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 Le Carrossier | The Coachbuilder

The carrossier, or coachbuilder, was a manufacturer of carriages and other horse-drawn vehicles.

In France, the coche or carrosse first appeared in the middle of the 16th century. Until then, people who belonged to the upper class would ride a horse or a mule in order to avoid the mud. Catherine de' Medici was thought to be the first person to use a coach in France, which she imported from Italy. These coaches were huge vehicles, covered with a very heavy roof supported by 4 or 8 columns, and surrounded by curtains that could be opened; the body was suspended by means of ropes and straps; to get inside, a thick leather door was lowered, and the passenger climbed aboard with an iron ladder. Though coaches did appear in the 16th century, they weren’t common in France until the beginning of the 18th century. There, selliers-lormiers-carrossiers (saddlers-lorimers-coachbuilders) were given the right to construct, garnish and adorn a host of vehicles known under different names: coches (coaches), chars (chariots), chariots (carts), carrosses (coaches), litières (portable canopy bed), chaises roulantes (wheel-chairs), calèches (carriages), charriots de pompes funèbres (funeral carts), etc.

According to the Jesuits, the very first horse came to Québec in 1647. Many more would be imported in the decades that followed, likely from Normandie and Poitou. The horses were cross-bred and they multiplied. Eventually this breed became known as the “Canadian horse”. Up until the 20th century, there was 1 horse for every 5 people in Canada, the majority used in farming.

We don’t know exactly when the first coach or calèche was introduced (that’s what we called our coaches or carriages here, while it would be known as a cabriolet in France). The canoe was the main method of transport, and roads were needed before a coach could transport goods or people. The very first coaches were reserved for the elite such as the seigneurs. At the time of Montcalm and still during the English regime, the only vehicles in use were the calèches or charrettes, pulled by a single horse. The calèche constructed by the Canadian coachbuilder was an uncovered vehicle with two wheels, to be driven by a coachman. The seat would be affixed to a type of suspended trunk. In the middle of the 20th century, four wheeled-vehicles became the norm, as they were much more comfortable. The coachbuilder often sought the help of other tradesmen in order to manufacture a carriage: the wheelwright, the locksmith, the harness maker, the joiner, the saddler and the painter, for example.

There are still coaches in the streets of Québec and Old Montréal, albeit purely for tourism purposes these days.

Known men who had this occupation: Évangéliste Major (Montréal), Fabien Painchaud (Montréal)

Sources:

• Alfred Franklin, Dictionnaire historique des arts, métiers et professions exercés dans Paris depuis le treizième siècle (Paris, H. Welter, 1906), 127-129

• Claude Lemay, "Fonctions et métiers délaissés", l'Ancêtre, number 281, volume 34, winter 2008, and number 280, volume 34, winter 2007; electronic edition, Société généalogique de Québec (www.sgq.qc.ca/images/_SGQ/R_LAncetre_plus_libre/ENT-FONCTIONS-METIERS-DELAISSES.pdf).

• “Calèches”, Ville de Québec, Notre Patrimoine (https://www.ville.quebec.qc.ca/citoyens/patrimoine/archives/pages_histoire/caleches.aspx).