TAXI: The Story from A to B

From horse drawn to horse power, the history of the taxi is much older than you think.

The black taxi cab is a British icon along with Big Ben and bowler hats, but did you know this much loved vehicle has been made in Coventry since the 1940s?

This exhibition celebrated one of the hardest working vehicles on our roads, with a wealth of taxis on display from both the museum’s own collection and private lenders. Highlights include ‘Hannah’ a record breaking taxi that drove around the world, black taxi cabs throughout the ages and examples of taxis from around the world, including New York and Japan.

The black cab, which has been continuously manufactured in Coventry since the 1940s, is used by millions of people in the UK each year as well as being exported across the world.

The exhibition took visitors on a journey through a history spanning three centuries, starting with the creation of the Bersey Electric Cab in Coventry in 1897 – the first cab to be used on the streets of London and an early example of an electric vehicle.

The exhibition, which was curated by Patrick Murphy as part of an artist residency at the museum starting in 2017, included a range of early taxi models including a 1910 Humber Taxi and a 1930s Austin High Lot.