The Age Brighton Coach at The Bull and Mouth, Regent Circus, Piccadilly

The Prince Regent's frequent journeys between Carlton House and the Brighton Pavilion made communication between the capital and the seaside resort desirable, and during his association with the town the journey changed from a difficult two-day expedition to one of the fastest runs in England. The coaches ran on three main routes via either Lewes, Horsham, or Cuckfield. The engraving of this subject, with some minor differences, was entitled 'The Age, Brighton Coach at the Bull and Mouth, Regent Circus, Piccadilly'. This description would appear either confused or the topography of the picture slightly fanciful. The architecture in the background is certainly that of Regent Circus (later demolished to make way for Piccadilly Circus). The Bull and Mouth Inn, a very large coaching inn for travellers to all parts of England and Scotland, was, however, situated in St. Martin-le-Grand not Regent Circus. The inn was demolished at the end of the 19th Century when the General Post office covered the site. 'The Bull and Mouth' sign is preserved in the Museum of London. Of The Age coach Nimrod comments:

'The Brighton road may be said to be covered with coaches, no less than twenty-five running in a summer.....That called the Age, when driven and horsed by the late Mr. Stevenson, was an object of such admiration at Brighton that a crowd was every day collected to see it start. (Nimrod [C. J. Apperley], The Chase, The Turf, and The Road, London, 1837, pp.92-3).

Little is know about the artist who was an etcher as well as being a painter of sporting, equestrian and coaching subjects.