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cabbie’s claim ‘I don’t go south of the river’? In 1694 some ladies hired a Hackney coach and took it to Hyde Park where they ‘behaved disgracefully and insulted some very distinguished people driving in their private coaches’. As a result Hackneys (and their successors) were banned from Hyde Park until 1924.

    In 1823 David Davis, a resident of Mount Street, Mayfair, introduced a cabriolet: a one-horse, two-seater design from France. Painted a distinctive yellow and black they were soon known as cabs. In 1850 the Metropolitan Police assumed responsibility for the Hackneys, issuing licences and administering the fearsome Knowledge test which has survived the advent of sat-navs. Aspiring taxi drivers may be seen in London at weekends, usually on bicycles, travelling slowly around the capital memorising street names from lists mounted on handlebars. Taximeters (a French word meaning ‘tariff meter’) were introduced in 1907. There are now about 16,000 licensed taxis and although they are often referred to as ‘black cabs’ they now come in all colours.
    Cabbies’ cabins
    Cabmen’s shelters are also a distinctive feature of the capital. Made of wood, usually painted green and emitting a distinctive smell of coffee they provide refreshment stops for taxi drivers. They owe their origins to the Earl of Shaftesbury who in 1875 created the Cabmen’s Shelter Fund which constructed 61 shelters, all within six miles of Charing Cross and in places frequently used by taxis. Thirteen of these survive in locations such as Russell Square, Temple Place and Hanover Square. They are all listed buildings.
    DR DUNCAN – DRUNK ATTENTION SEEKER OR THE RIPPER?
    In October 1888, the Daily Telegraph carried an account of a visit by a mysterious stranger to the cabmen’s shelter in Westbourne Grove which has since been demolished. The cabmen were discussing the latest Whitechapel murder which had taken place that morning when the stranger assured them that he was indeed the murderer. Having been invited to sign the Visitors’ Book he did so as ‘J. Duncan; doctor; residence, Cabman’s Shelter; Sept. 30, 1888.’ He then vanished, clasping the bottle of brandy that he had brought with him.

From hearses to Bendies
London’s buses
    L ondon’s first bus service opened on 4th July 1829 from Paddington Green to the Bank of England. It was the brainchild of George Shillibeer (1797-1866), a coachbuilder who had visited Paris and seen the Omnibus (Latin ‘for all’) service introduced by Stanislas Baudry. Baudry drowned himself in the Seine when his enterprise failed, an event which foreshadowed the fate of Shillibeer’s own service. The novelty of shared urban transport, together with the fearful congestion of London’s streets, meant that few were attracted by the service which charged the considerable fare of a shilling (5p) for ‘outside’ passengers and one shilling and sixpence (7.5p) for ‘inside’ passengers. Shillibeer went bankrupt, fled to Boulogne to escape his creditors and, after a short spell in a debtors’ gaol, finally achieved prosperity by redesigning the vehicle as a hearse.

    The Parisian Omnibus
    In the 1840s Thomas Tilling introduced an omnibus service in Peckham and in 1855 the London General Omnibus Company, with many French investors and directors involved, was established using horse buses which remained in use on London’s streets until 1916. The first motor bus entered service in 1897 and in the years following World War I anarchy prevailed as ‘pirate’ buses, operated by independent owners, competed with the London General Omnibus Company (by now owned by the Underground Railway Group) on the most lucrative routes. The situation was resolved by the creation by Herbert Morrison in 1933 of the London Passenger Transport Board, which assumed control of all rail and road transport services within London. These included London’s tramways which continued to operate until 1953.
    One famous