October 13, 1827:--"Royal Mail and General Coach Office, Bush Tavern, Corn Street, Bristol. New mails to Exeter, Plymouth and Barnstaple. The public are respectfully informed that the Royal mail will in future leave the Bush coach office daily, nine a.m., via Bridgwater, Taunton, Wellington, Collumpton, and arrive in Exeter six p.m., leaving for Plymouth six-thirty p.m. and arriving there eleven p.m. 'same night,' making the journey, Bristol to Plymouth, in 'only fourteen hours.'
"Also Royal mail to Barnstaple, daily, nine-thirty a.m., via Taunton, Wiveliscombe, Bampton and South Molton.
"Each mail will arrive at Bristol at five p.m., in time for the London mail at five-twenty p.m., and of the 'Sovereign' four-inside coach to London six p.m."
April 21, 1832:--"From the Bush Coach Office, the day coach, the 'Regulator,' daily (except Sundays) at six-thirty p.m., and arrives at the White Horse Cellars, Piccadilly, and the Bull and Mouth, St. Martin's-le-Grand, precisely at eight o'clock."
"The Weston-super-Mare coach, the 'Magnet,' left Weston nine a.m., and on return left the Bush three-forty-five p.m., through Congresbury, Cleeve, and Backwell.
"The 'Hope' left Weston-super-Mare on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at eight-thirty a.m., and returned from the Plume of Feathers at four-thirty p.m. same day."
[Illustration: [_By permission of Mr. F.E. Baines, C.B. From "On the Track of the Mail Coach."_
THE BRISTOL, BATH AND LONDON COACH TAKING UP MAILS WITHOUT HALTING.]
"Royal mail to Portsmouth, daily, five-fifteen p.m., return journey, Portsmouth seven p.m., arrive White Lion eight-thirty next day."
In 1830, the "Bull and Mouth" in St. Martin's-le-Grand was a great coach rendezvous. A strong and penetrating aroma of horses and straw pervaded its neighbourhood, in Bull-and-Mouth Street.
The Gloucester and Aberystwith mail-coach continued to run until the year 1854, and it is believed that was the last regular main road mail-coach which was kept on the road. Its guard from 1836 to its abolition in 1854 was Moses James Nobbs.
The London mail coaches of the period loaded up at about half-past seven at their respective inns, and then assembled at the Post Office yard in St. Martin's-le-Grand to receive the bags. All, that is to say, except seven coaches carrying West of England mails--the Bath, Bristol, Devonport, Exeter, Gloucester, Southampton, and Stroud--which started from Piccadilly.