Coventry's Bicycle Heritage E-Book

Damien Kimberley

• Herausgeber: The History Press
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Beschreibung

Coventry has a remarkable bicycle manufacturing heritage. From the first velocipedes built in 1868, the city went on to become the home of the British cycle industry and at one time produced the greatest output of cycles in the world – with well in excess of 450 individual cycle manufacturers over a 100-year period. The Coventry Machinists Company were the first in Britain to mass-produce cycles, and steadily, more and more companies were established in the city. Soon Coventry became internationally recognised as a place where only the very best machines were made, and the name 'Coventry' itself became a stamp of quality engineering and fine craftsmanship. Richly illustrated with over 100 outstanding images from Coventry History Centre, many previously unpublished, this is the first book of its kind to cover the history of Coventry bicycle manufacture and the people who built them. From Dunlop, Hobart, Singer, Premier, Rover and Triumph to other lesser-known local companies, their legacies are still enjoyed by cyclists and local historians today.

Leseprobe

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

In compiling this publication, I would like to thank Coventry History Centre, which holds the invaluable ‘Bartleet Collection’ of cycling books, bound journals, photographs, and various other historic cycling ephemera. I would also like to extend my thanks to both Nick Clayton and Ray Miller of the Veteran-Cycle Club, and Wolverhampton Archives. For helping out with various entries and images throughout the book, I would also like to thank the following: Andrew Mealey, Dave Butler, Lizzie Hazlehurst-Pearson, David Turner, Brent Fernandez, John Hodson, Joe Elliott, Carol Godfrey, Dina Smith, Steve Tommy, Avalon Eastman, Daniel Mirecki, James Laws, Ned Williams, Michael Settle, Melvyn Hirst, and John Spicer.

The Coventry Machinists Company situated at Cheylesmore, Coventry, makers of bicycles from 1868.

CONTENTS

Title

Acknowledgements

Introduction

A–Z of Coventry Bicycle and Tricycle Manufacturers

Appendix: Coventry Bicycle and Tricycle Manufacturers Quick List

About the Author

By the Same Author

Copyright

INTRODUCTION

During the year of 1861 in Coventry, the city had a decreasing population of some 41,000. For decades the weaving and watch trades had been two of the main staple industries, but due to increasingly stiff foreign competition making cheaper goods, both were in steep decline. The ancient St Mary’s Hall had become a soup kitchen for the relief of the many former workers, and the infant mortality rate was above 150 per thousand of the population due to such unemployment and poverty. With little hope of better times ahead, large-scale emigration to America and the colonies appeared to be the only option for many.

Bleak times indeed, yet despite such depression, three enterprising men from London decided to start up a business in the city with a view to manufacturing sewing machines. These men were Josiah Turner, James Starley and Silas Covell Salisbury, and they knew that many of the out-of-work weavers and watchmakers could turn their hands to the new specialist and intricate work of sewing machine manufacture.

Although he did not have any direct training as a youth, Starley (b. 1830) possessed an almost natural gift of being able to grasp how a piece of machinery functioned. Whether it be a clock, a sewing machine, or a perambulator, Starley would strive to improve upon and simplify its function. Such was his engineering ability that, in 1865, it was said that he designed and built a four-wheeled velocipede with suspension wheels.

By 1868, the Coventry Sewing Machine Company had been trading for around seven years. Business had been steady, but still not without difficulty. Out of the blue in November, Rowley B. Turner, the company’s appointed Paris-based agent and nephew of Josiah, arrived at the Cheylesmore factory riding a French-built velocipede – a wooden two-wheeled pedal-powered machine. Rowley Turner described to the board of directors how the velocipede had become fashionable in Paris, and encouraged them to accept an order to build some 400 for export. Orders for sewing machines had been poor, but even so, the board was cautious. After much deliberation, the order was accepted, and it was decided to change the company name to the ‘Coventry Machinists Company’ (CMC) so as to extend the product output and intent.

James Starley. Once foreman of the Coventry Machinists Company and labelled the ‘Father of the Bicycle Industry’.

Following several prototypes, work fully began and the first batch of commercial machines was ready to go during 1869. This meant that at this time, the Coventry Machinists became the first mass-producers of cycles in Britain. However, in July 1870 the Franco-Prussian War broke out, meaning that export to France was suddenly no longer an option. This forced the company to look much closer to home in order to promote and sell their machines.

It was no coincidence that very soon after the Coventry Machinists began developing velocipedes, James Starley resigned his position as works foreman. A naturally inventive man, Starley saw great promise in this new mode of transport and thought that he would do better on his own account. Whilst continuing to make his own sewing machines, Starley began to modify the design of the French velocipede, and he was soon joined by the young William Hillman.

By August 1870, Starley & Hillman had applied for a patent regarding ‘improvements to velocipedes’, and by March 1871, they were marketing their first ‘Ariel’ bicycle. Together, Starley & Hillman had drastically improved the French design by introducing a larger front wheel, a smaller lighter back wheel, metal spokes, solid rubber tyres, a rear-mounting step, and more effective brakes. By early 1874 meanwhile, Haynes & Jefferis became the first sole manufacturers of bicycles in Britain when they began to make the ‘Ariel’ under licence in Coventry.

