Penny Farthing Facts

Whilst we serve delicious food at The Courtyard, did you know that we’re also home to the Penny Farthing museum? In fact, we’re the first Penny Farthing museum in the UK.

Our Penny Farthing collection, artefacts and points of interest can be found around the restaurant – whether on the walls around our tables or even suspended from the ceiling when you enter the restaurant.

Whilst the focal point of The Courtyard is our restaurant, we will always have a soft spot for our vast Penny Farthing collection. But, just what makes Penny Farthing’s so special? We’ve listed below some of our favourite Penny Farthing facts:

• The Penny Farthing gets its name because of its larger front wheel and smaller back wheel which resembled monetary coins of the time
• The Penny Farthing was designed by British Victorian inventor, James Starley
• At the height of it’s popularity, the Penny Farthing’s front wheel would usually be 2 metres high
• The Penny Farthing was the first machine to be referred to as a ‘bicycle’
• As Penny Farthing’s were quite expensive to make, they were in turn quite pricey to purchase so were often rode and driven by wealthy young men
• There was no air inside the wheel of a Victorian Penny Farthing – so no punctures!

For more information about the Penny Farthing Museum, please take a look at the page on our website. Or if you’d like to pay us a visit you can find us at 92 King Street, Knutsford, WA16 6ED.