Barouche vs. Carriage

Main Difference

The main difference between Barouche and Carriage is that the Barouche is a four wheeled open carriage with retractable cover, two benches for four passengers and seperate driver seat. Primarily for personal transport in summer. 19th century British development from French Calèche and Carriage is a generally horse-drawn means of transport.

• Barouche

  A barouche is a large, open, four-wheeled carriage, both heavy and luxurious, drawn by two horses. It was fashionable throughout the 19th century. Its body provides seats for four passengers, two back-seat passengers vis-à-vis two behind the coachman’s high box-seat. A leather roof can be raised to give back-seat passengers some protection from the weather.

• Carriage

  A carriage is a wheeled vehicle for people, usually horse-drawn; litters (palanquins) and sedan chairs are excluded, since they are wheelless vehicles. The carriage is especially designed for private passenger use, though some are also used to transport goods. A public passenger vehicle would not usually be called a carriage – terms for such include stagecoach, charabanc and omnibus. It may be light, smart and fast or heavy, large and comfortable or luxurious. Carriages normally have suspension using leaf springs, elliptical springs (in the 19th century) or leather strapping. Working vehicles such as the (four-wheeled) wagon and (two-wheeled) cart share important parts of the history of the carriage, as does too the fast (two-wheeled) chariot.

• Barouche (noun)

  a four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage with a collapsible hood over the rear half, a seat in front for the driver, and seats facing each other for the passengers.