The Bicycle – Its Use and Action by Charles Spencer (1870).
“This trip – though of course outdone since – was thought at the time something remarkable, as demonstrating the practicability of amateurs in ordinary condition, and without preliminary training, travelling upwards of fifty miles in a long fore- noon with the aid of their own legs only ; but really, to an expert velocipedist in good practice, it would now be thought hardly anything of.”
~ The Bicycle – Its Use and Action – Charles Spencer (1870).
Cycling in England.
London to Brighton by “Velocipede” (1869).
Famous ex-champion London gymnast Charles Spencer’s pioneering illustrated practical guide on how to ride “the latest and best form of Velocipede, ‘the bicycle’, included a very brief summary of the first known long distance cycling ride undertaken in Britain.
Spencer was already the celebrated author of “The Modern Gymnast” handbook and would later team up with Messr. Snoxell to import and improve the “best Paris model of the new two-wheel velocipede.”
“London to Brighton by ‘Velocipede’,” was a two page account (originally published in The Times, on 19th February 1869) of his journey with Mr. John Mayall Jr, “the son of the well-known photographer,” and Mr. Turner, “an expert Velocipedist from Paris.”
The three cycled together until Redhill, before Mayall pushed on alone, arriving in Brighton after 12 hours in the saddle, with his two companions eventually arriving after dark.
Despite there not being a recognised set route, London to Brighton has since become an iconic ride – “Britain’s best-known one-day route” with a popular organised annual charity ride, – however in 1869 the sight of three cyclists attempting to cover such distances on their “bone-shakers” would have seemed unbelievable.
The three pioneers managed an impressive “rate of eight miles an hour on roads which proved to be generally good against a strong head wind all the way,” but a modern bicycle should allow you to cover the 100 km (62 mile) distance a lot faster over the preferred route we have mapped, taking the “classical record route” from the period, including the known places they passed through, but instead opting for the adjacent quieter back roads rather than the designated cycle lane along the busy A23 London-Brighton Road.
London to Brighton by “Velocipede”.
Day 1.
0 km ~ Trafalgar Square, London.
20 km ~ Croydon.
25 km ~ Purley.
40 km ~ Redhill.
50 km ~ Horley.
58 km ~ Crawley.
66 km ~ Handcross.
80 km ~ Burgess Hill.
89 km ~ Clayton.
104 km ~ Former West Street Concert Hall (demolished in 2023).
104 km ~ 🛏️ The Grand Hotel, Brighton.
Other cyclists would soon retrace the one-day ride, including Mr. F.H. Doulton, whom, in April 1870, “accomplished the journey in eight hours and half, having been delayed nearly an hour by administering the wants of another bicycle traveller, whom he met on the way, but who was so fatigued that he was obliged to return bv train from Crawley to London. Mr. Doulton was also delayed by the Volunteers marching into Brighton.”
Even faster, in September 1870, Mr. Jackson, of Paris, “upon a tricycle of his own construction,” together with Mr Flower, of Westminster Bridge Road, “riding a velocipede of the Phantom pattern”, covered the distance “in the short space of seven hours and a half”, however they too were hampered in their attempts by another cyclist; this time Mr. Jackson’s fourteen year old son, who had accompanied them “riding an ordinary bicycle.” They confidently estimated, that “had it not been” for the youngster, the journey to the Albion Hotel, Brighton, “could easily have been completed in six hours.”
While – like Mayall, Spencer and Turner, Doulton, Flower and the Jacksons, – it is possible to make your way back to London by train, for those wishing to return by bike, we have mapped a slightly different route to the one by which you came.
This also takes in the same places covered by Mr Thomas Moon, the son of the landlord of the Union Inn, Brighton, who covered the classic A23 route in 5 hours and 40 minutes, in September 1870.
A few days later, on Tuesday 4th October 1870, Moon would do the trip again with Captain Fry, of the Brighton Fire Brigade, reaching London in six hours, but this time returning to Brighton on the same day, taking 15 hours to cover the 104 miles:
London to Brighton by “Velocipede”.
Day 2.
0 km ~ The Grand Hotel, Brighton.
1 km ~ Royal Albion Hotel, Brighton.
2 km ~ 28 Gloucester Street (The Union Inn, until 1903), Brighton.
17 km ~ The Plough Inn, Patcham.
37 km ~ Handcross.
49 km ~ 🍴 The George Hotel, Crawley.
68 km ~ Reigate.
93 km ~ Mitcham.
109 km ~ 🍴 Elephant & Castle, London. (dating back to 1765, the original Elephant & Castle Inn was rebuilt in 1816 and 1898 before being demolished in 1959 to make way for the roundabout, with its model elephant now found in front of the shopping centre on Elephant Road. The present day relocated Elephant & Castle pub dates to the 1960s).
THE BICYCLE – ITS USE AND ACTION.
“It must be borne in mind that the fittest use of the Bicycle is not to treat it as a toy, to be ridden on a smooth boarded surface, without impediment of any kind, and where all the riders are careful to follow each other in the same direction ; but to use it as a vehicle, as an ordinary means of transit from one place to another, over roads rougher or smoother, as the case may be.
Thus, starting through the crowded streets at evening, as is my wont, and working at moderate speed through omnibuses, cabs, drays, &c. &c., till gradually the road gets clearer, and extra steam may be put on ; until at length the long country roads give full scope for the greatest speed consistent with a due regard for the proposed length of journey, taking care, of course, not to be so exhausted at the end as to spoil all the pleasure.”
– The Bicycle – Its Use and Action by Charles Spencer, 1870.
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