Morven Park, Leesburg, VA  

Collection Corner
 
Caleche

Caleche

The Caleche is an elegant town carriage similar in design to a Barouche, a member of the coach family consisting if an undercarriage and lower quarters of a coach. Believed to be of German origin, it arrived in England by 1760, and by the early 1800's was popular in the United States. It demanded superb horses to match the grandeur of the Caleche's formal design. In its heyday the Caleche was used extensively as a summer vehicle for park driving.

This Caleche was built by famous carriage makers Million & Guilet of Paris, France, and is said to be the carriage used by Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco, in the making of the film "The Swan." Grace wanted to buy it for herself but owner Viola Winmill could not part with it. Ernie Schwartz from Indiana restored this vehicle in 2002.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Winmill Livingston Armstrong, Virginia. "Gone Away" With the Winmills, 1977
Berkbile, Donald H. Carriage Terminology: An Historical Dictionary,1978
 


 

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Morven Park is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and is operated in the public interest by the Westmoreland Davis Memorial Foundation, Inc. Morven Park is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a Virginia Historic Landmark.

 

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