A hearse is a large vehicle, originally a
horse carriage but later with the introduction of motor vehicles, a
car, used to carry the body of a deceased person in a
coffin
A coffin is a funerary box used for viewing or keeping a corpse, either for burial or cremation.
Sometimes referred to as a casket, any box in which the dead are buried is a coffin, and while a casket was originally regarded as a box for jewe ...
at a funeral, wake, or memorial service. They range from deliberately anonymous vehicles to heavily decorated vehicles.
In the funeral trade of some countries hearses are called funeral cars or funeral coaches.
History
The name is derived, through the French herse, from the Latin , which means a
harrow
Harrow may refer to:
Places
* Harrow, Victoria, Australia
* Harrow, Ontario, Canada
* The Harrow, County Wexford, a village in Ireland
* London Borough of Harrow, England
** Harrow, London, a town in London
** Harrow (UK Parliament constituency)
...
. The funeral hearse was originally a wooden or metal framework, which stood over the
bier or
coffin
A coffin is a funerary box used for viewing or keeping a corpse, either for burial or cremation.
Sometimes referred to as a casket, any box in which the dead are buried is a coffin, and while a casket was originally regarded as a box for jewe ...
and supported the
pall. It was provided with numerous spikes to hold burning candles, and, owing to the resemblance of these spikes to the teeth of a harrow, was called a hearse. Later on, the word was applied, not only to the construction above the coffin, but to any receptacle in which the coffin was placed. Thus
from about 1650
[Oxford English Dictionary Online accessed 26 January 2018] it came to denote the vehicle on which the dead are carried to the grave.
[
Hearses were originally hand-drawn then horse-drawn after the decoration and weight of the hearse increased. The first electric motorized hearses were introduced to the United States in the early 1900s.] Petrol-powered hearses began to be produced from 1907 and, after slow initial uptake due to their high cost, became widely accepted in the 1920s. The vast majority of hearses since then have been based on larger, more powerful car chassis, generally retaining the front end up to and possibly including the front doors but with custom bodywork to the rear to contain the coffin.
Maipú, Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...
.
Ter6.jpg, Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
hearse, Theresienstadt concentration camp
Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination camp ...
, Terezín, Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. Th ...
.
White hearse wagon.jpg, White hearse, USA.
File:Convoi Funebres de l Imperatrice Leopoldine by Debret.jpg, Funeral procession of Empress Maria Leopoldina of Brazil with a horse-drawn hearse, 1826.
File:Vienna-Schönbrunn Royal Hearse Austria (32938095545).jpg, Imperial hearse from Austria, circa 1888
File:Interior of St Bartholomew's Chapel, Botley - geograph.org.uk - 221854 (cropped).jpg, Hand-drawn hearse
Eglise Arc-en-Barrois 281008.jpg, Ancient hand-drawn hearse (church of Arc-en-Barrois, France).
Corbillard 3.JPG, Ancient hearse hippomobile (France)
File:SLNSW 8565 1919 model Renault hearse at Wood Coffills funeral parlour.jpg, 1919 model Renault hearse, Australia, ca. 1930
File:Dodge Magnum 2006 (15902557573).jpg, Modern hearse, 2006 Dodge Magnum in Chile
First Call vehicles
A First Call vehicle is used to pick up the remains of a recently deceased person, and transport that person to a funeral home
A funeral home, funeral parlor or mortuary, is a business that provides burial and funeral services for the dead and their families. These services may include a prepared wake and funeral, and the provision of a chapel for the funeral.
Services ...
or morgue
A morgue or mortuary (in a hospital or elsewhere) is a place used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification (ID), removal for autopsy, respectful burial, cremation or other methods of disposal. In modern times, corpses have c ...
.
Rail transport
A few big cities provided special rail lines and/or funeral trolley cars and/or subway cars to carry bodies and mourners to remote cemeteries such as in Sydney, NSW and London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and tram services were common. Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
, Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...
operated 3 different funeral trolley cars over the elevated tracks in downtown Chicago to outlying cemeteries in the western suburbs. A special funeral bureau handled the funeral trains which sometimes operated 3–4 funeral trains a week over the "L".