Coventry’s fledgling industry did not make an impact overnight, but steadily, and cautiously, more new companies began to spring up in the city over the following years, for the sole purpose of manufacturing bicycles. Before long, Coventry began to build up a solid reputation both nationally and internationally, as the 1877 Bicycles of the Year testified:

Coventry has been, and always will be, the chief ‘head centre’ of manufacture. Here are all first-class houses; no poor or petty make leaves the city, so that the mere fact of a machine being Coventry-built is always a guarantee that it can be relied on. Now there are no less than nine firms carrying on business: the three principal and largest in the world are Messrs Haynes & Jefferis, Singer & Co., and the Coventry Machinists Company; among these nearly 400 hands are employed, and some 250–280 machines sent out weekly.

Even in this short period the design of the bicycle had transformed dramatically, and by the late 1870s the ‘Ordinary’ or ‘High Wheeler’ bicycle had become the norm. The front wheel had become much larger, so that when pedalling the rider could cover a greater distance more quickly. As cycling became an increasingly popular mode of transport, more companies were formed as Coventry really began to establish itself as the principle centre of cycle manufacture in Britain.

By the early 1880s the ‘Ordinary’ cycle was at its height in terms of popularity, particularly amongst racers. Not all, however, found such machines easy to ride because of their height. Children, the elderly, and women (because of restricted clothing) had particular difficulties in mounting and riding such a high bicycle, so many manufacturers began to make tricycles and juvenile models to combat this.

In 1885, James Starley’s nephew, John Kemp Starley, shook the cycling world when he introduced the ‘Rover safety bicycle’ – a revolutionary machine of stark contrast to the Ordinary, and a design that he had perfected by 1888, at exactly the same time as John Boyd Dunlop introduced the pneumatic tyre. The Rover had a diamond frame, two wheels of similar size, sloping front forks, and was pedal-driven by a chain to the rear wheel. Initially the Rover was ridiculed by those who had become so accustomed to the Ordinary, but over time it became the first choice of the cyclist, making the Ordinary defunct within a few years. Soon manufacturers all over world began to copy Starley’s design as cycling became more and more accessible and appealing to the public.

By the 1890s a cycling boom followed with hundreds more companies being established to manufacture safety cycles before the bubble was to burst. Coventry remained at the top of the industry with thousands of workers employed in the trade. The Premier Cycle Company alone boasted a workforce of 600 and an output of over 30,000 cycles per year during this period.

By 1895 the city had been connected with the cycle industry for over twenty-five years and was recognised throughout the world as a centre of manufacturing excellence. Yet soon the city would seize upon a completely new industry, an industry that would even surpass the achievements accomplished in the art and skill of cycle manufacture and revolutionise the future of transport.

The age of the motor engine had arrived, and, like the bicycle trade before it, Coventry became the chief centre in the country in motor manufacture. Many established bicycle firms began to experiment with the motor, whilst many other new firms were created in the city as purely motor manufacturing concerns. Although cycle production progressed alongside this new industry, by the 1920s output had been significantly reduced, steadily being displaced by greater numbers of reasonably affordable motorcycles and cars.

John Kemp Starley. Nephew of James Starley and inventor of the ‘Rover’ safety bicycle.

Ultimately, Coventry was to become a major motor manufacturing city for the best part of the twentieth century, and many of its products were known and exported all over the globe. The likes of Coventry Eagle, Excelsior, Francis-Barnett, Hillman, Humber, Lea-Francis, Riley, Rover, Rudge, Singer, and Triumph became famous names in the motoring world, however, each and every one of them can boast proud links to the once world-renowned Coventry cycle trade.

A-Z OF COVENTRY BICYCLE AND TRICYCLE MANUFACTURERS

The following is a compiled list of summarised entries of bicycle and tricycle manufacturers that once existed in the city of Coventry, England, from 1868–1990. The outcome has been drawn from numerous sources, including local trade directories, cycle year catalogues, newspapers, and an existing brief museum list as produced in 1987. Many of these companies would at some stage engage in motorcycle and car production, and the individuals themselves would pass on their expertise and make invaluable contributions to the Coventry motor industry and beyond. This list contains over 450 manufacturers, many of which have been rediscovered through extensive research.

ADLER, M., 1908

Much Park Street

The Austrian Max Adler had arrived in England in the early 1900s having spent a number of years trying his luck in America. Certainly, by 1908 he was at Much Park Street, Coventry, offering cycle frames fitted with handlebars, pedals and chains so that either the agent or customer could go on to customise their own complete machine. This did not seem to last long though and soon after, Adler appears to have acquired the ‘Raglan’ trade name, first used by Taylor, Cooper & Bednell in Coventry from 1889. Adler then transferred business to Sparkbrook, Birmingham, and produced Raglan motorcycles up to 1913 and cycles of the same name until around 1921.

