An extended visit to Fenix Carriages

During two glorious days 15 Liverymen took advantage of an offer by “one of our own“ Assistant Mark Broadbent to visit his coach and carriage driving collection in Clayhidon in Devon on 3rd and 4th May.

Assistant Mark Broadbent

In London, Mark Broadbent is a quiet, politely spoken, charming, Liveryman but at his beautiful yard he transforms into the most enthusiastic, entertaining raconteur. His depth of knowledge about carriage driving is second to none. Indeed if he was a bottle of wine, he comes from magnificent rootstock and would be described as “full bodied”.

Mark started his driving career at the age of eight and has competed successfully for more than 40 years. He is one of the few craftsmen in the country who restores and preserves carriages from all ages and is the current President of the Coaching Club of Great Britain.

We started in the coach house where he keeps 24 coaches of various descriptions. He told us how this form of transport had developed from a gig, to a dog cart, to a wagonette, to a phaeton, and finally a stage coach used by mail companies and the aristocracy.

One of the highlights included one owned by Renter Warden Bettine Evans, who during the day runs her car dealership business but several times a year, uses her very own Lord Lonsdale Coach with its splendid yellow and black livery. It even features compartments for drinks and glasses.

Bettine and her Lord Lonsdale coach

Mark rebuilt a special cocking cart, used to transport cockerels for cock fighting in the 18th century, in which he won the Horse of the Year Show in 1996. Competitors would couple three horses in tandem to show their prowess, providing a spectacular sight of three horses in line.

Also featured was a Vidler mail coach built between 1792-1836. A wonderful description of the coach exists on our website. The Duke of Edinburgh visited Fenix Carriages with fellow Liverymen in 2016, expressing a keen interest in the Vidler’s restoration.

The highlight for many was the coach ride the following day. Mark and his wife Joanna, a highly talented carriage driver in her own right, tacked up four Dutch warmblood horses to pull the Lorna Doone Coach, which was used originally to carry passengers from Lynton to Porlock to Minehead, when it regularly negotiated Porlock Hill, infamous for its gradient, where the highly skilled coach driver and his crew would use iron brakes placed under the wheels to stop it running away.

After a stiffener from the stirrup cups, six Liverymen climbed into the coach, led by our Master at the front with Mark. We set off out of the yard onto the Devon lanes. On either side was a carpet of bluebells followed by intense yellow from the rape fields. With the sun in the sky, the horses performed brilliantly, pulling us to the Half Moon Public House. Another beverage was consumed before we returned to the yard, marvelling at the glorious countryside.

Another magnificent Coachmakers’ adventure. Many thanks to Mark, Joanna and Chris for organising.