Royal footwarmer, Great Western Railway
- Made:
- 1856 in unknown place
- maker:
- Unidentified
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Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Footwarmer, brass, Great Western Railway, footwarmer from Royal Saloon 1856-1901 as inscribed.
The first member of the royal family to travel by train was Queen Adelaide in 1840. Queen Victoria became the first monarch to travel by train in 1842 and from then on the royal train regularly carried members of the royal family across the country on their royal duties.
Before Victoria’s successor King Edward VII commissioned new carriages in 1902 equipped with electric heating, the royal passengers would have needed other means of staying warm. This footwarmer was used on the royal train between 1850 and 1901 and would have been filled with hot water much like a modern hot water-bottle.
Details
- Category:
- Passenger Comforts
- Object Number:
- 1983-7124
- Materials:
- brass (copper, zinc alloy)
- Measurements:
-
3 x 9.5 x 13.5 in.; 76.2 x 241.3 x 342.9 mm
- type:
- footwarmer
- credit:
- British Rail, Historical Relics