(See also Raglan Cycle.)

ALBANY CYCLE STORES, 1914

17 Broomfield Road

The Albany Cycle Stores were first seen listed under ‘cycle manufacturers’ in the Bennett’s Business Directory of Warwickshire for 1914 at 17 Broomfield Road. At this point it’s believed that the business was under the supervision of Birmingham-born George Edward Nicholls (b. 1878), who was seen to be living at the same address three years earlier, listed as a ‘cycle agent’. No evidence has been found yet to substantiate whether any complete cycles were made; however, the final entry for this small concern appeared in 1919/20 when dealing in ‘accessories and repairs’ with Stephen Staley (b. 1889) as manager.

ALDRIDGE & CO., 1889–1894

Lockhurst Lane, Foleshill

Aldridge & Company was first seen in 1889, with their ‘Continental Safety’ cycles being exhibited at the Stanley Show. Although not appearing to have occupied a stand themselves, examples of their work was instead promoted by the enamellers and nickel platers Dawson & Franklin of Greyfriars Lane, Coventry. The cycle business was owned by John Aldridge (b. 1833) of Foleshill, a former stationery engine driver, and his sons Joseph (b. 1867) and Harry (b. 1866). As makers also of ‘Oldbrook’ models, by 1894 Aldridge found a financial backer in the pub owner Frederick North.

(See also Aldridge & North.)

ALDRIDGE & NORTH, 1894–1897

Lockhurst Lane, Foleshill

Frederick E. North (b. 1863) had once owned a string of public houses in and around Coventry, yet by 1894 he decided to join forces with the cycle manufacturer John Aldridge at Foleshill. Retaining the cycle trade skills of his sons and a handful of others, Aldridge & North appeared to trade relatively well until 1897, when the partnership was dissolved by mutual consent. It’s likely that Aldridge retired at this point, but North decided to continue in the trade, teaming up with Walter Garbutt. Seemingly retaining the original premises near New Inn Bridge and Foleshill Train Station, all went well initially, yet, ultimately, all would be cut short under quite tragic circumstances.

(See also North & Garbutt.)

ALLARD & CO., 1889–1902

42 Moor Street, and Earlsdon Works – Osborne Road

Frederick W. Allard was born at Arthur Terrace, Northampton, in 1864 – the terrace being the address of the White Lion public house that his parents ran for many years. On leaving school, Allard became an apprentice mechanical engineer in his native town, but soon after, moved to Coventry where he found employment at the CMC. Cycling from an early age, Allard had taken to the sport very quickly and before long he turned professional. During the mid-1880s he competed against the very best riders the world had to offer, and the pinnacle of his racing career came about in 1887 when he became ‘Safety Champion of the World’. In August 1888, he departed, along with fellow Brit Jack Lee and Frenchman Jules Dubois, on the ship Aurania for New York. Together they competed in the ‘Buffalo’ tournament, with the intention to then continue on to Hartford, Connecticut, Springfield, Lynn, and Rhode Island. However, Fred Allard and Jack Lee apparently left after the Hartford meeting because of a reported ‘lack of fair play’ by the Americans. In 1889, Allard decided to start up his own cycle business in partnership with Benjamin Done (b. 1854) and George Pilkington (b. 1861), setting up at works at Moor Street, Earlsdon. John Kingdon (b. 1854) and John H. Suffield, who served as finance manager, were employed from the beginning, along with the likes of Charles J. Band as secretary and William Williamson as sales manager. Their finished machines were sold as ‘Royal Allard’ safety cycles, gaining notable praise from the cycling fraternity. As early as February 1897, Allard & Company were listed as ‘makers of bicycles, tricycles, and all kinds of cycles and motor cars’. Soon after they joined the ranks of motoring by producing cars and motor-bicycles, the latter of which Allard himself rode in competitions. By 1902, the business was taken over by the Birmingham Motor Manufacturing Company to become the Rex Motor Manufacturing Company. Like his parents before him, Allard bought into the pub trade from 1890, first owning the Hare & Squirrel, then the City Arms at Earlsdon, and eventually the Market Vaults back in the town centre. It’s not known if the production of Allard cycles ceased at this point, but Earlsdon neighbours the Coventry Acme Motor Company were known to have sold ‘Allard’ cycles much later, in 1922. Whether Fred Allard had any involvement in the creation of this firm is not clear, yet the dates concerned would certainly support this. Allard died at Maidstone, Kent, in 1922.

(See also Armstrong Cycle Co. and Coventry Acme.)

Frederick W. Allard. Former Coventry Machinist, professional cycle racer, bicycle maker and publican.

ALLIANCE CYCLE CO., 1898

16 Grosvenor Road

In 1898, former Coventry Machinist employee George Williamson began the Alliance Cycle Co., offering ‘Domino’, ‘Nomad’ and ‘Incog’ cycles. In his entry in the Application of Registered Trademarks, Williamson was listed as a ‘bicycle, tricycle, velocipede and motor carriage manufacturer’ yet whether he actually made all of these will probably never be fully known. By 1901, Fred Kerby (b. 1869) of the Roulette Cycle Company was living at 16 Grosvenor Road and may have had some involvement.

