On March 17th 1649, Oliver Cromwell abolished the position of King of England.
He then abolished the House of Lords and declared England a Commonwealth.
He also banned Christmas & Easter festivity, Theatres, Whistling, Gambling, Football, Buskers and had blasphemers whipped and thrown into prison.
Not a very cheery chap.
It is also believed that when he sat for a portrait, the artist asked if he wanted to be painted truthfully as seen to the eye, and Cromwell utter the words that are now a regularly used common phrase...
“Warts and all”
Cromwell later went on to set up the Fellowship of Master Hackney Carriages by parliamentary decree, which was when Taxi driving became a proper profession.
It was his wish to ensure all carriages were regulated by yearly checks. The Coachman were required to drive to the town hall for the carriage to be checked by the wheelwright, the harness by the harness maker, and the horses’ feet by the blacksmith.
If all were approved as fit for work, then a licence was issued and a fee paid.
Was Oliver Cromwell’s motive safety or just another tax on a growing and lucrative industry?
Has it always been about the money and never about safety?
Further regulations were brought in as required to control this growing business.
In 1679 ‘Conditions of Fitness’ were introduced for Hackney carriages, and in 1768 the number of Hackney licences increased to over one thousand, causing considerable congestion!
Bit like when TfL licensed private hire in a hope their increasing numbers would drop.
There were approximately 30,000 unlicensed minicabs before licensing, today there are somewhere in the region of 120,000.
Some things never change.
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