Motor Mills
The Motor Mills was a name given to a factory adapted for motor manufacturing in Coventry towards the latter end of the 19th Century.
Harry J. Lawson needed to seek suitable premises to commence manufacture of road transport in Great Britain after he co-founded the British Motor Syndicate in 1895. After considering places including Birmingham and Cheltenham, he then looked at Coventry.
Lawson knew Coventry very well, having first worked in the City from 1878 at the cycle makers Haynes and Jefferis, and then the Rudge Cycle Co. As well as having a large cycle industry, Coventry also once had a large textile industry and many cycle companies were houses in factories once used in the textile trade.
In 1895, Lawson chose a large factory located at an area known locally as Drapers Field which once belonged to the Coventry Cotton Co. He renamed the factory the ‘Motor Mills’ and by the following year, the Great Horseless Carriage Co, Daimler, Pennington, Beeston Pneumatic Tyre Co, Humber and the British Motor Syndicate began the production of motorcycles, motorized tricycles, quadricycles and autocars based on European designs. The Daimler Company itself became the first in Great Britain to be established as manufacturers of cars on a commercial basis.
Although most of the other Lawson related companies folded or relocated over time, Daimler remained on the site for many years. Although other buildings were added to the site over time as the business expanded, the building known as the Motor Mills was thought to have been destroyed during the Blitz of WWII.
Note: The men in white overalls in the above right illustration are Mr Pennington's men, engaged in the preparation of new designs for the British Motor Syndicate. As the building is almost square, being nearly as deep as it is ling, only a faint idea of its size can be formed from the photograph.[1]
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ The Autocar 1896 Volume 1