ALLRIGHT CYCLE CO., 1894–1898

18a Hertford Street, and Priory Street

The Allright Cycle Company began around 1894 in compact premises at Hertford Street, exhibiting ‘Allright’ models at the Stanley Show in the same year. A move to Priory Street followed two years later, whilst the patent agent, George Leechman (b. 1865), moved into the former premises. Whilst Leechman may be connected, nothing certain is known about the founders of the company, which was last seen recorded in 1898, but the chances are that their finished machines were assembled using parts brought in from elsewhere and rebadged.

ARIEL CYCLE CO., 1897–1900

32–33 Earl Street, and 1 Little Park Street

From 1897, the John Griffiths Cycle Corporation of Earl Street set up another company after acquiring the ‘Ariel’ trademark, offering juvenile cycles and adult models such as the ‘Ariel Midget’. Fitted with Dunlop tyres, Griffiths sought to bring this famous name in cycling (first used by James Starley and William Hillman in 1870, and continued by Haynes & Jefferis) back to life. However, the Ariel Cycle Company was ultimately sold, and had moved out of Coventry by the turn of the century, with Charles Sangster driving the business onwards. The name later became very famous in motorcycle manufacture, lasting all the way through to 1965.

(See also Dunlop, Cycle Co. and Kodak Cycle Co.)

The Ariel Cycle Company was one of a number of small firms created by John Griffiths. This advert dates from 1897.

ARMSTRONG CYCLE CO., 1896–1900

Armstrong Works – Days Lane

The Armstrong Cycle Company began life at Days Lane in 1896 in premises owned by Eli Green. Its managing director was George William Shuttleworth, who was born at Bracebridge, Lincolnshire, in 1853. After initially working in Birmingham, by 1880 Shuttleworth and family had moved to Coventry, eventually forming a partnership with John William Jones as manufacturers of cycle parts. He then joined forces with Benjamin Done, formerly of the Allard Cycle Company, as Shuttleworth & Done – again as makers of cycle parts, yet this partnership had dissolved by 1894. Living close by on Days Lane, by 1896 Shuttleworth oversaw the manufacture of ‘Armstrong’ safety bicycles, along with son George (b. 1875) who was apprenticed at the firm. At around the same time, George senior was also known to have joined forces with William Gallois at the same premises as ‘cycle wheel makers’ under the title of the Practical Cycle Wheel Company. Shuttleworth was also seen to have traded under his own name from 1896–1898, but all seems to have fallen flat by 1900, and exactly why the name ‘Armstrong’ was ever used is unknown. By 1911 George W. Shuttleworth was still seen to be living in Coventry, although unemployed at that time.

(See also Gallois, Brown & Co.)

ARNOLD, C.H., 1907–1910

55 Well Street

Charles Henry Arnold chanced his way into cycle making around 1907, in premises at Well Street. It is not known exactly who or where Arnold originated from but one strong possibility can be found from census records. The 1881 census revealed a Charles Arnold aged 17 of Birmingham lodging at Cow Lane, Coventry, and employed as a ‘labourer in iron works’. Ten years later he was listed as a ‘cycle machinist’. After marrying in 1902, he later decided to start up on his own, being listed as a ‘cycle manufacturer’ in the local trade directory by 1907. Any cycles produced must have been of a very limited nature and production was cut short in 1910 when Arnold died, aged 46.

ARNOLD, W.H., 1898

83 East Street

William Henry Arnold (b. 1874) of Coventry was spotted for one year only in the 1898 Porter’s Cycle and Motor Trade Directory under ‘cycle manufacturers’ at 83 East Street, and makers of the ‘Arnold’. Little is known about his life prior to this, but by 1911 he was seen to be listed as a ‘cycle and motor mechanic’.

ARROW CYCLE CO., 1891–1898

17 Spon Street

Starting out in 1891 at Spon Street, the Arrow Cycle Company began by offering ‘Safest’ English Lever cycles from 3 guineas, whilst also offering ‘substantial discounts to encourage cash trade’. Situated next door to the watch manufacturer William Taylor Riley, the company – sometimes known as ‘Coventry Arrow’ – was thought to have begun through a partnership mostly involving businessmen from outside the city, along with the watchmaker Alexander Edwards. These businessmen included Joseph Howard Kirk, Charles T. Bishop, Arthur and William Pilkington, and Anderson Brownsword. Kirk was a Birmingham engineer, Bishop a retired tube manufacturer, and Brownsword a retired silk merchant. The Pilkington’s were heavily connected to the same family who took over the cycle firm of Allard & Company in Coventry, later to become the Rex Motor Manufacturing Company. Spon Street at this time was booming with industry, mostly housed in small units in narrow courtyards, the bulk of which has now sadly disappeared. The firm closed in 1898.

(See also Allard & Co., and Edwards, A. & Co.)