Motorcycle hearses
A motorcycle hearse may be used during the funeral of a motorcycle enthusiast. It is either a motorcycle with a sidecar
A sidecar is a one-wheeled device attached to the side of a motorcycle, scooter, or bicycle, making the whole a three-wheeled vehicle. A motorcycle with a sidecar is sometimes called a ''combination'', an ''outfit'', a ''rig'' or a ''hack''.
...
built to carry a casket or urn at the side of the rider, or a trike
Trike may refer to:
Vehicles with three wheels and seated
* Drift trike, a type of recreational tricycle with no pedals
* Electric trike
* Motorized tricycle
* Three-wheeler
* Tricycle (non-motorized)
* Ultralight trike, a type of powered hang g ...
that carries the casket behind the rider.
Modern usage
Two styles of formal hearse bodywork are common. One style has opaque rear panels so the coffin is barely glimpsed. This American style is fitted with a heavily padded leather or vinyl roof and each side decorated with large mock landau bars resembling the braces used for the folding leather tops on some horse-drawn carriages. The other has narrow pillars and large windows revealing the coffin.
File:Malta - Mellieha - Misrah il-Parocca 02 ies.jpg, Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquarter ...
hearse with large rear windows
File:Hearse Memphis TN 2013-03-10 003.jpg, American-style Cadillac
The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed ...
hearse
File:Holden Hearse 03.JPG, Holden Caprice
The Holden Caprice is a full-sized car which was produced by Holden in Australia from 1990 to October 2017. The similar Holden Statesman, which was also introduced in 1990 as a model below the Caprice, was discontinued in September 2010. Betwe ...
hearse
File:Chevrolet Silverado Hearse in Indianola, Mississippi.jpg, Chevrolet Silverado Hearse in Indianola, Mississippi
Since the working life of a hearse is generally one of light duty and short, sedate drives, hearses often remain serviceable for a long time and hearses 30 years old or more may still be in service. Due to the costs of owning an expensive custom vehicle that sits idle "80 to 90 percent of the week", individual funeral homes reduce costs by renting or utilizing a shared motor pool.
Perhaps owing to the morbid associations of the hearse, its luxurious accommodations for the driver, or both, the hearse has a number of enthusiasts who own and drive retired hearses. There are several hearse clubs.
North America
Usually, more luxurious automobile brands are used as a base for funeral cars; since the 1930s, the vast majority of hearses in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
and Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...
have been Cadillac
The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed ...
s and less frequently, Lincolns.
The Cadillac Commercial Chassis was a longer and strengthened version of the long-wheelbase Fleetwood limousine frame to carry the extra weight of bodywork, rear deck and cargo. The rear of the Cadillac commercial chassis was considerably lower than the passenger car frame, thereby lowering the rear deck height as well for ease of loading and unloading. The Cadillac hearses were shipped as incomplete cars to 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 ...
s for final assembly. Since the late 1990s, most Cadillac based funeral cars have been constructed from modified Cadillac sedans, until late 2019; The XTS chassis was discontinued from General Motors, and as such any new Cadillac hearse will be built on the XT5 SUV chassis, with the S&S Coach Company now building certain models of hearse on the XT6 platform.
The fleet division of Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobiles ...
sells a Lincoln Town Car
The Lincoln Town Car is a model line of full-size luxury sedans that was marketed by the Lincoln division of the American automaker Ford Motor Company. Deriving its name from a limousine body style, Lincoln marketed the Town Car from 1981 to ...
with a special "hearse package" strictly to coachbuilders. Shipped without rear seat, rear interior trim, rear window or decklid, the hearse package also features upgraded suspension, brakes, charging system and tires. This was replaced with the Lincoln MKT, which has also been discontinued, followed by the Continental which also was discontinued after a short run.
The limousine style of hearse is more popular in the United States. It is common practice in the US for the windows to be curtained, while in other countries the windows are normally left unobscured.
