Road vehicle; Sedan chair with two wooden carrying poles, 1780 - 1800

Sedan chairs were introduced in the 1630s. The enclosed chairs, carried on poles by two 'chairmen', could be hired for short journeys in central London. Because they could fit down narrow streets, this was sometimes quicker than a horse-drawn vehicle; however, fast-moving chairmen often collided with pedestrians. By the mid 1600s there were many licensed and numbered Sedan chairs operating in London, but they were only available to wealthy passengers. They went out of favour in the early 1800s. This chair dates from around 1780.