ASSOCIATED CYCLE MFRS OF COVENTRY LTD, 1939–1955

Torrington Avenue, Priory Street and Lower Ford Street

In 1918, Siegfried Bettmann, one of the co-founders of the Triumph Cycle Company, formed a consortium and established Coventry Bicycles Limited at Earlsdon. In the years preceding this, Bettmann had struggled to convince certain Triumph board members that the manufacture of cycles remained important to the company, when the majority felt that car manufacture was the way forward. This divide saw the founding partnership of Bettmann and Mauritz Schulte dissolve and Schulte resigned. In 1936, Bettmann left Triumph when the company fell into difficulties, yet still maintained his passion for cycle manufacture by later establishing ‘Associated Cycle Manufacturers of Coventry’ in 1939 with G.R. Lowe as secretary. This firm became makers of ‘Triumph’, ‘Gloria’ and ‘Three Spires’ pedal cycles and were thought to have traded until 1955 when they were taken over by Raleigh, two years after Bettmann’s death.

(See also Coventry Bicycles Ltd, and Triumph Cycle Co.)

ATKINS, J., 1901–1909

385 Foleshill Road

John Atkins was believed to have been producing his own cycles from 1901 at Foleshill Road. Born at Foleshill in 1848, by 1881 he was living at 16 Regent Street with his wife Rose and two children, working as a silk weaver. Ten years later, the family (now increased by a further five children) were back in Foleshill at Chapel Yard, with John employed as a ‘machinist’. By 1901 the Atkins family were seen living at Cambridge Street with John working as a ‘cycle builder’, but whether he was making his own cycles at this point has yet to be confirmed. It is believed, however, that he continued to produce cycles until 1909 at his Foleshill Road workshop, afterwards becoming employed as an engineering fitter.

ATLAS ENGINEERING CO., 1919–1932

Stoneleigh Works – 2 Hill Street

The Atlas Engineering Company was thought to have been established at the Stoneleigh Works, Hill Street, in 1913 – a stone’s throw from the huge Leigh Mills weaving factory. Primarily a general engineering firm, Atlas tried their hand at motorcycle production initially and built machines assembled from various outsourced components for touring and TT specification, finished in black and red. Unlike many, they were fortunate to survive the First World War, being listed as ‘cycle manufacturers’ until 1932. Afterwards, ‘Atlas Precision (Coventry) Ltd’ was listed as ‘motor and general engineers’ until 1962 at the Butts. Regarding the business origins, the man thought to be behind the firm was revealed in the 1939 Coventry Directory as A.J.E. Wain. This can only refer to Arthur John Edward Wain (b. 1882), a mechanical engineer originating from Nottingham. Although known to be living and working in Derby in 1911, by 1918 he was seen to have married in Coventry.

ATTENBOROUGH & UNDERWOOD LTD, 1894–1899

Addison Works – Stoney Stanton Road

In 1894, John Attenborough and George Underwood decided that their experience in the cycle trade was sufficient to go it alone. Attenborough was born in Essex in 1852, and worked as a ‘carman’ before arriving in Coventry in 1885, securing work as a cycle fitter. George Underwood was born in Coventry in 1872, and was working as a ‘cycle machinist’ by 1891. On joining forces at the ‘Addison works’, they made models such as the ‘Butterfly’, with financial support from the oil merchant Arthur E. Astley. Another employee appears to be Thomas E. Cave (b. 1875) who took out a patent in March 1899 in relation to cycles with Underwood. In 1897 the company reported returns of over £48,000, yet by June 1899 the business went into liquidation, administrated by Cave. Not being men to give up lightly, Attenborough and Underwood took stock, and started again under the title of the British Coaster Manufacturing Company, yet things were about to get much worse.

(See also British Coaster Manufacturing Co.)

AVERNS, E., 1911–1918

159 Spon Street

Born at Foleshill in 1865, Ernest Lloyd Averns began work as a silk warehouseman at the King Field Works of J. & J. Cash Limited. His father John was a manager there for many years while his brother Raymond became a designer draughtsman at the factory. After working in Belgium, by the turn of the century Ernest was employed as a commercial traveller in the cycle trade. Ten years later he was listed as a ‘cycle manufacturer employer’ with works at Spon Street, and was living at Shaftesbury Road. By 1914, Averns was listed as a ‘motor accessories manufacturer’ at Bishop Street until war intervened. Nothing is known about the cycles he produced and, by the end of the First World War, Averns was listed as a cycle factor. He was listed one final time for 1921 as a ‘cycle accessory dealer’, still at Spon Street.

AVON CYCLE CO., 1897–1914

27 Jordan Well, and Avon Cycle Works – 223 Stoney Stanton Road

The origins of the Avon Cycle Company began inside an old building on Jordan Well when George Tansley commenced business making ‘Avon’ safety models. The son of a watch finisher and publican, Tansley was born in Coventry in 1870 and worked as an assurance agent before entering the cycle trade as a ‘machinist’. Living at ‘Avon House’ on the Stoney Stanton Road in his younger years, a new factory was completed near to his home by October 1897. All must have appeared promising at first, but Tansley filed for bankruptcy in 1899, with all plant and stock being auctioned from the Stoney Stanton Road premises. He soon bounced back, however, trading under the ‘New Avon Cycle Company’ title and carried on the business at Jordan Well until 1914, while trading also under his own name as a cycle agent. Being granted exemption from military duties, he was later seen at the same address as a cycle agent and repairer after the First World War, but from 1921 was seen to be trading once again as a ‘cycle manufacturer’ as G. Tansley & Company.

