This two-wheeled tradesman cart was built in 1918 by James Plater and Sons in Haddenham, Buckinghamshire. It is a two-wheeled, two seat cart that was pulled by a single horse. The cart has a seat covered with a dark tan padding.

The cart has a mostly wooden frame and shafts with dark brown paintwork. The cart does not have brakes or any other mechanical features, illustrating a simple but practical design.

The tradesman cart was built in 1918 by James Plater and Sons, a coachmaker local to Haddenham in Buckinghamshire. This is relatively late in the history of carriages, during a period when carriages were being replaced by motor vehicles across the UK.

The cart was made for display at the annual Thame Show in Oxfordshire, a traditional agricultural event. The tradesman cart provides a glimpse into the roles that some horse-drawn carriages had in UK communities well into the 20th century.

Following the Thame Show the tradesman cart was purchased by Mr. John Allison for his family to use as a social vehicle. After the Second World War the Allison family used the cart for afternoon drives with everyone dressed in their Sunday best. They used a single horse to pull the cart, attached with a special harness. By the 1960s, the Allisons used the cart as part of their Haddenham-based garage / petrol station / coach hire business.

The Allison family owned the cart for eight decades until they donated it to the Science Museum in 2001.