Skip to main content
Waltham Cross and Post Coach by Edward Dayes
Waltham Cross and Post Coach
Waltham Cross and Post Coach by Edward Dayes
Waltham Cross and Post Coach by Edward Dayes

Waltham Cross and Post Coach

Artist (London, England, 1763 - 1804)
Date1786
Mediumpen, ink and watercolour on paper
ClassificationsPaintings And Drawings
DimensionsSight Size: Height: 31.2 cm, Width: 44.6 cm
Frame: Height: 50.6 cm, Width: 62.5 cm
AcquisitionPurchased in 1954 with income from the Webster Bequest.
CopyrightOut of copyright - CC0
LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub
Object numberABDAG003153
About MeThis pen, ink and watercolour is of the hamlet of Waltham Cross, then about eleven miles from London. The busy scene shows the Post Coach, a horse-drawn carriage that carried mail deliveries and passengers, from 1784. The monument named Waltham Cross was built for Edward I of England, in memory of his wife, Eleanor.

Dayes' charming scene combines a view of the Gothic cross with a vignette of 18th century experience: the lively bustle created by the imminent departure of the mail coach.

More About Me
This is an "Eleanor" cross, built by Edward I of England in honour of his dead wife. The coach for mail and passengers is about to depart on the next leg of its journey.