H. J. Mulliner and Co
H. J. Mulliner and Co, makers of bespoke luxury bodywork for the world’s finest carriages and cars, of London.
16th Century Mulliners were "carriers and saddlers".
1760 the Mulliner family was commissioned to build carriages for the Royal Mail - see Arthur Mulliner Ltd
1897 Henry Jervis Mulliner established a coach-building business (H. J. Mulliner)[1] ; at some point this was located in 28 Brook Street, Mayfair, London, an affluent area not far from Conduit Street, Rolls-Royce's first showroom but in 1899 one of the other Mulliner companies, Mulliner London was at this address.
By the late 19th Century, the firm was hand-crafting the coachwork for the new "horseless carriages".
1906 Works were moved from Mayfair to Chiswick[2]
1908 Henry sold the business to John Coall of Edinburgh[3]
1913 Royal Warrant, motor carriage manufacturers[4]
1915 Henry Jarvis Mulliner and Co, Motor car body builders, Grafton Ct, New Bond St, London[5]
The company produced car bodies for several car manufacturers and earned a reputation for quality, even producing for Charles Stewart Rolls a modified two-seater car with room for a hot air balloon to be stowed. W. O. Bentley commissioned Mulliner to build the bodywork for the famous Bentley EXP1.
WWII Manufactured parts for the De Havilland Mosquito
1951 George Moseley, designer, joined H J Mulliner of Chiswick; designed the Bentley Continental from John Bletchley's sketches[6]
1957 George Moseley became technical director of H J Mulliners
By 1959 was controlled by John Croall and Sons
1959 Was one of the last independent coachbuilders. Acquired by Rolls-Royce[7]
1959 after some financial difficulties, H. J. Mulliner was taken over by Rolls-Royce and combined with Park Ward. The new division of Rolls-Royce Mulliner Park Ward was created and at its peak employed 750 workers. The premises were located at Hythe Road, Willesden, London.
1961 Death of Frank Piesse, late managing director and brother-in-law of the founder, of H J Mulliner and Co of Chiswick[8]
1963 Motor Show exhibitor. Specialised bodywork for Rolls-Royce and Bentley
1964 Mulliners and Park Ward were some of the coach builders which made bodies for the Rolls-Royce: Phantom V and the Bentley Continental[9]
1991 Over its 100-year history the company created countless classic designs, and after its closure in 1991 the name Mulliner Park Ward remained as a division within Rolls-Royce Motors
1998 On the separation of Rolls-Royce and Bentley brands, Mulliner became a division of Bentley Motors.
See Also
Sources of Information
- [3] Wikipedia
- 1963 Motor Show
- Mosquito by C. Martin Sharp and Michael J. F. Bowyer. Published by Crecy Books in 1995. ISBN 0-947554-41-6
- Mulliner History [4]