138 replies to this topic

[frangible]

Just came across this thread - very interesting. I noticed Ginetta mentioned at Whitham, so here's a shot I took in '71 when I went to order a new G15.

[Vitesse2]

Is that an Alvis TD pulling out from behind that green bin? Or perhaps a big Lancia? Whatever it is, it's not your average daily driver ....

[kayemod]

Originally posted by Vitesse2


Is that an Alvis TD pulling out from behind that green bin? Or perhaps a big Lancia? Whatever it is, it's not your average daily driver ....

Looks like a Wolseley or Riley to me. TW would know for sure, maybe it's him behind the wheel.

[Twin Window]

Originally posted by kayemod

TW would know for sure, maybe it's him behind the wheel.

Indeed it is!

[275 GTB-4]

Originally posted by Twin Window
Indeed it is!

[Barry Boor]

Thanks to the wonders of the Local Live website I can show the world (well, the TNF world, anyway) this view of the 'factory' where the Connew was built.



If my 37 year memory serves me correrctly, I reckon our unit was the one that the white van is parked in front of, though it may be the one to the right of it.

A little to the left, where there is a slight step back in the positions of the sheds, the first one after the step back was where our machines (lathes, mill, etc etc etc) were put once the racing car grew to a size that required virtually all the space in the first unit.

It is so gratifying to see that after all these years the old yard still looks practically identical to how it looked in the early part of the 1970s.

[RTH]

Barry

Any sign yet that the Connew might be restored or even just reassembled even if without engine or gearbox, be nice to think it might get back in to one piece as just a static exhibit ?

If you do not have any photos of the factory at the time, how about doing a plan layout drawing for us of the areas, equipment etc ? Would certainly be interesting to see just what space and facilities you had to make the car at the time, where and how it was all done .

Has anyone been there on the ground recently to take some pictures of how it is now ?

[Barry Boor]

Well, Richard, restored, especially to working condition is extremely unlikely, given the deterioration of the steel components. There would have to be a considerable outlay to bring most of the assorted pieces up to a safe and usable level.

As to re-assembled... that is definitely on the Connew schedule but Peter is now spending more than half his life working on mainland China, for FoMoCo. And when he is home he is working at the Ford plant at Dunton, so at present there is very, very little time for anything else.

What would push him to get on with it would be the obtaining of the DFV/DG.300 package, no matter what the condition, because without them there would be nothing with which to join the rear suspension to the chassis. At one time he talked about making a wooden DFV with proper trumpets but there just isn't time for things like that until he retires and he is 'only' 62 at the moment.

There are one or two people making quiet enquiries about engines and gearboxes but nothing is as yet forthcoming. As an aside, someone suggested I contact Frank Lyons as he has been known to own a few cars.... maybe someone who knows him personally (Andrew???) might sound him out.

Regarding drawings of the workshops... I could certainly do one of the workshop the car was built in because it only had room for the car..... plus a narrow workbench along one side and my woodworking bench at the back. The machine shop layout would be harder to remember but I will see if Peter remembers anything about it upon his return from Australia where he and the family are currently attending a wedding.

If I ever get back down that way I will certainly take some photos in the yard and again, I will check to see if Peter has any, taken in more recent times.

Thank you for your interest in the old girl!

[fines]

Originally posted by Barry Boor
It is so gratifying to see that after all these years the old yard still looks practically identical to how it looked in the early part of the 1970s.

And beautiful (in its own way) it is, too!

[Macca]

Here is the J.A.Pearce garage at Western Road, Southall, in 1967:



and thanks to MSN LiveSearch, I think this is the same spot now:



Paul M

[Barry Boor]

Gentlemen, it pains me to have to tell you but this morning I learned from cousin Peter that the workshops in which the Connew was built are to be totally demolished in the very near future.

This is a very sad day for me.

[Kingsleyrob]

Gentlemen, it pains me to have to tell you but this morning I learned from cousin Peter that the workshops in which the Connew was built are to be totally demolished in the very near future.

This is a very sad day for me.

That's bad news Barry, we need some on the ground shots (and inner sanctum) before it goes for posterity.

I was surprised when looking back through the thread to see no pictures of the former BRM premises, mentioned by Doug in his post. So I can offer the following taken around October last year, together with the Mays' home just around the corner (I recall Doug gave the address of the premises as Spalding Road).






Rob

Edited by Kingsleyrob, 23 May 2009 - 10:57.

