Holland & Holland Park Drag Coaching

Private coaches, as opposed to public coaches, were first built for some members of the driving clubs that were formed in London in the early nineteenth century.  Only a small number of private coaches were built before the time of the “coaching revival” in the 1860s. The chosen design during this period was based on a larger version of the Royal mail coach of 1835, but seating was often reduced in favor of style in the private versions.  Coaches made by the leading makers differed usually only in the detailing. F & R Shanks was one of the two most successful builders of park drags (private coaches) and road coaches in Britain following the “Coaching Revival.” Holland & Holland of North Row, Grosvenor Square, was the other.  The choice between coaches made by either of these two was said to be merely a matter of personal preference, but we believe the Holland & Holland to be the finest of the two.  Erik M. and Mary Jensen drive black Hackney-Clydesdale crossbreds and an 1890 Holland and Holland park drag on a regular basis, which is probably the only park drag regularly driven west of the Mississippi River.