A tilbury is a light, open, two-wheeled carriage

Carriage

A carriage is a wheeled vehicle for people, usually horse-drawn; litters and sedan chairs are excluded, since they are wheelless vehicles. The carriage is especially designed for private passenger use and for comfort or elegance, though some are also used to transport goods. It may be light,...

, with or without a top, developed in the early 19th century by the London firm of Tilbury, coachbuilders in Mount Street (see also Stanhope (carriage)

Stanhope (carriage)

The stanhope was a gig, buggy or light phaeton, typically having a high seat and closed back. It was named after Captain Hon. Henry FitzRoy Stanhope The stanhope was a gig, buggy or light phaeton, typically having a high seat and closed back. It was named after Captain Hon. Henry FitzRoy Stanhope...

). A tilbury rig is little more than a single "tilbury seat"—the firm's characteristic spindle-backed seat with a curved padded backrest— mounted over a raked luggage boot, and fitted with a dashboard and mounting peg, all on an elaborate suspension system of curved leaf springs above the single axle. The tilbury has large wheels for moving fast over rough roads. A tilbury is fast, light, sporty and dangerous:

"A bad accident happened yesterday afternoon to M. Adolphe Fould, son of the Minister. He was seized with giddiness while driving his tilbury in the Champs Elysees and fell out of the vehicle. He was taken up senseless and conveyed to the Palace of the Exposition." — The London Times

The Times

The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...

, 9 November 1857.

There is no connection with Tilbury

Tilbury

Tilbury is a town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. As a settlement it is of relatively recent existence, although it has important historical connections, being the location of a 16th century fort and an ancient cross-river ferry...

in Essex.