Mossman Collection facts for kids
_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1548315.jpg) |
|
| Established | 1954 |
|---|---|
| Location | Stockwood Discovery Centre, London Road, Luton LU1 4LX England |
The Mossman Carriage Collection is a museum in Stockwood Park, Luton, that is filled with old vehicles pulled by horses. It is the largest collection of these carriages in the United Kingdom. It features original vehicles from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries.
Contents
What's Inside the Collection?
The collection was given to the Luton Museum Service in 1991. Today, it's part of the Stockwood Discovery Centre. It shows how people in Britain traveled long ago, from the time of the Romans until the 1930s.
You can see all sorts of vehicles. There are carts used by everyday workers and tradespeople. There are also fancy carriages used by wealthy families and nobles on their large estates.
The collection is very important to the people of Luton because it was created by a local man. It is also important for the whole country because it's the largest private collection of horse-drawn vehicles.
The Story of the Collection
The collection was put together by a man named George Mossman. He was born in Luton in 1908. After the First World War, George left school and began working as a delivery driver for a local butcher. This job sparked his lifelong love for horse-drawn transportation.
_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1548357.jpg)
George Mossman had many different jobs during his life, including running a farm and several businesses. He even started a company that rented out horse-drawn carriages to be used in movies.
The museum displays 54 of George's vehicles, plus more from the Luton Museum's own collection. In total, there are over 63 vehicles to see. Some are real carriages from the 18th to 20th centuries, while others are copies made for film and TV shows.
What are the Rarest Vehicles?
Some of the most special vehicles include:
- An 18th-century landau, which is a type of luxury carriage with a roof that can be folded down.
- An early 19th-century barouche, another fancy, open-topped carriage.
- A 'char-a-banc' from the 1890s. This was like an early bus and was one of the first forms of public transport.
See also
