Horse-drawn van, c.1935

Accession number: OB2001.40

This horse-drawn Royal Mail van was used in London until 1947 when it was bought by a Bristol vet. It was bought back by Royal Mail in 1976 and restored.

Horse-drawn vans were introduced in London in 1829 to carry letter carriers to the start of their delivery routes. A special design meant that the letter carriers could step on and off whilst the vehicle was still moving. Royal Mail always preferred to use contractors and their vans, but continued to run a small fleet themselves.

Horse-drawn vans were used in London until 1949 although they would probably have died out sooner had it not been for the Second World War. Instead, they continued to prove very useful due to the shortage of petrol at this time.