State Coach in the coachhouse at Belsay hall, Northumberland.
This is one of two coach houses built by Charles Monck as part of his elegant new stable block, to house the family’s carriages. The Middletons owned several carriages which would have been driven by smart liveried coachmen.
The coach you can see is the state coach of the high sheriff of Northumberland. Eight members of the Middleton family held this office over the centuries. It was an ancient and prestigious position, with responsibility for maintaining law and order in the county. By the mid-19th century, the high sheriff’s responsibilities were largely ceremonial. This coach was built in the 1850s, and was used by the high sheriff each year during assize week on his way to greet the king’s judges.
When it was built, the stable block, with its interlinking stables, hay lofts, tack room and coach houses, was imposing, spacious and well-suited to its purpose. But by the early 20th century the Middletons, like their social contemporaries, were looking towards a new, fashionable and faster mode of transport — the motor car. The large stables and coach houses were converted to other uses. Cow pens replaced stalls in one stable, and another stable was knocked through to the adjacent coach house to form a garage.