The 19th century saw significant shifts in societal norms and opportunities for women, including their relationship with transportation. One notable figure who defied the gender norms of her time was Yorkshire landowner Anne Lister, famously known as ‘Gentleman Jack.’ Often regarded as one of the first openly gay modern women, Anne Lister pursued interests that were unconventional for Victorian women, including purchasing, owning, and driving her own collection of carriages. By the late 1800s, these changes extended beyond the upper classes, with women from all walks of life engaging with carriages, not just as passengers but as drivers and owners.
A feminist newspaper, Women and Work, noted this trend in an 1875 article titled “Cab-driving is certainly an original employment for women.” By 1897, seeing women working as cab drivers was no longer surprising. Yet this development was a stark contrast to earlier decades, when Hansom cabs were considered unsuitable for ladies to even travel in, let alone drive, due to their rough and dangerous reputation.
Despite this broader societal change, our research into Brighton’s 1881 census revealed no women listed as employed cab drivers. Instead, women in Brighton appear as cab or fly proprietors, often alongside their husbands or as widows. This raises intriguing questions: Were these women actively managing cab businesses, or did they inherit the operations from their late husbands?
The absence of female cab drivers in Brighton suggests that while norms were evolving nationally, local realities often lagged behind or took a different shape. It also highlights the complexity of women’s participation in traditionally male-dominated professions during this time. Though we could not corroborate the broader shift with direct evidence in Brighton, these findings reflect the multifaceted nature of women’s work and the changing opportunities available to them in Victorian England.
