World's first wedding car will get you to the church on time... but with a top speed of just 11MPH you'll need to set off early

The year Queen Victoria celebrated 60 years on the throne - the first British monarch to celebrate a Diamond Jubilee - the world's first wedding car was built.
This vintage 1897 Daimler Wagonette is believed to be the world’s first wedding transport after a black and white photograph of the car during a 1903 wedding ceremony has been uncovered.
The Haynes Motor Museum in Yeovil, Somerset has swept the cobwebs off this stunning British-built classic and now allows newlyweds to recreate the vintage look by having their wedding photos onboard the historic car.

World's first wedding car: This photograph taken of the 1903 wedding of James Andrews and Rosa Gough suggests that this is the first example of cars being used as wedding transport

The 1897 British-built Daimler Wagonette, with a top speed of just 11mph, dates back to the first days of motoring when cars were better known as ‘horseless carriages’.
Its basic two-cylinder petrol engine only generates 6.5 horsepower but in its day it was at the forefront of technology.

 

It did however have a tendency to backfire, which earned it the nickname ‘Fiery Liz’.
The car boasted all the mod cons of the time - a ‘handbrake’ that comprising of a metal rod that digs into the ground and cart wheels with solid rubber tyres.

Trendsetter: The car cost £373 new, equivalent to £42,000 today, and was nicknamed 'Fiery Liz' for its tendency to backfire

It even has leather mud flaps and brakes that are rubber blocks that grip the tyres.
But it came at a price – the car cost £373 new, equivalent to £42,000 today.
The museum received the car as a donation from the Bristol Museum, prompting curious staff to delve into its history.
Research revealed the car was the centre of attention at the wedding of Mr James Andrews and Miss Rosa Gough in Weston-Super-Mare in 1903.
Mike Penn, the museum’s curatorial director, said: ‘When the car first arrived we knew that it was one of the very first motor cars to be used in Somerset and that it had previously been owned by a Mr J H Pruen from Burnham-on-Sea.