A POPULAR feature on some Christmas cards shows a snowy scene with a stage coach and horses.

Halstead had at least four establishments where stage coaches and carriers called, and made overnight stops where necessary.

Each had its own accommodation for horses and drivers as well as travellers.

One was The Railway Hotel, which stood approximately opposite our library, well placed for when the railway arrived in Halstead circa 1860.

In the reprint from an 1862 copy of the Halstead Gazette the owner of the hotel, foreseeing the decline in horse drawn transport, advertises the modernisation of the premises.

Stage coaches were licensed to carry people and goods and travelled regular routes.

Some were licensed to carry post as well and were known as post houses.

Stage coach routes through Halstead connected to Norwich, Yarmouth, Cambridge, Colchester and London.

A typical stage coach had capacity to seat four people inside and 11 outside with the driver.

This became known as the top deck, a term still used by some when referring to the upper section of modern buses with an upstairs.

Only the well off could afford to travel inside with others forced to brave the elements.

An alternative goods carrier service also ran and these sometimes also carried people.

In times of limited travel some only made journeys once or twice a year and Christmas time was, no doubt, a favourite even when weather conditions were probably similar to those shown on our greeting cards.

See www halsteadhistory.org.uk