Gig (carriage)

A gig is a light, two-wheeled open carriage with large wheels, a forward facing seat, and shafts for a single horse. The gig's body is constructed above the shafts, and it is entered from step-irons hanging from the shaft in front of the wheels. Gigs are enclosed at the back, and have luggage space under the cross-seat. Early gigs were crude and unsprung; later gigs were elegant for town driving and were constructed with springs. The term "gig" is short for "whirligig".^{[1]: 85–6 [2]: 132–3 [3]: 107}

A modern gig

Skeleton gig being driven tandem

The Oxford English Dictionary gives the date of first known reference to a horse-drawn gig as 1791, and they were ubiquitous by the early 1800s.^[4]

Gigs were typically named after their designers, builders, or their shape.^[2]: 133 There are several types of gig, including:^{[5][6][7][8]: 90–91}

• Dennett gig: Early 1800s resembling the Stanhope gig but with three springs, one crosswise and two horizontal^[1]: 63
• Skeleton gig: Very light; no luggage space.^[1]: 148
• Spider gig: Very high gig, French version had high outward curving dash and curved shafts.^{[1]: 72, 82}
• Stanhope: typically having a high seat and closed back; designed and built by Fitzroy Stanhope around 1814.^[1]: 153
• Stick-back gig: designed with the seat back made of sticks or ribs.^[1]: 155
• Suicide gig: Very high gig popular in Ireland. Dangerous to drive or mount.^[1]: 86
• Tilbury or Seven-spring gig: designed by Fitzroy Stanhope, but named after builder Tilbury. Heavier than the Stanhope because it had seven springs and two braces. Popular where roads were rough.^{[1]: 161 [2]: 274}
• Whiskey or whisky: lightweight, often constructed with canework. Named for whisking over the road.^{[1]: 173 [2]: 133}

Gigs travelling at night would normally carry two oil lamps with thick glass, known as gig-lamps. This led to the formerly common slang word "giglamps" for "spectacles".^[9]

Nineteenth century literature frequently recounted "romantic tales of spills and hairbreadth [e]scapes" from these vehicles, but is equally fulsome on the fearful thrill experienced in driving them.^[10]