Clarence carriage on display at Palace of Cortés in Mexico

A clarence is a type of carriage that was popular in the early 19th century. It is a closed, four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle with a projecting glass front and seats for four passengers inside. The driver sat at the front, outside the carriage. The clarence was named after Prince William, Duke of Clarence and St Andrews, later King William IV of the United Kingdom, who died in 1837.[1]: 41  It was introduced in 1840 in London.[2] The Brougham was a lighter, two-passenger version originally commissioned by Lord Brougham.[1]: 24–25 

In time, second-hand clarences came to be used as hackney carriages, earning the nickname growler from the sound they made on London's cobbled streets.[1]: 41 [2]: 30 

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References

  1. ^ a b c Haajanen, Lennart W. (2003). Illustrated Dictionary of Automobile Body Styles. Illustrations by Bertil Nydén; foreword by Karl Ludvigsen. Jefferson, North Carolina USA: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-1276-3. LCCN 2002014546.
  2. ^ a b Smith, D.J.M. (1988). A Dictionary of Horse Drawn Vehicles. J. A. Allen & Co. Ltd. p. 46. ISBN 0851314686. OL 11597864M. Clarence. English family coach first appearing during the 1840's. Named after the then Duke of Clarence, by whom such a vehicle may have been owned. Hung on either cee or elliptical springs, without an underperch. An enlarged version of the Brougham although seating four persons vis-a-vis. Less ornate than a town or state coach and minus the decorative hammer cloth. Constructed in large numbers by the London firm of Laurie and Marner. Declined in use from the mid-1880's. Many were converted to cabs. Drawn by a single horse.

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