(See also Tansley, G. & Co.)

BALMORAL CYCLE CO., 1909–1911

14a Union Street

The Balmoral Cycle Company looks to have begun in Birmingham in 1897, yet had also acquired premises at Union Street, Coventry, by 1909. The key individual behind the firm appears to have been William Ivy Rogers (b. 1864) who was also involved in the Merlin Cycle Company and the Coventry Frame Company. All of these interests were dissolved by 1911, but Rogers later founded the Autocrat Light Car Co., which ran from 1913 to 1924 at Balsall Heath.

(See also Merlin Cycle Co.)

BARNETT, A. & CO., 1912–1928

58 West Orchard

Arthur Barnett was born in Coventry in 1863, and on completing his education he joined one of the city’s growing cycle firms in accounts. By 1891, Barnett was listed as living at 147 ‘Albert Villas’ on Stoney Stanton Road and employed as a ‘clerk in the cycle trade’. Later he found a position at the massive Singer Company as a cashier, steadily progressing over the years to reach the heights of company director. In 1912 he took the plunge and set himself up in business as Barnett, A. & Company at West Orchard and High Street, making cycles and motorcycles called the ‘Invicta’. After the war he went into partnership with his son-in-law, Gordon Francis, to form Francis-Barnett, yet also appears to have separately traded as the cycle makers Barnett, A. & Company until 1928. Francis-Barnett went on to become one of the most reputable lightweight motorcycle companies in the country, and although Arthur Barnett died in 1934, Francis-Barnett motorcycles continued to be manufactured until 1968.

BARNETT SPECIALITE CYCLE CO., 1928–1955

96 Evenloade Crescent

The Barnett Specialite Cycle Company was listed in the Birmingham District Trades Directory of 1954/55 as ‘Light-weight manufacturers, general repairs, accessories and equipment’. It is not known exactly when this family business began, but the entry also read, ‘Tandem records 1938, and World Championships 1928’. A cycle repairs shop under the Barnett name was also known to have been in operation until 2005, situated on the corner of Cedars Avenue and Evenloade Crescent.

BARNSLEY, E., 1896

6 Grosvenor Road

Born at Wellington in Shropshire in 1859, Ernest Horatio Barnsley worked in Wolverhampton before making his way to Coventry. Whilst living at 6 Grosvenor Road, Barnsley was seen listed as a ‘cycle factor’ using the ‘Orbit’ trade name. Listed as a financier in 1891, it’s not fully known whether any cycles were ever actually produced under the Orbit name.

BASSETT, G.A., 1914

82 Colchester Street

As seen for 1914 only, George A. Bassett (b. 1876) of Colchester Street worked as a sole agent offering ‘Coventry City’ high-grade cycles at weekly payments. Bassett hailed from Bromsgrove and started work as a clerk for a branch of the Singer Sewing Machine Company, where his father was manager. George later became a house furnisher; moving to Coventry around 1905 to work as manager at Thomas Smith & Sons, house furnishers at Jordan Well. Who exactly made or assembled ‘Coventry City’ cycles is a mystery, yet this venture or sideline was most probably cut short by the outbreak of war.

BATSTONE, F.S., 1926–1932

Sovereign Road

Frederick Stork Batstone, a former agricultural labourer from Taunton, moved to Coventry around 1904 with his family. By 1911 he was seen to have been employed as an ‘iron moulder at machine tool works’, yet by 1926 he was owner of Sovereign Road Garages in Earlsdon. Until 1932, Batstone was listed as a ‘motor engineer, cycle manufacturer, motor dealer and repairer’, however, details of any cycles made have yet to come to light. From 1932 onwards he was listed only as a motor engineer.

BAYLISS, THOMAS & CO., 1874–1919

St Mary’s Works – 13 Earl Street, St Mary’s Works – 78 Much Park Street, Excelsior Works – 80 Lower Ford Street, and Excelsior Works – 287 Stoney Stanton Road

