Back to porte-cochiere:

There's one on the Dooley House here in Richmond. The porte-cochiere on this grand, but spooky to me, old house is actually over the back entrance to the house. There are rooms immediately to the right and left of the entrance hall where guests of times gone by could freshen up from their buggy rides up to the house. I do wonder whether that back entrance was used for inclement weather arrivals only.