Humber

Humber was a British Manufacturer of Cars and Motorcycles (see below).

The company had factories in Beeston near Nottingham and Coventry. The Beeston factory produced a more expensive range known as Beeston-Humbers but the factory closed in 1908 after financial problems. Before the First World War a wide range of models were produced from the 600 cc Humberette to several 6 cylinder 6 litre models.

1925 Humber moved into the production of commercial vehicles with the purchase of Commer.

1931 Independence ended when the Rootes Brothers bought a majority shareholding to become part of the Rootes Group. The range focused on luxury models, such as the Humber Super Snipe.

WW2 During World War II, several armoured cars were produced under the Humber name.

In the postwar era, Humber's mainstay products included the four-cylinder Hawk and six-cylinder Super Snipe. Being a choice of businessmen and officialdom alike, Humbers gained a reputation for beautifully-appointed interiors and build quality.

Its last car was the Humber Sceptre, an upmarket version of the Hillman Minx. The marque was shelved in 1975 when all Hillmans became badged as Chryslers. The Hillman Hunter was subsequently badged as a Chrysler until production ceased in 1979 when Chrysler's European division was sold to Peugeot and the marque renamed Talbot. The Talbot marque was abandoned at the end of 1986 on passenger cars, although it was continued on vans for six years afterwards.

The world's largest collection of Humber cars can be viewed at the Marshalls Post-Vintage Humber Car Museum in Hull. Includes 21 Humber cars dating from 1932-1970 on permanent display, plus 24 unrestored cars. When the Queen Mother visited Western Australia in the 1950's, a Humber was shipped over for her. It was left in a paddock, and was rediscovered and verified in 2002. It has since been restored and is currently privately owned.

Sources of Information

[1] Wikipedia

Humber produced Motorcycles from 1896 to 1905 and from 1909 to 1930.

1896 The company was founded by Thomas Humber who began by building bicycles and then moved into powered transport by producing Leon-Bollée tricars under licence from H. J. Lawson.

1898 The company first constructed a power tandem, driven by a battery powered electric motor. Although its life was short, it proved to be useful on racing tracks where it was used for cycle pacing. A ladies' bicycle modified to carry an engine behind the seat tube was also produced, along with a forecar known as the Olympia Tandem.

1902 Humber became a serious contender in the field of powered transport and two models were produced. Both were very successful and proved their worthiness at shows and in trials.

1905 By now most efforts were going into the production of Humber Cars, so motorcycles were temporarily dropped.

1909 The name returned with the arrival of a conventional 3.5hp model with the unusual addition of a silencer that formed part of the frame downtube and sprung front-forks.

1910 Normal silencers and Druid forks made a return, the firm added a new model in both lightweight and ladies' variations and also entered the TT.

1911 Humber produced a striking new model that performed particularly well on its debut at the TT - with all six entries finishing and even a win.

1913 An unusual design appeared with a horizontally opposed three-cylinder engine - one cylinder faced forward and the other two, sharing a combustion-chamber, faced the rear. This strange engine powered a three-speed car-type gearbox, but only one small batch of this model was produced.

Post World War I. Various models were produced, modified or dropped. This trend continued until the end of the 1920s.

1930 The production of Motorcycles ceased as the emphasis was shifted to developing cars.

The British Motorcycle Directory - Over 1,100 Marques from 1888 - by Roy Bacon and Ken Hallworth. Pub: The Crowood Press