[Kingsleyrob]

The Mays' home is an interesting looking building in Eastgate, and the other shots show the BRM premises from Spalding Road, and a rather sad and dilapidated sight - and site - directly opposite. It bears the Raymond Mays name as you can see, but I don't know of any actual historical connection apart from location. I'm sure someone on here can confirm or deny any connection though...







Rob

Edited by Kingsleyrob, 23 May 2009 - 11:29.

[sterling49]

The former site of the manufacturer of the V-12 engine that powered a very, very pretty F1 car..........

[RS2000]

I'm told former rallycrosser Rod Chapman owns an industrial park somewhere in those parts. No idea who AEI Holdings is.

[MCS]

I'm told former rallycrosser Rod Chapman owns an industrial park somewhere in those parts. No idea who AEI Holdings is.

http://weslake.net/

[sterling49]

Rod owns the industrial estate opposite and also one in Tunbridge Wells.

[RTH]

I'm told former rallycrosser Rod Chapman owns an industrial park somewhere in those parts. No idea who AEI Holdings is.

http://weslake.net/

[tom58long]

i have a nice photo of a p34-part leaning against the wall of a wooden building. could be part of the tyrrell bros. timber merchants at ripley. any pics about that? would be great to see some from there.

[Cirrus]

There is a picture of the Tyrrell wooden shed here...

http://forums.autosp...w...c=64736&hl=

[BritishV8]

I believe the BMC Competitions Department was on the premises of the MG works, in unit 1a of "B Block", which is this building on Colwell Drive in Abingdon:

re: Abingdon for MG Enthusiasts

(Sorry... "1a" is at the far end of this building. Also, as the photo shows, the building's facade has been updated.)

Were the MG race cars of the 1950's built and raced from this same shop, or from somewhere else within the MG works?

MG's earliest racers were built somewhere in Oxford, weren't they?

Healey's facilities in Warwick haven't been mentioned yet in this thread. Is anything left to see there?

[garyfrogeye]

There are the John Sprinzel garages at Lancaster Mews.

John writes

"This was the first of the Mews that we rented - Number 32 Lancaster Mews. It had a tiled floor but with very small raised tiles, with channels for the horse pee to drain away, as these were all stables for the big "posh" houses behind. It was the second I purchased - for about 24,000 UK pounds. One side of the ground floor became offices at the front and stores at the back, while the left hand side became grease bay for two cars. Workshops to begin, but we soon got hold of another, two to the left, number 30, for which I paid 15,000 UK. This I had as my own flat, with a two car lock up, a ground floor hall/entry and private office, while the main body of the ground floor was a four car showroom, with three desks, and my little office. The one you just see to the left of 32, we also purchased, for 14,000 UK, and this is still Louis Cassoni's business. It holds four cars, a couple of desks and has a toilet at the back (as did 32) We linked the rear of 32 and 31 with a passageway at the back, and then put a door between the two showrooms, so the whole was now one building.
Number 32 Appartment I sold to a very charming American, who supervised building for the Bechtel Corporation, Including many of their embassies, and a huge hotel in Park Lane, which kept him in London long enough to buy my property. Number 30 was recently converted into two quite large appartments, and was on the market at one million pounds each! The drawing on page 74 of Spritely Years was of the original grease bay, which had our tiny office behind. The photo of Ursula Andress on page 95, was taken outside my little office at number 30. We also owned numbers 58 and 59, which were turned into pretty large workshop and stores, and rented four others- two showrooms, one "factory" for Fibrepair's seat and hardtop operation, and one for a general office. Plus the basement car park of a large block of flats in the next street (which had it's entrance in our Mews) and this became our general car park for about 30 cars - vital with an operation in the middle of London!
By some strange co-incidence, I woke up this morning thinking about those properties we owned, all of which are now worth about a million pounds each - and we owned five of them, plus first rights of purchase on the others which we rented!.
Could'a been rich!
Cheers John



Speedwell at Finchley Road followed by John's drawing of the layout




"Bernie the Pipe's" Workshop behind Finchley Road



Donald Healey's Showroom at 64 Grosvenor St

Edited by garyfrogeye, 11 November 2009 - 00:22.

[RTH]

Great pictures etc Gary.