Until the 1970s, it was common for many hearses to also be used as ambulance
An ambulance is a medically equipped vehicle which transports patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport.
Ambulances are used to respond to medi ...
s, due to the large cargo capacity in the rear of the vehicle. These vehicles were called " combination cars" and were especially used in small towns and rural areas. Car-based ambulances and combination coaches were unable to meet stricter Federal specifications for such vehicles and were discontinued after 1979.
Europe
Coachbuilders modify Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquarter ...
, Jaguar
The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the thi ...
, Opel
Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA ...
, Ford, Vauxhall Motors
Vauxhall Motors LimitedCompany No. 00135767. Incorporated 12 May 1914, name changed from Vauxhall Motors Limited to General Motors UK Limited on 16 April 2008, reverted to Vauxhall Motors Limited on 18 September 2017. () is a British car compa ...
and Volvo
The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...
products to hearses. Some second-hand Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to:
* Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct
Automobiles
* Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated ...
cars have traditionally been used as hearses though the high cost of newer models is generally considered prohibitive.
In the United Kingdom it is possible to hire 'non-traditional' hearses that have usually been converted from various production vehicles such as vans or 'estate' style cars which may have held a particular memory for the deceased. An example of this is the Morris Minor Traveller a popular and well-loved car in the United Kingdom.
Japan
In Japan, hearses, called , can come in two styles: "Foreign" style, which is similar in build and style to an American hearse, or a "Japanese" style, in which the rear area of the vehicle is modified to resemble a small, ornate Buddhist temple.
The Japanese-style hearse generally requires the rear of the vehicle to be extensively altered; commonly, the rear roof is cut away from the front windows back and all interior parts are removed from the rear as well. The ornate Buddhist-style rear area, generally constructed of wood and in which the casket or urn is placed, is built on top of this empty cavity and most often is wider than the base of the vehicle, so that it sticks out on the sides, over the rear body panels. Popular bases for these hearses are large sedans, minivans and pickup trucks.
The ornaments on a Japanese-style hearse vary by region. Nagoya
is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most p ...
style decorates both the upper and lower halves of the car body.
Kansai
The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropolitan ...
style has a relatively modest decorations unpainted.
Kanazawa
is the capital city of Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 466,029 in 203,271 households, and a population density of 990 persons per km2. The total area of the city was .
Overview Cityscape
File:もてな ...
style is known for having a red body (other styles mostly have black bodies) with gilded ornaments.
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
style, found anywhere else in Japan, features painted/gilded ornaments on the upper half of the body.
"Foreign" style hearses are mostly similar in appearance to their US counterparts, although their exterior dimensions and interiors reflect the Japanese preference for smaller, less ornate caskets
A casket jewelry box is a container that is usually smaller than a chest, and in the past were typically decorated. Whereas cremation jewelry is a small container, usually in the shape of a pendant or bracelet, to hold a small amount of ashes.
...
(this in light of the national preference for cremation). This means that, in contrast to American hearses, the rear quarter panels require less, and sometimes no, alteration. These are generally built from station wagons
A station wagon ( US, also wagon) or estate car ( UK, also estate), is an automotive body-style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door ( ...
such as the Nissan Stagea, or from executive sedans such as the Toyota Celsior (Lexus LS
The is a full-size car, full-size luxury car, luxury sedan (F-segment in Europe) serving as the Core product, flagship model of Lexus, the luxury division (business), division of Toyota. For the first four generations, all LS models featured V8 ...
in the US) and Nissan Cima
The is a luxury sedan produced by Nissan for the Japanese market. The car's name is derived from Spanish for "summit". Earlier generations installed a hood ornament with an image of an acanthus leaf. The acanthus leaf was commonly used by c ...
( Infiniti Q45 in the US). American market vehicles such as the Lincoln Town Car
The Lincoln Town Car is a model line of full-size luxury sedans that was marketed by the Lincoln division of the American automaker Ford Motor Company. Deriving its name from a limousine body style, Lincoln marketed the Town Car from 1981 to ...
and Cadillac DeVille, which are otherwise fairly uncommon in Japan, are often converted to hearses in both styles.
