Where Was London's First Taxi Rank?

Where Was London's First Taxi Rank?

Posted by Hazel Baker, Director of London Guided Walks on Friday, May 21, 2021 Under: Podcast

Where Was London's First Taxi Rank?

According to the London Vintage Taxi Association, the first taxicab stand was formed in 1634 outside the Maypole in the Strand, basically between where Somerset House and Mary le Strand Church is nowadays.

Captain John Baily, a veteran of one of Sir Walter Raleigh's expeditions, managed a taxi rank of four horse-drawn carriages, available for hire from the Strand. Baily's cab men wore a distinctive livery, and charged customers a fixed rate, depending on distance. The idea caught on and by the 1760s, there were at least 1,000 “hackney hell carts'' clamouring down London’s busier-than-ever streets.

Listen to more of London's black cab legacy on our latest podcast: https://londonguidedwalks.co.uk/056-londons-black-cab-legacy.php

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