[rdmotorsport]

Richard Hinton:

Well it's a long list, most of which I suspect I won't find. I'm trying to build up a few clusters of them, then dive into the cluster and search from there:

AAR Inc
Wotton Road, South Ashford, Kent
Junction 10 M20. Exit, A2070; follow to roundabout; follow A2042; kso Malcolm Sargent Rd; rdabout; veer left into Wotton Rd. (No number)

George ABECASSIS
is buried at Ibstone, Buckinghamshire - churchyard of St Nicholas church?

ALLARD MOTOR COMPANY
24-28 High Street Clapham

ALTA CAR & ENGINEERING
Fullers Way, Kingston Bypass, Surbiton, Surrey (No street number, need directory)

ARNOTT RACING CARS
Whitchurch Lane, Edgeware, near Stanmore. (No street number; need directory)
Nearest tube: Canons Park
(?Grange Rd NW10; 65-67 Palermo Rd NW10; 69 High Rd NW10.)

ASTON MARTIN
1912. Henniker Mews, Callow Street, Fulham Rd, Sth Kensington (Bamford and Martin). Premisees no longer exist.
1920: 53 Abingdon Rd, Kensington High Street, Sth Kensington (Bamford and Martin). ? Premises no longer exist
1925: Victoria Rd, Feltham, Middlesex (Renwick and Bertelli
1947: (Acorn Works?) Hanworth Park, Feltham, Middlesex (David Brown)
1957: Tickford Street, Newport Pagnell (David Brown)

BEART, Francis
2 Ladymead, Guildford Bypass, Guildford. (very close to Brabham at Woodbridge meadows)

BENJAFIELD, DR (Bentley Boy)
73 Harley Street, W1

BENTLEY
pre-Bentley: Bentley & Bentley DFP, 3 Hanover Sq London
1919: New Street Mews off Baker Street in Central London. (Can’t find New Street Mews).
1921: 50 Oxgate Lane, Cricklewood (Near the corner of Oxgate Lane and Edgware Road (the A5), the area was then still undeveloped). In 1920, the first production shops were built. These were steel-framed breezeblock buildings, put up quickly and cheaply. They nevertheless lasted over sixty years, occupied for many years after 1931 by Smiths Industries

BRABHAM
(1969) Works: Cnr Cox Lane and Robeuck Rd Chessington Surrey
(1973) Canal Yard, Addlestone Rd, Weybridge, Surrey.
(?) Weyford House, Woodbridge Meadows, Guildford, Surrey
(Lived for a time at Fairway House, Forest Rd, Pyrford, Surrey

BRANDON, ERIC
Brandon House, Wyfold Road, Fulham (Number?)

Chris Bristow
Streatham Park Cemetery,London, England; Plot: Grave 48128, Square 24.

BRM (& ERA)
Spalding Road, Bourne, Lincs

BUCKLERS
67 Caversham Road, Reading

Ivor Bueb
City of London Cemetery near Wanstead.
Plot: Grave 121592 Block 294

Ian BURGESS, Laminates Limited, Canal bridge, West Weybridge, Surrey (close to Brabham)

Malcolm CAMPBELL
St Nicholas Churchyard, Chiselhurst, Kent.

Donald CAMPBELL
the only churchyard in Coniston.

CHEVRON
105 Chorley Old Road, Bolton, Lancs

CONNAUGHT
Portsmouth Road, Send, Surrey GU23 (modern Connaught House on site, close to junction A247)

CONNEW
workshop just off the Romford Road at Chadwell Heath

COOPER CAR CO
Cooper garage: 243 Ewell Rd Surbiton, Surrey
Cooper Works: Hollyfield Rd Surbiton (street no? Now Police building)
Later: Canada Road, Oyster Lane, Byfleet, Surrey (Chipstead Group)

COSWORTH ENGINEERING
1958: Shaftesbury Mews, London (now luxury flats)
1959: 43 Friern Barnet Rd, Friern Barnet
1961: 2 Kenninghall Rd, Edmonton, London
1964: Costin House, St James Mill Road, Northampton, England NN5 5TZ

Piers COURAGE
St Mary the Virgin, Shenfield nr Brentwood (3 graveyards attached to this church)

Cliff Davis
2 Curwen Road Shepherds Bush W12

DAVRIAN
65 North Street Clapham

V W DERRINGTON
159-161 London Rd, Kingston on Thames, Surrey

ELVA CARS
London Road Garage, London Road, Bexhill on Sea, Sussex (more precise address needed)
Elva Cars, Purley Way, Croydon (number needed)

EMERY CARS
2 Aspenlea Rd Hammersmith (off Fulham Palace Rd)

FORD ADVANCED VEHICLES
714-715 Banbury, Slough Trading Estate (next door to Surtees).

