The first mention of a stage coach in Worcester was in 1674, when the City officers escorted Quaker Fox, who was under arrest, to London. By 1758, stage coached from Worcester to London had become well established, and in the summer months, did the journey in two days, but in winter it took three days, and sometimes longer. A journey by coach had great drawbacks.
It was necessary to book a seat weeks before the journey, and there were dangers on the road from injury, and from highwaymen. A Worcester coach traveller recalled; 'In those days the journey from Worcester to London was a matter of dread, and was preceded by the making of wills and the settling of worldly affairs'.