A governess cart, governess car or tub cart is a two-wheeled horse-drawn cart pulled by a single horse or pony, with a tub-shaped body designed to contain small children.

Design

The governess cart's distinguishing feature is a tub-shaped body which is made of basketwork, varnished wood or painted wood. There are two longitudinal seats—the passengers facing each other—and a small door in the rear with an exterior low step to enter or exit. The entry and seating arrangement is similar to that of a

wagonette A wagonette or waggonette, meaning ''little wagon'', is a four-wheeled open carriage drawn by one or two horses. It has a front seat for the driver, and passengers enter from the rear and sit face to face on longitudinal bench seats. Originating a ...

. The driver sits sideways in the right-hand rear corner, and there is usually a cutout of the bench seat as allowance for the knees of the driver as they try to sit facing somewhat forward. The vehicle has a

dropped axle A dropped axle is the axle of a vehicle that is bent upwards towards the ends, i.e. the centre is 'dropped'. This gives two advantages: the centre of gravity of the bodywork is lowered relative to the wheels, which improves stability; secondly t ...

and the shafts for a single horse are attached low on the body, both features contributing to a low centre of gravity. They can be fitted with wheels of different sizes to accommodate small ponies up to large horses. There is usually a fender which helps keep water and mud from flinging up onto the passengers and helps to keep children from reaching the wheels. The body is usually mounted on

elliptical spring A leaf spring is a simple form of spring (device), spring commonly used for suspension (vehicle), suspension in wheeled vehicles. Originally called a ''laminated'' or ''carriage spring'', and sometimes referred to as a semi-elliptical spring, e ...

s, though other spring systems have also been used. File:1880 Tonneau Governess-cart, Château de Chenonceau.JPG, This image shows the typical dropped axle, elliptical springs, iron-clad wheels, and fenders. This large cart even has brakes. File:For Nanny and Children (3291322385).jpg, This image shows the rear door. This cart has button-tufted upholstery, carriage lamps, semi-elliptical springs, and rubber-clad wheels. File:Dr Evans' family, Llandysul (Cer) NLW3363341.jpg, This image shows how the driver would sit in the rear right seat, twisted forward.

Variations

The governess cart is also called a governess car or tub cart, though the tub cart usually refers to the larger and heavier vehicles. Other regional names for the same vehicle have included ''Avondale'' in the US, ''Digby'' in northeast England, and ''Jingle'' in southwest England. Some tub carts don't have a rear door, but instead an open doorway. A few are headed (built with a top). A ''Princess car'' has a governess cart body, but is entered from the front. A ''Beverley car'' is an unvarnished wood square-sided version, instead of having rounded corners. Some four-wheeled vehicles have been mistakenly called governess carts, either because their bodies were tub-shaped or made of basketwork (resembling a governess cart).

Historical context

The governess cart is a relatively late development in

horse-drawn vehicle A horse-drawn vehicle is a piece of equipment pulled by one or more horses. These vehicles typically have two or four wheels and were used to carry passengers or a load. They were once common worldwide, but they have mostly been replaced by auto ...

s, appearing around 1880–1900. The purpose of the vehicle is to be light enough to be drawn by a well-mannered pony or small horse which is gentle enough to be handled by a woman. They were frequently used by

governess A governess is a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching; depending on terms of their employment, they may or ma ...

es to transport their child charges, giving rise to the vehicle's name. The vehicle is also relatively safe, being difficult to overturn, fall out of, or be injured from the horse or wheels. Entering from the rear, instead of entering in front of a wheel, is a safer position for small children because they don't risk being run over if the horse doesn't stand still.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Governess Cart Carts Carriages

Design

Variations

Historical context

See also

Notes

References