The firm of Bayliss, Thomas & Company can be linked back to the very beginnings of cycle manufacture in Coventry, as the three principal men behind the firm were previously associated with the Coventry Machinists Company. Thomas Bayliss (1843–1905) first worked in the small arms trade in his native Birmingham before finding employment at CMC as works manager under James Starley. He then left to manage the production of cycles for Haynes & Jefferis and often competed in early cycle races. John Thomas (1830–1902) hailed from Banbury but moved to Coventry in 1857 where he traded as a ‘cutler and gas fitter’. In 1868 he also became an agent for velocipedes, first for the agricultural implement makers Lamplugh of Banbury, and then for CMC. He later became active as a local councillor and captain of Coventry’s volunteer fire brigade. The final founder of the business was John Slaughter (1834–1912) of Aylesbury. After working as an engineer in London during the 1860s, he moved to Coventry around 1870 to also work at CMC. In 1874 he teamed up with Bayliss and Thomas, initially working at the rear of Thomas’s Earl Street premises before moving to Much Park Street later the following year. They were thought to have been the first company established in Coventry solely for the purpose of manufacturing cycles, offering ‘Excelsior’ and ‘Eureka’ Ordinary models. In 1877 they moved to much larger works at Lower Ford Street where they added the ‘Everycycle’ to their growing range and were soon producing some 2,000 bicycles and tricycles a year. The 1881 census informs us how well both the company and owners were progressing. Bayliss is listed as a ‘bicycle manufacturer’ living at Cromwell Street with wife, two sons and six further family members. John Thomas is listed as a ‘bicycle manufacturer employing 180 hands’ and living at Abbotts Lane with wife, two sons and four daughters. John Slaughter is shown as a ‘bicycle manufacturer employing 159 hands’ and living with his wife, two sons and two daughters at Payne’s Lane. For the next decade, Bayliss, Thomas & Company developed a reputation for producing well-crafted quality machines, a trait that was reflected by most manufacturers in the city. The increased wealth of the owners was apparent too, as in 1891 John Thomas’s family had moved to Highbury Place on Hill Street, and Thomas Bayliss to Priory Street, and both held domestic servants in their service. Although Slaughter was still residing at Payne’s Lane, he would soon move to Rousham House in the desirable Stoke Park area. In 1896, Bayliss, Thomas & Company became a limited company, and that same year they commenced with the manufacture of motorcycles. With the original founders all ageing in years, they gradually stepped down and the company steadily concentrated their efforts towards motorised vehicles, offering the ‘Excelsior’ model. In 1909 a subsidiary business was set up as the Excelsior Motor Company, managed by William Herbert Carson. Alongside Bayliss, Thomas & Company, they continued, either side of the war, to develop motorcycles, and a few cycles, at Stoney Stanton Road, Coventry, until around 1919. At this time the entire motorcycle operation moved to Birmingham where the Excelsior continued to be made until 1965, winding up a business that lasted some ninety years.

(See also Excelsior Motor Co.)

BAYLISS, TIMMS & CO., 1878–1881

Raglan Works – Raglan Street, and East Street Works – East Street

After the departure of William Crump, John Timms found new partners in James Bayliss and John Mattocks, retaining premises at the Raglan Works. James Bayliss was born in Birmingham in 1840, and by 1871 he was living at Much Park Street, Coventry, with family. Initially he was employed as a ‘sewing machinist’, most probably at the Coventry Sewing Machine Company, yet clearly gained experience in the cycle trade as it developed in the city. John Mattocks was born in Coventry about 1822, and most probably provided the principal funds to support this new business. A ribbon manufacturer by profession, by 1881 he was instead listed as a ‘bicycle manufacturer’, living at Barrs Hill Terrace with family. As Bayliss, Timms & Company, they continued to make ‘Coventry Perfection’ bicycles, and on moving to East Street, added ‘Coventry Express’ models also. By early 1881, however, James Bayliss broke from the partnership, later becoming landlord at the Fox & Vivian at Gosford Street. Both Timms and Mattocks, however, decided to continue the business, but under the name of Timms & Company.

(See also Timms & Co.)

Bayliss, Thomas & Company commenced bicycle manufacture in the 1870s, after its three principal founders had been employed under James Starley.

BEACON CYCLE CO., 1912–1940

201 Foleshill Road

In 1912 the Beacon Cycle Company was established, possibly by Francis S. O’Brien. Although O’Brien himself died around a year later, he shared premises with his other concerns of Challenge, British Challenge, and later, Edward O’Brien Limited. Challenge ended in 1930, but the outbreak of the Second World War put an end to the Beacon and British Challenge cycle firms.

(See also Challenge Cycle Co., British Challenge Cycle Co., and O’Brien.)

Bayliss, Timms & Company made bicycles at the Raglan Works, later occupied by Taylor, Cooper & Bednell.

BEESTON CYCLE CO., 1897–1900

Quinton Works – Parkside

Now operating separately to the Beeston Motor Company, the cycle arm of Beeston continued within the Quinton Works, still under the supervision of the Gorton Brothers. Ultimately, both Beeston companies failed massively, the shareholders furious that they would never see the sorts of financial return that Harry Lawson had led all to believe. Struggling on until 1899, everything was wound up the following year. Bernard Gorton had probably read the signs, and left in 1897 to join forces with Thomas Yardley as cycle manufacturers at London Road. Samuel Gorton weighed up the scraps and bought much of the machinery and stock in order to set up his son, Edward, in business at Earlsdon. The Quinton Works were, surprisingly, taken over and turned into Rademakers cocoa and chocolate factory, but were later acquired by Swift.

