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George Shillibeer (11 August 1797 – 21 August 1866) was an
Whilst in Paris, Shillibeer concluded that operating similar vehicles in London, but for the fare-paying public with multiple stops, would be a paying enterprise, so he returned to his native city. His first London " Omnibus" took up service on 4 July 1829 on the route between Parish church of St. Mary the Virgin
British Listed Buildings, accessed 18 October 2017.
In 1979, the 150th anniversary of the commencement of the first omnibus service in London, several London buses (twelve AEC Routemasters and one Leyland Fleetline) were operated in a green and yellow livery similar to Shillibeer's Omnibus. These specially painted vehicles were displayed for their launch into service at the Guildhall in central London on Friday 2 March 1979. Poet laureate Sir
A brief biography
with a photo {{DEFAULTSORT:Shillibeer, George 1797 births 1866 deaths Coachbuilders of the United Kingdom English inventors People from Marylebone People associated with transport in London
George Shillibeer (11 August 1797 – 21 August 1866) was an English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
coachbuilder
A coachbuilder or body-maker is someone who manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles.Construction has always been a skilled trade requiring a relatively lightweight product with sufficient strength. The manufacture of necessarily ...
.
Biography
Shillibeer was born inSt Marylebone
Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary.
An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it merge ...
, London the son of Abraham and Elizabeth Shillibeer. Christened in St Marys Church, Marylebone on 22 October 1797, Shillibeer worked for the coach company Hatchetts in Long Acre
Long Acre is a street in the City of Westminster in central London. It runs from St Martin's Lane, at its western end, to Drury Lane in the east. The street was completed in the early 17th century and was once known for its coach-makers, and la ...
, the coach-building district of the capital. In the 1820s he was offered work in Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
, France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, where he was commissioned to build some unusually large horse-drawn coaches of "novel design". The aim was to design a coach capable of transporting a whole group of people, perhaps two dozen, at a time.
Shillibeer's design worked, and was very stable. It was introduced into the streets of Paris in 1827. Shortly afterwards, Shillibeer was commissioned to build another by the Newington Academy for Girls
The Newington Academy for Girls, also known as Newington College for Girls, was a Quaker school established in 1824 in Stoke Newington, then north of London. In a time when girls' educational opportunities were limited, it offered a wide rang ...
, a Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...
school in Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington is an area occupying the north-west part of the London Borough of Hackney in north-east London, England. It is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington the ancient parish.
The ...
near London; this had a total of twenty-five seats, and entered history as the first school bus
A school bus is any type of bus owned, leased, contracted to, or operated by a school or school district. It is regularly used to transport students to and from school or school-related activities, but not including a charter bus or transit bus ...
. In 1827 Joseph Pease Joseph Pease may refer to:
* Joseph Pease (railway pioneer) (1799–1872), railway owner, first Quaker elected Member of Parliament
** Sir Joseph Pease, 1st Baronet (1828–1903), MP 1865–1903, full name Joseph Whitwell Pease, son of Joseph Pease ...
, a railway pioneer and later the first Quaker MP, wrote in verse about the school bus:
: The straight path of Truth the dear Girls keep their feet in,
: And ah! it would do your heart good Cousin Anne,
: To see them arriving at Gracechurch Street Meeting,
: All snugly packed up, 25 in a van.
Whilst in Paris, Shillibeer concluded that operating similar vehicles in London, but for the fare-paying public with multiple stops, would be a paying enterprise, so he returned to his native city. His first London " Omnibus" took up service on 4 July 1829 on the route between Paddington
Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Padd ...
(The Yorkshire Stingo
The Yorkshire Stingo was a public house in Marylebone in the 18th to mid-20th century. Its name came about because it was customary for Yorkshiremen in London to gather at the pub and its adjoining pleasure gardens on the first three days of Ma ...
) and "Bank" (Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government o ...
) via the " New Road" (now Marylebone Rd), Somers Town and City Rd. Four services were provided in each direction daily. This service was described in the first advertisements as being "upon the Parisian mode" and that "a person of great respectability attended his vehicle as Conductor". An account of the new service was given in the '' Morning Post'' of 7 July 1829:
Saturday the new vehicle, called the Omnibus, commenced running from Paddington to the City, and excited considerable notice, both from the novel form of the carriage, and the elegance with which it is fitted out. It is capable of accommodating 16 or 18 persons, all inside, and we apprehend it would be almost impossible to make it overturn, owing to the great width of the carriage. It was drawn by three beautifulA less successful innovation was his "Funeral Omnibus", which combined a passenger vehicle with a hearse. George Shillibeer died atbay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a na ...s abreast, after the French fashion. The Omnibus is a handsome machine, in the shape of a van. The width the horses occupy will render the vehicle rather inconvenient to be turned or driven through some of the streets of London.
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
, East Sussex
East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East ...
on 21 August 1866 (some sources say 22 August), and is buried in the graveyard at St Mary's Church at Chigwell
Chigwell is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, England. It is part of the urban and metropolitan area of London, and is adjacent to the northern boundary of Greater London. It is on the Central line of the Lon ...
in Essex
Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...
.British Listed Buildings, accessed 18 October 2017.
In 1979, the 150th anniversary of the commencement of the first omnibus service in London, several London buses (twelve AEC Routemasters and one Leyland Fleetline) were operated in a green and yellow livery similar to Shillibeer's Omnibus. These specially painted vehicles were displayed for their launch into service at the Guildhall in central London on Friday 2 March 1979. Poet laureate Sir John Betjeman
Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture ...
was one of the guests at the ceremony. Also, a memorial service was held at the Chigwell Church attended by Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of Ki ...
.
Shillibeer Walk in Chigwell was named after him, and Shillibeer Place in Marylebone, as is a pub/restaurant named The George Shillibeer next to a converted omnibus factory in north London.
BBC ''Coast
The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...
'' presenter Nicholas Crane, is a direct descendant.
See also
*Horsebus
A horse-bus or horse-drawn omnibus was a large, enclosed, and sprung horse-drawn vehicle used for passenger transport before the introduction of motor vehicles. It was mainly used in the late 19th century in both the United States and Europe ...
* Horse-drawn vehicle
A horse-drawn vehicle is a mechanized piece of equipment pulled by one horse or by a team of horses. These vehicles typically had two or four wheels and were used to carry passengers and/or a load. They were once common worldwide, but they have m ...
References
*External links
A brief biography
with a photo {{DEFAULTSORT:Shillibeer, George 1797 births 1866 deaths Coachbuilders of the United Kingdom English inventors People from Marylebone People associated with transport in London