Description

The first book on the fascinating luxury trade and unique social and domestic history of life in Regency England. Philip Godsal was one of the three leading coachmakers of the period 1780-1820, he recorded details of his business and social life as he conducted his trade with members of parliment and the aristocracy of the time, building carriages for customers in England and Europe. The personal papers of Philip Godsal, carriage manufacturer, have been preserved in a remarkable archive which includes a diary which he maintained for thirtyseven years with every item of his personal expenditure. Previously unpublished, these papers allow the first extensive modern study of the 'mystery' of coachmaking, and they provide an intimate portrait of a man and his business, his family and friends, and the world in which they lived. His circle of acquaintances ranged from the Prince of Wales, to whose Masonic lodge he belonged, the Prime Minister, William Pitt who was his customer, the actress Mrs Abington, from whom he bought a house, to Henry Fauntelroy, whom he sponsored as a freemason and who was hanged for forgery.