Thanks list for all your helpful replies - From the replies it would seem that my ancestor was travelling not from Birmingham_but from somewhere else_to London because he died at Areley Kings opposite Stourport-on-Severn. He was a merchant and traveled between Camborne (Cornwall), Bristol,Newport (Monmouthshire), Birmingham, and London using the mail coaches because they ran through the night. Perhaps he was travelling Newport or Bristol to London - i do need to consult a map and the postoffice web site I think........ many thanks ... Robert in Australia

Hi Robert, If you can track down one of the trade directories (precursors to the telephone directories) for the county / town you are looking at they often have a list of coaches in them associated to the various inns and taverns. That may give you a clue as to where he was staying and coming from etc. Happy Hunting Pickard Trepess Nagykanizsa, Hungary ----- Original Message ----- From: "Robert Glover" <glovergen@gmail.com> To: <warwick@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, May 28, 2007 12:04 PM Subject: [WAR] Birmingham to London coach > Thanks list for all your helpful replies - From the replies it would > seem that my > ancestor was travelling not from Birmingham_but from somewhere else_to > London because he died at Areley Kings opposite Stourport-on-Severn. > He was a merchant and traveled between Camborne (Cornwall), > Bristol,Newport (Monmouthshire), Birmingham, and London using the mail > coaches because they ran through the night. Perhaps he was travelling > Newport or Bristol to London - i do need to > consult a map and the postoffice web site I think........ > > many thanks ... Robert in Australia > >

Hi Robert, Although I'd attempted to reply to this thread a week ago, it was one of the Lost E-Mails caused by the problems of my Server, Tiscali. So this is a second attempt! If your Ancestor died on a Mail Coach at Areley Kings, it seems a bit unlikely that he was on an Official Mail Coach, as there are (and were) no main trunk routes that passed through there. And in any case, if he died there on a Birmingham to London journey the Driver would've had to've fitted his SatNav upside down..... Areley Kings is West and South of Birmingham; London is roughly South-East of it. However, there's a faint possibility that he *might* have died at Arley, WAR - *IF* the Mail Coach Route ran from Birmingham roughly due East in order to join the old Roman Road of Watling Street - effectively today's Main Trunk Route A5 (London - Holyhead). But it still feels a little unlikely. But an area where the routes can probably be found should come up on a [UK-only] Google-Search of < Mail AND Coach > which produced a number of hits, and while a swift glance didn't show up any detailed routes, there look to be sufficient links to be able to find out what you want. < http://www.postalheritage.org.uk/exhibitions/movingthemail/postboysmailcoaches > is probably as good a place to start as anywhere - and it'll give some background. But the routes seem to've been fixed by the Post Office, as that was the prime reason for the Service, so it's probably unlikely that they'd've altered very much between the introduction of the Service in 1784 and its general abandonment to the Railways in the 1840s/50s. Gus Hi Robert, If you can track down one of the trade directories (precursors to the telephone directories) for the county / town you are looking at they often have a list of coaches in them associated to the various inns and taverns. That may give you a clue as to where he was staying and coming from etc. Happy Hunting Pickard Trepess Nagykanizsa, Hungary ----- Original Message ----- From: "Robert Glover" <glovergen@gmail.com> To: <warwick@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, May 28, 2007 12:04 PM Subject: [WAR] Birmingham to London coach > Thanks list for all your helpful replies - From the replies it would > seem that my > ancestor was travelling not from Birmingham_but from somewhere else_to > London because he died at Areley Kings opposite Stourport-on-Severn. > He was a merchant and traveled between Camborne (Cornwall), > Bristol,Newport (Monmouthshire), Birmingham, and London using the mail > coaches because they ran through the night. Perhaps he was travelling > Newport or Bristol to London - i do need to > consult a map and the postoffice web site I think........ > > many thanks ... Robert in Australia > > ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to WARWICK-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message