Hong Kong
In Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
, light goods vehicles of Isuzu, Volkswagen and Ford are used as hearses by most of the privately operated funeral homes.
Singapore
In Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
, most standard hearses are built on a commercial van chassis, such as the Toyota Hiace, the Nissan Urvan and the Mercedes-Benz Vito, while the grand/traditional Chinese/Indian hearses are built on a lorry chassis like the Mitsubishi Fuso Canter and the Isuzu Elf
The is a medium duty truck produced by Isuzu since 1959. Outside Japan it is known as N series and Q Series. The range was originally mainly available in Japan and other Asian countries. Australia was another important market for the Elf and ...
. There are also some limousine
A limousine ( or ), or limo () for short, is a large, chauffeur-driven luxury vehicle with a partition between the driver compartment and the passenger compartment.
A very long wheelbase luxury sedan (with more than four doors) driven by a pro ...
hearses in Singapore, mostly built on Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquarter ...
car chassis.
In popular culture
Amongst hearse enthusiasts, the 1959 Cadillac
The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed ...
Miller-Meteor
The Wayne Corporation was an American manufacturer of buses and other vehicles under the "Wayne" marque. The corporate headquarters were in Richmond, Indiana, in Wayne County, Indiana. During the middle 20th century, Wayne served as a leading p ...
hearse is considered one of the most desirable, due to its especially ornate styling and appearances in several feature films, notably an ambulance version ( Ecto-1) in the 1984 film ''Ghostbusters
''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler, ...
''.
In the 2016 ''Ghostbusters
''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler, ...
'' reboot
In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is phys ...
, the Ecto-1 is a 1984 Cadillac Superior
Superior may refer to:
*Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind
Places
*Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state
*Lake ...
hearse.
In the 1971 film ''Harold and Maude
''Harold and Maude'' is a 1971 American romantic black comedy–drama film directed by Hal Ashby and released by Paramount Pictures. It incorporates elements of dark humor and existentialist drama. The plot follows the exploits of Harold Chase ...
'' the character Harold, played by Bud Cort, drives two hearses: originally a 1959 Cadillac Superior 3-way; and then later a custom hearse he makes from a 1971 Jaguar XK-E 4.2 Series II. The Cadillac hearse used in the film is now privately owned in central California and is preserved, looking essentially identical to the way it did in the film. Only one Jaguar "hearse" was built and was destroyed as part of the film's storyline. Several ''Harold and Maude'' fans have since built similar hearses from E-Types and photos of them can be found online. Jane Goldman, wife of British TV and radio personality Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Stephen Ross (born 17 November 1960) is an English broadcaster, film critic, comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He presented the BBC One chat show ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' during the 2000s, hosted his own radio show on B ...
, owns a similar style "hearse" built from a Jaguar XK8 convertible.
The Rogues prowl around in a graffitied 1955 Cadillac Hearse in the film '' The Warriors''.
Musician Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fu ...
's first car was a hearse, which was used to transport the band's equipment.
Celebrity
Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...
hearse enthusiasts include rock singer Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fu ...
and three-time NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and h ...
Sprint
Sprint may refer to:
Aerospace
*Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design
*Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile
Automotive and motorcycle
*Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989
*Chevrolet Sprint, ...
Cup Champion Tony Stewart
Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed Smoke, is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, current NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, and current co-owner of the Superstar Racing Experience. He i ...
, who had his hearse customised for a television show. Sam the Sham of the Pharaohs (known for Wooly Bully
"Wooly Bully" is a song originally recorded by novelty rock and roll band Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs in 1964. Based on a standard 12-bar blues progression, it was written by the band's frontman, Domingo "Sam" Samudio. It was released as a si ...
and Lil' Red Riding Hood
"Li'l Red Riding Hood" is a 1966 song performed by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs. It was the group's second top-10 hit, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1966 It was kept out of the No. 1 spot by both "Wild Thing" by The Troggs ...