(See also Gorton Cycle & Motor Co., New Beeston Cycle Co. and Quinton Cycle Co.)

BENNETT, B., 1884

Coundon Street

A Mr B. Bennett of Coundon Street, Coventry, was seen to have exhibited ‘Pass Tout’ cycles at the Speedwell Bicycle and Tricycle Show at Bingley Hall, Birmingham, in February 1884. The background of Bennett is something of a mystery but attending exhibitions could prove costly and it’s likely that he went on to work for another cycle firm. If known as ‘Bill’ for short, then it may relate to a William Bennett (b. 1856) who in 1881 was working as a ‘cycle works manager’ in Coventry, and later as a ‘mechanical engineer’.

BENNETT, COTTON & CO., 1891–1902

Elk Cycle Works – Cow Lane

Thomas Amillion Bennett was born in Fillongley near Coventry in 1851. He spent several years working in Birmingham before moving to Coventry where he found work as a ‘machinist bicycle maker’. Joseph J. Cotton was born in Birmingham in 1864, but by 1891 he was lodging in Colchester Street in Coventry working as a ‘cycle maker’. In the 1892 Cyclist Year Book, Bennett, Cotton & Co. were listed as the registered owners of the ‘Elk’ name but with Lester & Company in brackets. This relates to George H. Lester (b. 1839) who owned and managed the metal works where both Bennett, Cotton & Company, and Lester & Company, worked together. This arrangement appears to have lasted until around 1902 when the business was wound up.

(See also Lester & Co.)

Bennett, Cotton & Company made ‘Elk’ cycles, but first worked in the Coventry art-metal trade.

BIDMEAD, J. & P., 1924–1928

30 Much Park Street

Jonathan Bidmead was born in Coventry in 1858, the son of a ribbon factory foreman. He first found employment in the watch trade as a watch case engraver before turning to the cycle trade during the 1880s. Believed to have been employed by J.K. Starley & Company as a cycle stores keeper, Bidmead progressed to become a clerk, later employed by the Rover Cycle Company up to the First World War. In 1921 he started a business on his own account called the Coventry Mascot Cycle Company, which traded for a little over three years. Then, in partnership with his son Percival Bidmead (b. 1888) and Cecil Frederick Dyer (b. 1898), he established J. & P. Bidmead in 1924 as ‘cycle manufacturers’ at Little Park Street, the same street where he was born over sixty years earlier. Dyer was seen to leave the partnership in 1926, and the firm continued to trade for a further two years.

(See also Coventry Mascot Cycle Co.)

BIRCH & CO., 1891–1896

Priory Mills – Priory Street, and Foleshill Cycle Works – Lockhurst Lane

With a fresh start at Priory Street, John North Birch commenced the manufacture of ‘Foleshill’ diamond-framed and cross-framed safety cycles. By December the following year, however, Birch sought new premises again, advertising the ‘steam-powered’ Priory Mills to let. He quickly found works at Lockhurst Lane, half way between his Windmill Lane home and central Coventry. The move went well, employing more staff, more agents, and opening up a depot in Manchester. Employees known to work at Birch & Company at this time were the likes of Samuel Saville, John Walden, and William Cakebread. It’s thought that Birch sold the business in 1896, and with the proceeds of the sale began trading as J.N. Birch, cycle manufacturer at Arbury Road, Nuneaton, as well as buying the Britannia Cycle Company. Birch & Company then became the Foleshill Cycle Company, retaining the Foleshill Cycle Works.

(See also Birch & Walker, Britannia, and Foleshill Cycle Co.)

John North Birch of Birch & Company was said to have been a former employee of John Kemp Starley.

BIRCH, F., 1914

2 Spon Street

For one year only, the Bennett’s Business Directory of Warwickshire for 1914 listed F. Birch as a ‘cycle manufacturer’ at Spon Street. As predominately cycle agents, any actual cycles that may have been made have yet to come to light, yet the owner related to Frank Birch (b. 1871), formerly of the motor manufacturers Perks & Birch. Alongside Edwin Perks they devised the ‘Motor Wheel’ in 1899, soon after used by the Singer Company, where the two were to also gain employment. Listed only as a cycle agent in 1919/20, by 1933 Birch had also established a motor garage in the city, which lasted a couple of years.

BIRCH & WALKER, 1888–1891

Foleshill Cycle Works – Windmill Lane

John North Birch and Jessie James Walker were thought to have formed a partnership in 1888. Birch had previously worked for J.K. Starley & Company in Coventry, and with financial backing from Walker, a silk weaver by profession, commenced the manufacture of ‘Foleshill’ cycles at a small works owned by Birch’s father behind the family home on Windmill Lane. As time moved on, the factory became too small and inadequate, so the ambitious Birch sought larger premises. With far greater capital needed for such a move, perhaps this was too much of a gamble for Walker, who instead decided to cash in. The partnership dissolved in October 1891, and Birch, with new financial backing from the Reader family of Foleshill, re-established the business as Birch & Company, taking over premises in central Coventry formerly occupied by the Priory Cycle Company.

(See also Birch & Co.)