FRAZER-NASH (AFN) LTD
(1926 on) Falcon Works, 400 London Rd, Isleworth (close to Wood Lane). Now a Subaru and Chrysler dealership)

GINETTA
West End Works, Witham, Essex (more detail needed)

GEOFFREY GODDARD
1957: 35 Balmoral gardens Ealing.
(Boston Manor Rd; TL Elthorne Pk Road; TR Jersey Road. T road, Balmoral Gdns)

GOLDEN ACRES, Surrey (Innes Ireland)
There is still a private residence of this name in Woolfords lane – at the end of a lane running west from Mill Pond. This fits in with what Brit told Doug about the location of the main workshop.

GRANSDEN LODGE
Site of the first UK postwar race meeting
Gransden Lodge Airfield, Longstowe Road, Little Gransden, Sandy, Beds. SG19 3EB; now a glider strip.


GOMM METAL DEVELOPMENTS
10 Manor Way Old Woking
(build and repaired many a monocoque - also built bodies for race cars as far back as 50s)

HAWKE
1971: Rear of 146 High Street, Waltham Cross, Herts
Ware: Hawke & DJ were very close to where the river goes under the road, on the eastern side on the north bank of the river. Actually the road layout etc is virtually unchanged.

HAWTHORN
If you are entering Farnham town centre from the Farnborough direction (ie the north), the old Hawthorn garage is on your left. The premises is not really a garage any more but a car showroom, being a TVR dealership. There is always a nice selection of new and used TVR's arranged on the fourcourt. The business is actually called "Hawthorns" now but I do not think it has any connection with the original family.

The stretch of the A3 where Hawthorn crashed fatally has now been bypassed itself by the revised A3. It's still a bloody dangerous bit of road though, mainly due to the sheer volume of traffic using it these days. There was a feature on the crash site as it now is in the most recent edition of Classic and Sports Car magazine. Thanks for the advice. I'll keep clear of dark coloured Jaguar Mark II's, though, just to be on the safe side.

(As you drive south on the A3 up the hill away from the town, there is a semi-circular curve in the hedge on the left-hand side.....I've always understood this was the site of Mike's crash. About two hundred yards further up the hill is a big garage on the left - at the far end of it is a single-storey white building which housed a body repair business last time I looked - that used to be Coombs Garage) Macca

In Mon Ami, Mate Chris Nixon gives a full description. The accident occurred after he had come off the Hog's Back (A31) onto the Guildford by-pass (A3), which was a four lane dual carriageway at that time. He says he and Rob Walker had just passed John Coombs' Garage on the opposite side of the road (Did that become Stag Hill Motors?). Curiously, Robert Edwards' Stirling Moss biography includes reproductions of newspaper clippings and a photo on page 277.


Home: Greenfields, Folly Hill, Farnham, Surrey

HRG
HRG Engineering Co Ltd
Oakcroft Rd, Tolworth, Surrey

HWM
New Zealand Ave, Walton on Thames (now Aston Martin / Audi? dealership)

JORDAN / MF1
Silverstone racing circuit.

KEIFT CARS
Reliance Works, Derry Street, Wolverhampton
Although the factory is now an MOT garage it's still fairly recognisable from the 1950's photos.

LISTER ENGINEERING
(?8 Cavendish Ave Cambridge?)
Works: Abbey Road, Cambridge, parallel with the A1303, at A10 roundabout.

LOLA CARS
Eric Broadley formed Lola Cars Ltd and designed and built the very first Lola which was constructed at Maurice Gomm's West Byfleet workshop.
During the next four years thirty-five of the multi-tubular spaceframe Mark 1 (usually Coventry Climax-engined) 1098cc sports racers were built at business partner Rob Rushbrook’s garage in Bromley, South London (address needed).
Then set up FAV, Banbury Rd, Slough Trading Estate
Then Lola at 826 and 839 Yeovil Rd, Slough Trading Estate

LOTUS CARS
1957: 7 Tottenham Lane, Hornsey (Now Jewson, timber merchants)
1959: Delamere Road, Cheshunt. (Now a furniture factory. Next door to Tesco HQ.)
Ketteringham Hall Norfolk (HQ)
Hethel Industrial Estate, Potash Lane, Hethel, Norfolk NR14 8EY, England

