A surrey is a doorless, four-wheeled
carriage
A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping an ...
popular in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Usually two-seated and holding for four passengers, surreys had a variety of tops that included a rigid, fringed canopy, parasol, and extension. The seats were traditional, spindle-backed (often upholstered), bench seats. Before the advent of automobiles, these were
horse-drawn
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 ...
carriages
A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping an ...
.
The name is short for "Surrey cart", named after
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
in England, where they were first made.
In popular culture
The American surrey was famously celebrated in the song "
The Surrey with the Fringe on Top
"The Surrey with the Fringe on Top" is a show tune from the 1943 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical ''Oklahoma!''. The piece was recorded in 1952 by jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal, which influenced trumpeter Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, ...
" from the musical ''
Oklahoma!
''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical theater, musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs (play), Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of ...
''.
Gallery
File:Surrey (PSF).svg, Line-art representation of a horse-drawn surrey.
File:1890 Carriage Model.jpg, 1890 Canadian open-top surrey once used in Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
.
File:1900 Spider Surrey, made by A. T. Demarest & Co., New York, New York.jpg, 1900 Spider Surrey, New York
File:MHV Knox Surrey 1904 01.jpg, 1904 Knox Surrey, an early adaptation of the concept to the motorized era.
See also
*
Types of carriages
References
{{vehicle-stub
Carriages