there were 120 stage coach inns within a city which was far more compact than today. Many of the coach services were aligned with specific...
Edinburgh Coaching Inns
Arguably it was the Great North Road and the development of coaching services which was the precursor to the emergence of coaching inns and hotels in Edinburgh...
York Coaching Inns
York coaching inns flourished and had a major impact on the economic fortunes of the city for 200 years. The high point was after the road improvements associated...
The Rushey Inn, Babworth
Many coaching inns are long gone, falling victim to the ravages of time, changing habits and road widening. The Rushey Inn at Babworth near Retford has been...
The Angel Inn, Grantham
The Angel Inn traces its roots back to a hostel built in 1203 by the Knights Templar; this was a military/religious order which supported those fighting the Crusades or...
The George, Stamford
The George at Stamford vies with the Angel at Grantham as the country’s oldest surviving coaching inn. Its distinctive wooden arch over the Great North Road...
Coaching Inns
As horse drawn coaches and wagons multiplied during the 18th and early 19th centuries, they spawned a new network of coaching inns and support facilities...
Dick Turpin
Dick Turpin, the “Flying Highwayman”, was famed for his bravery, resolution and generosity. A scoundrel and a thief but also a gentleman who minimised any...
Road Building Revolution
The growth of turnpikes after 1700 started to provide funding for investment but it was the road building revolution of the late 18th and the 19th centuries which...
Turnpikes
The first turnpike in the country introduced charges to a section of the Old North Road. Over the next 100 years turnpikes were introduced the length of...
John Nevison – Highwayman
John Nevison was one of the most infamous highwaymen operating along the Great North Road. His gang of outlaws met at the Talbot Inn at Newark and robbed...
Ogilby’s Britannia
John Ogilby published an early road atlas of England and Wales. Each of his chosen roads was displayed in linear form. The route from London to Barwick....
History of The Post
The Great North Road developed as a means of faster and more frequent transport of people and goods, but it was the needs of the emerging postal service that....