MARCH
March Engineering, Murdock Rd Bicester OX6 7PW
March racing Limited, Telford Rd Bicester OX6 0TZ
March Wind Tunnel, composites shop: Top Station Road Brackley Northants NN13 5UG

MCLAREN RACING
1966-1970s: (No 5, and later) No 17 David Road, Poyle Estate, Colnbrook, Bucks.
1970s to 1980s: Boundary Road, Woking, Surrey, GU21
1980’s to 2004: Sheerwater: Albert Drive, Woking, Surrey, GU21 (TAG building)

MERLYN
Colchester Racing Developments, Little Bentley, Colchester.(more detail)

MOSS, STIRLING
1957; 8 Challenor Mansions, Challenor Street W14
West Ken Tube Stn; Cross North End Rd; Barons Ct Road; 1st Left is Challenor
1969: Res: 44 Shepherd St W1
Bus: 46 Shepherd St W1

NOMAD
34 St Peters Square, London W6

PARNELL RACING
National Works, Bath Rd, Hounslow, Middlesex

PARRY-THOMAS, John
Weybridge Cemetery, Surrey

PIPER CARS
Campbells Garage, Station Approach, Hayes, Bromley, Kent

J A PRESTWICH
Northumberland Park, Tottenham, London N17 (More accurately, Tariff Rd, running north off Northumberland Park, second premises along. Long gone.

Rivers FLETCHER
“Salthouse”, Arkley, Barnet, Herts (home)

Archie SCOTT-BROWN
17 Portugal Place Cambridge (Chesterton Rd (A1303), south along Magdalene, Portugal Place 2nd on left after crossing Cam.
“If you ever pass by the Cambridge Services on the A14 ( was A604) between Huntingdon and Cambridge - note the derelict garage next to the Travelodge on the opposite side of the A14 from the services - this was Archie's old garage business.” (Andrew Kitson)(now a hand carwash?)

DICK SEAMAN
Richard John Seaman-Beattie was born at Aldingbourne House, near Chichester on 3 February 1913
3, Ennismore Gardens, Prince's Gate, London (and Mews behind)
Pull Court, Worcestershire (a school today) (his country house)
Putney Vale Cemetery, Stag Lane, London SW15.

SHORROCK SUPERCHARGERS
Empress Works, Walsall Road in Willenhall, Staffs, which is now occupied by an electrical wholesaler (Lockwells).

Mike SPENCE
Mike Spence's grave in Slough Cemetery is a modest black marble cross on a black plinth with his engraved name and dates.

SURTEES RACING ORGANISATION
709 Banbury Ave, Trading Estate, Slough, Bucks
Edenbridge: Kent. (The old Team Surtees factory was still there a few months ago just under the bridge on the northern entry to Edenbridge from Sevenoaks, first industrial building on the left with a surfaced forecourt sloping down to the main road.)

THOMPSON AND TAYLOR BROOKLANDS
Thompson & Taylor (Brooklands) Ltd
42 Portsmouth Rd, Cobham, England

“..the Thompson & Taylor garage, near the old Brooklands racing circuit”

TOJEIRO AUTOMOTIVE DEVELOPMENTS
A shed at the back of the pub in Arrington, about seven miles north of Royston.
Then Middle Garage, Barkway, Nr Royston, Herts.

TURNER SPORTS CARS
32 Merridale Rd, Wolverhampton

TYRRELL RACING ORGANISATION
Long Reach, Ockham, Woking, Surrey, GU23

RRC WALKER
Pippbrook Garage, Dorking, Surrey

WILLIAMS
Station Road, Didcot (huge old carpet warehouse)
(1970s) 361 Bath Road Reading. Frank Williams early HQ
Now in Grove, Oxfordshire, a little north of Wantage on the A338

John WYER (J W Racing)
J.W.Automotive 714-715 Banbury Ave, Trading Estate, Slough, Bucks (Ford GT40 again)

add Theodore Racing
Unit 27
Garretts Green Industrial Estate
Birmingham

same address as Jo Ramirez, considering whilst working there he lived in the upstairs flat.

Edited by rdmotorsport, 11 November 2009 - 11:20.

[RTH]

Blimey fantastic job !!

