Brougham (carriage)

Brougham carriage

A brougham (pronounced "broom" or "brohm") was a light, four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage built in the 19th century.[1][note 1] It was named after Scottish jurist Lord Brougham, who had this type of carriage built to his specification by London coachbuilder Robinson & Cook[1] in 1838 or 1839.[1][2] It had an enclosed body with two doors,[1] like the rear section of a coach; it sat two, sometimes with an extra pair of fold-away seats in the front corners,[2] and with a box seat in front for the driver and a footman or passenger. Unlike a coach, the carriage had a glazed front window, so that the occupants could see forward.[1] The forewheels were capable of turning sharply. A variant, called a brougham-landaulet, had a top collapsible from the rear doors backward.[note 2]

Three features specific to the Brougham were:

  1. the sharply squared end of the roof at the back,
  2. the body line curving forward at the base of the enclosure, and
  3. low entry to the enclosure, using only one outside step below the door.[1]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ The OED gives a first usage in 1851, but the original design dates from about 1838, according to the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Brougham died in 1868.
  2. ↑ Compare the landau.

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Haajanen 2003, p. 24.
  2. 1 2 Stratton 1878, p. 376.

References

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