I recently paid a visit to friends in Bolton and, as we got chatting about the history of the area, they told me about the traditional trips to Blackpool in “Charabancs” which took place in the early 20th century during the “wakes weeks”.
The Wakes week was originally a religious tradition which was adapted to a secular holiday during the industrial revolution. In the north west and in particular-but not exclusively- in Lancashire, where mills and factories were numerous, each town would nominate a particular week as Wake week during which all factories, mills and collieries would close and workers would indulge in a day-trip to the seaside or the peak district aboard a Charabanc.
I know what you’re thinking: why do we not have these anymore ?! Sure, the solid rubber tires,wooden benches and open top features coupled with the bumpy roads of the days may have numbed your backside and messed up your hair, but you’ve got to agree this is much more glamorous than a Megabus. Well, the thing is, due to the high center of gravity of the vehicle and the total absence of any health and safety measures or protection, the Charabanc was actually a pretty risky way to travel down those steep and winding roads leading to the coastal resorts. Many fatal accidents occurred, and the Charabanc was ditched…
However, Lancastrians taking a trip to Blackpool for the holidays in the 50s and 60s continued to refer to the more modern coaches as “Charabancs” (some still do).
Here’s a little taste of what it looked like…
Now, let’s look at the linguistics: this word, Charabanc, where does it come from ?
From this: Le Char-à-banc.
The original French char-à-banc was first introduced as a sporting vehicle in the 1840s and was also popular with hunting parties. Although it was first reserved to wealthier users, larger versions were later introduced for school and work trips as well as tourist transportation. In 1844, the first charabanc in Britain was presented to Queen Victoria by the last French King, Louis Philippe de France (who befriended the Royal Family in Nova Scotia while sailing back from America at the end of a 21 year long exile from the French revolution…It’s a fascinating story, read all about it here.)
Louis Philippe’s Charabanc remains preserved at the Royal Mews, and in the below painting by Joseph Nash, you can see its first outing at Windsor castle.
Ooooh… Aaaah….
One more thing: the word “char”, which means carriage, is still used in Quebec to informally refer to a car, although they also use “voiture” or “auto”. And if you want to informally refer to your car in France, it’s “bagnole”.
Good day !
Katell Sevellec 