A surrey is a doorless, four-wheeled
carriage
A carriage is a two- or four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle for passengers. In Europe they were a common mode of transport for the wealthy during the Roman Empire, and then again from around 1600 until they were replaced by the motor car around 1 ...
popular in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Usually two-seated and able to hold four passengers, surreys had a variety of tops that included a rigid, fringed canopy, parasol, and extension. The seats were traditional, spindle-backed (often upholstered), bench seats. Before the advent of automobiles, these were
horse-drawn carriage
A carriage is a two- or four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle for passengers. In Europe they were a common mode of transport for the wealthy during the Roman Empire, and then again from around 1600 until they were replaced by the motor car around 1 ...
s.
The name is short for "Surrey cart", named after
Surrey
Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
in England, where they were first made.
In popular culture
The American surrey was famously celebrated in the song "
The Surrey with the Fringe on Top" from the musical ''
Oklahoma!
''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical theater, musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs's 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs (play), Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of ...
''.
Gallery
File:Surrey (PSF).svg, Line-art representation of a horse-drawn surrey.
File:1890 Carriage Model.jpg, 1890 Canadian open-top surrey once used in Vancouver
Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
.
File:1900 Spider Surrey, made by A. T. Demarest & Co., New York, New York.jpg, 1900 Spider Surrey, New York
File:MHV Knox Surrey 1904 01.jpg, 1904 Knox Surrey, an early adaptation of the concept to the motorized era.
See also
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Carriage
A carriage is a two- or four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle for passengers. In Europe they were a common mode of transport for the wealthy during the Roman Empire, and then again from around 1600 until they were replaced by the motor car around 1 ...
*
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 ...
References
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Carriages