A short history of horse drawn deliveries in Windsor, visited by HRH Prince Charles, our now Majesty King Charles III, written by Rebecca Seear, daughter of, and groom to; Windsor Coachman John Seear, Windsor Carriages Coachman from 1949 to 2016.
The Legacy of Horse-Drawn Deliveries in Windsor
Flash back to the 1960's and goods were still being delivered around Windsor Town by horse and carriage as they had been for centuries before. One such tradesman was Mr Leslie Jones of The Token House, Windsor, who was renowned for continuing to use his horse drawn delivery van, driven by Windsor Coachman when they weren't working on their hackney carriages.
The Token House sold fine china, lead crystal glass, silver and antiques across the world and held Royal Warrants from both Her Majesty The Queen and Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. It was simply THE place to hold ones wedding gift list and continued to deliver its fine china and goods around Windsor by horse and carriage. Most notably it delivered Christmas gifts direct to Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle.
Mr John Seear, Windsor Carriages Coachman from 1949 to 2016, was the last coachman to drive the delivery van and pictures from the period show a delivery round coming out of The Henry VIII gate at Windsor Castle shown below.
The horse drawn delivery van would also deliver around local towns such as Marlow, shown here with John driving seated next to the china shop owner Mr Leslie Jones.
Windsors Horse drawn delivery van appeared at Royal Windsor Horse Show, in their trade class, shown below with a team of horses.
The Token House was located at 26 High Street, Windsor, where The Glorious Britain gift shop is now located.
We found a picture of Her Majesty Queen Mary (Great Grandmother to Our King) visiting The Token House in Windsor.
His Majesty King Charles III also stopped by to chat with Windsor Coachman John Seear on one of his rounds, pictured below.
Thank you for reading.