[David Holland]

The Alta works are long gone I'm afraid. I lived nearby in the late 80s when the workshop was demolished to make way for a block of flats. The workshop was on the south side of the Kingston bypass behind a parade of shops. The new building doesn't refer to its history in any way or at least it didn't when it was built about 20 years ago now.

Has anyone mentioned or even photographed the original Lola works behind 137 High Street, Bromley? That's worth a visit.

[Coxy the Bear]

Wow, only just found this thread through another link entirely, it's been running for years! A little bit of history on a couple of the locations.....
Frazer Nash - Falcon Works. This was not only where Frazer Nash started but also AFN Porsche. The first Porsche were imported and sold from this dealership. It then went on to become AFN Audi when the Porsche centre was moved to Chiswick. I worked there at the end when the Audi site moved opposite Gilette corner in 1996. I remember feeling sad sorting through all the old bits and pieces in the offices upstairs that were being thrown out. The only bit of memorobilia that I managed to take was a signed photo of a Footwork Porsche (signature unknown and never did find out who's crash helmet it was) which got lost in a move years ago. Legend had it that Archie himself used to walk those corridors at night many years after he passed. Nobody told me this until I mentioned that it felt like I was being watched when working late and kept hearing noises! I put it down to it being an old building with a leaky roof!
The site was sold to Marlborough Jeep and still is as far as I know.....but then I haven't been past it since!

Brabham - Cox Lane Chessington. This was no more than 200 yards from my home. Before I moved there, they used to chuck old bits of F1 bodywork in the skips outside, and no one used to care if the skip was 'raided' overnight. I remember hearing a bit of an urban legend that a lad at my school had half of the bodywork for a Brabham BT52 with Piquet's name on it hung on his wall. I never saw it....but many people at school claimed it was true! It went on to become Motor Racing developments and a various other teams running everything from F3 to Toruing cars.

Never did find out exactly where Cooper was, but I believe it's very close to where Surbiton Mini Centre was for many years opposite the police impound.

[RTH]

Talk of AFN reminds me I went on a course at the Road Transport Industry training Board centre in Telford ( an Ex-RAF base ) in 1972 with John Aldington ( I believe I read that he had died in the last couple of years )

[h4887]

This is Ginetta's original premises at Campsea Ashe in Suffolk, as it was in 1995. I think it's all gone now.



And this is where they were in the early 70s, in Sudbury, before they retreated to Witham. Again, as seen in 1995. My G21 is second from the left

[RTH]

Whilst watching the revised version of David Weguelin's masterpiece film of the history of Brooklands www.motorfilms.com the item showing Percy Lambert's successful attempt to exceed 100 miles in one hour on the outer circuit showed the 1913 Talbot outside its factory premises in North Kensington London.

The brochure showed the address as

Clement Talbot Ltd
Barlby Road
Ladbroke Grove
North Kensington
London W

I wonder

1. Anyone have a photo of the original premises

2. Do we have anyone living of working in central or west London who might make an expedition there and take photographs of the site / road/ likely area where the factory would have been .

Lambert was famous for setting the record at 103 MPH later died trying to raise the figure still higher and it is said his ghost still haunts the Weybridge track !

Edited by RTH, 20 March 2010 - 10:04.

[Vitesse2]

Whilst watching the revised version of David Weguelin's masterpiece film of the history of Brooklands www.motorfilms.com the item showing Percy Lambert's successful attempt to exceed 100 miles in one hour on the outer circuit showed the 1913 Talbot outside its factory premises in North Kensington London.

The brochure showed the address as

Clement Talbot Ltd
Barlby Road
Ladbroke Grove
North Kensington
London W

I wonder

1. Anyone have a photo of the original premises

2. Do we have anyone living of working in central or west London who might make an expedition there and take photographs of the site / road/ likely area where the factory would have been .

Lambert was famous for setting the record at 103 MPH later died trying to raise the figure still higher and it is said his ghost still haunts the Weybridge track !

There's a period picture in "Georges Roesch and the Invincible Talbot", opposite page 17. It's still there - part of the building is now Barlby Road Surgery. Enter "Barlby Road Surgery" into Google Maps and then choose street view ...

What remains - the large red brick building which runs from opposite Methwold Rd to opposite St Marks Rd - was the admin block. The workshops were behind, but seem to have been redeveloped as housing - note the road names! Sunbeam Crescent, Hillman Drive, Humber Drive and Rootes Drive! Shrewsbury Street refers to the Earl of Shrewsbury, who was partly responsible for bringing Clement-Talbot to Britain and built the factory.