) was known for transporting all his equipment in a 1952 Packard hearse.
In the 2014 film '' Dumb and Dumber To'', Harry (Jeff Daniels
Jeffrey Warren Daniels (born February 19, 1955) is an American actor, comedian, musician, and playwright, known for his work on stage and screen playing diverse characters switching between comedy and drama. He is the recipient of several accol ...
) and Lloyd (Jim Carrey
James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and artist. Known for his energetic slapstick performances, Carrey first gained recognition in 1990, after landing a role in the American sketch comedy t ...
) are lent a customized 1972 Cadillac Miller-Meteor hearse by Fraida (Kathleen Turner
Mary Kathleen Turner (born June 19, 1954) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, and two Tony Awards.
Turner became widely k ...
) to drive to Oxford, Maryland
Oxford is a waterfront town and former colonial port in Talbot County, Maryland, United States. The population was 651 at the 2010 census.
History
Oxford is one of the oldest towns in Maryland. While Oxford officially marks the year 1683 as its f ...
.
In the HBO television show '' Six Feet Under'', which dealt with death every week, premieres with the Fisher family patriarch Nathaniel
, nickname =
{{Plainlist,
* Nat
* Nate
, footnotes =
Nathaniel is an English variant of the biblical Greek name Nathanael.
People with the name Nathaniel
* Nathaniel Archibald (1952–2018), American basketball player
* N ...
, a funeral director, killed in an accident involving his new hearse. His daughter Claire also owned and drove a hearse.
In the Canadian television program ''Degrassi
''Degrassi'' is a Canadian television franchise created by Kit Hood and Linda Schuyler in 1979. It is centred on a multigenerational teen drama about an ensemble cast of teenagers attending the namesake Toronto school as they navigate their ...
'', character Eli Goldsworthy
'' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' is a Canadian teen drama television series created by Linda Schuyler and Yan Moore. The series is now considered the first incarnation and premiered on CTV on October 14, 2001, and then ended on MTV Canada a ...
, a 'death obsessed' 16-year-old, drives a 1962 Cadillac Miller-Meteor hearse, affectionately nicknamed Morty. Cleve Hall, of the Syfy television show '' Monster Man'', drives a 1980 Superior, with added coach lights on each side, in the 1st season of the show. He now drives a 1963 Miller-Meteor named "Lucy".
In April 2021, following the death of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
, it was revealed that the prince had helped to design a custom-built military green, Land Rover Defender
The Land Rover Defender (initially introduced as the Land Rover 110 / One Ten, and in 1984 joined by the Land Rover 90 / Ninety, plus the new, extra-length Land Rover 127 in 1985) is a series of British off-road cars and pickup trucks. They ...
which would be used to transport his coffin in his funeral procession at Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history.
The original c ...
.
Other uses of the term
*In the traditional Holy Week
Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, wh ...
services of the Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and some Anglican churches, a candelabrum with 15 candles on it is used for the service of Tenebrae. This candlestick is referred to as a "hearse".
*The same name is used for a similar but more complex structure placed above the coffin of distinguished persons at their funeral and perhaps subsequently above their tombs.[See J. Wodderspoon, ''Memorials of the Ancient Town of Ipswich'' (Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans, London 1850)]
p. 317 and note
(Internet archive).
*The same name is used for a support for a cloth to cover a coffin at a funeral – or for the cloth itself.
*The word hearse was not used until about 1650 as the name for a carriage or car for the coffin.[
]
See also
* Bier
* Car body style
* Combination car
* Commercial vehicle
* Flower car
* Minivan
Minivan (sometimes called simply as van) is a North American car classification for vehicles designed to transport passengers in the rear seating row(s), with reconfigurable seats in two or three rows. The equivalent classification in Europe i ...
* Panel van
* Sport utility vehicle
A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive.
There is no commonly agreed-upon definit ...
* Station wagon
* Van
A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across th ...
References
{{Authority control
Funeral transport
Commercial vehicles
Car body styles