Edited by Vitesse2, 20 March 2010 - 12:10.

[VAR1016]

There's a period picture in "Georges Roesch and the Invincible Talbot", opposite page 17. It's still there - part of the building is now Barlby Road Surgery. Enter "Barlby Road Surgery" into Google Maps and then choose street view ...

Regarding Percy Lambert, I submitted a picture of his grave (in Brompton Cemetary) before the column collapsed. Sadly I cannot remember what the thread was called...

David Scott-Moncrieff in The Thoroughbred Car 1930-1940 mentioned that Sunbeam/Talbot/Darracq had a vast service works at Barlby Road.

Finally, when I was still in England I went with a friend for a couple of ales in a pub in Welwyn. As I recall the landlord was quite knowledgeable about the area and he mentioned that Sir Henry Birkin's workshop where the "blowers" were prepared as "just down the road".

Edited by VAR1016, 20 March 2010 - 11:45.

[Vitesse2]

If you go a little further west down Barlby Road, there's a long terraced building at the eastern end of Dalgarno Gardens. It looks to be built in the same style as the Clement Talbot works and appears to be another section of the works: they are split by the aforementioned Rootes Drive.

[RTH]

Impressive bit of detective work Richard.

I can help with the Birkin premises in Welwyn Garden City, they are still there

Have a look here http://forums.autosp...w...c=95563&hl=

For pictures at the time and again just recently.

[Tim Murray]

Regarding Percy Lambert, I submitted a picture of his grave (in Brompton Cemetary) before the column collapsed. Sadly I cannot remember what the thread was called...

It's in the 'Motorsport Memorials' thread, Paul:

Fellow TNFer VAR1016 was kind enough to provide us a better picture of Percy Lambert's tombstone:



The inscription reads:

A MODEST FRIEND A FINE GENTLEMAN
AND A THOROUGH SPORTSMAN

IN
LOVING MEMORY
OF
PERCY E. LAMBERT
AGED 32 YEARS

THE FIRST MAN TO COVER ONE HUNDRED MILES IN ONE HOUR
KILLED BY ACCIDENT AT BROOKLANDS MOTOR RACING TRACK
WHILST ATTEMPTING FURTHER RECORDS OCTOBER 21ST 1913

(made possible with help of the page this page at the Military Airshows in The UK website as the bottom line is covered by grass in the picture).

Note also that in this picture the column above the tombstone was in place. Sadly, the more recent picture posted at Find A Grave.com shows the tomb in much worse conditions.


Muzza

[Peter Morley]

Does anyone know where the ATS factory was in Bicester?
I only recently realised they had been run from Bicester, having taken over both Penske & March's F1 efforts it isn't surprising but I think I'd assumed they were based in Germany!

[MCS]

Does anyone know where the ATS factory was in Bicester?
I only recently realised they had been run from Bicester, having taken over both Penske & March's F1 efforts it isn't surprising but I think I'd assumed they were based in Germany!

Probably Murdoch Road.

[Amphicar]

Anyone interested in Aston Martin's time in Newport Pagnell will probably find this document helpful: ASTON MARTIN CONSTRAINTS BRIEF. It was produced by Milton Keynes Council's Planning Department after Ford (who owned Aston Martin at the time) announced that they were going to move all car manufacturing away from Newport Pagnell and that consequently the Tickford Street North site would be surplus to requirements.

The document includes a history of the site, which had been associated with coach building, coach and car body making and car manufacturing since at least 1823. Before Aston Martin took over the site in 1955 the works had been used by Salmon’s, a carriage building company that subsequently turned its hand to car body making. There are some interesting photos - both historic and contemporary (well 2006/7 anyway).

[piperp2]

I had a trip to Cambridge today and thought while I was there it would be an ideal opportunity to check out Archie’s former residences . Archie moved to 163 Hills Road, Cambridge from Colchester, he had a flat but I am not sure which floor!

By piperp2 at 2011-03-02

Below is the Blue plaque on 163 Hills Road

By piperp2 at 2011-03-02

Archie then moved to 17 Portugal Place which was a house, this is looking down Portugal Place, Archie’s house
Is the pink coloured one on the left

By piperp2 at 2011-03-02

Below a closer picture this time of Archie's last residence.

By piperp2 at 2011-03-02

Edited by piperp2, 02 March 2011 - 18:53.