When Chorlton made cars ………..

It is a story I have twice come back to having had a stab at finding out where and when a firm set up here in Chorlton making cars.

Shaw's Motor Garage, date unknown

First time round I tried following up a request about Ashby Cars, but only got as far as learning that they relocated from Towcester sometime after 1921 and ceased production later in the decade.

Then after a conversation with Ian Henderson who thought they might have been based on Edge Lane my interest was reignited.

And as before I turned to Graces’ Guide to British Industrial History who offered up “Pioneer Motor Works, of Towcester and Barlow Moor Road, Chorlton-cum-Hardy.”  The business was run by Victor James Ashby and his son Victor Stapleton Ashby.

The history of the firm is a bit sketchy, and there is a gap between them producing an experimental car in 1901 and 1919 when they commenced production of about 50 "Ashby Cars" before going into partnership with the aeroplane makers Short Brothers.

According to the Grace database, “After returning from the First World War Victor Stapleton Ashby designed a cyclecar that came to the attention of aeroplane makers Short Brothers. 

Short Brothers employed six Ashby staff members, with the car being known as the Short-Ashby in 1921. 

Short Brothers withdrew their support in 1922 owing to poor sales. The Ashbys then moved to Chorlton-cum-Hardy, where production of a two-seater light car powered by a 970 cc 8 hp engine, three-speed gearbox or four-ratio friction drive, continued until 1924.

After which they introduced a 2 hp / 550 rpm engine in1925”.*

Site of Shaw's Motor Garage, circa 1990s

And that pretty much is that.  Grace mentions a garage workshop in Towcester but I very much doubt I will be able to find it, although I did trawl Brackley Road where they were still living in the May of 1921 but drew a blank.

As for the location on Barlow Moor Road that is still to be found, but my money might be on that stretch of the road from the old cinema/Co-op to High Lane which in the early 20th century was home to Charles Shaw’s garage which was still trading in the mid-1950s at 483 Barlow Moor Road.

It is just possible he rented space out.

Alternatively there was a an industrial unit on what is now the Marks and Spencer's store which might have briefly been our motor car factory.

My Facebook pal Tony has access to the directories for the 1920s and I have asked him to go looking, while I will search the local newspapers.

So, we may be in luck.

We shall see.

Ian has found an image of Short Ashby car and it wil appear once I can check out the copyright.

Location; Towcester and Chorlton

Pictures; Charles Shaw’s Garage, 483 Barlow Moor Road, date unknown and again circa 1990s  

*Grace's Guide to British Industrial History, https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Victor_Ashby_and_Son

The family that made cars in Chorlton ……..

This I think will be the last story on the Ashby family who made cars on Barlow Moor Road in Chorlton during the early 1920s.

North End Baptist Church, undated

So intriguing is the story that I was drawn in and wrote two pieces for the blog.*

There are still some mysteries to uncover like where exactly on Barlow Moor Road in Chorlton were they situated, and just why they swopped car production from Towcester in Northamptonshire to Chorlton-cum-Hardy.

But in the course of researching the Ashby family, one of my facebook friends came up with a little bit more on the origins of the the car manufacturers.

The article comes from Towcester and District Local History Society who kindly gave me permission to reproduce it.

"The North End Chapel building was erected by Baptists from Duncote on land owned by Thomas Ridgway the tea magnate, and was in use from 1853 to 1894. Thomas Ridgway himself was baptised there on 3rd June 1855.

Making Ashby motor cars, undated

In 1897 Victor James Ashby (1862 to 1938) bought the vacant building as he needed larger premises for his motor engineering firm; the former baptistry proved an ideal inspection pit in the new garage. 

At this time he built a car for family use, the "Jigger", making the twin cylinder engine himself.

As the Pioneer Motor Works business flourished. electricity was introduced and the first private telephone in Towcester was installed. 

By 1910 the old chapel had taken on a new look with added frontage and waiting area, and Victor Ashby's two children had joined the business.

His son Victor Stapleton Ashby (1892 to 1953) joined the Royal Navy at the outbreak of the First World War, serving as a Chief Engineer. 

On his return to Towcester he designed a new car, which came to the attention of Short Brothers, the famous aircraft firm. Manufacturing space was short at the Chapel at Towcester, so the car was produced at the Short Brother's factory, as the "Short-Ashby" first appearing at the Motor Show at White City in 1922. 

Unfortunately production ceased after only three years due to the general economic recession.

Green plaque, 2002

Victor Stapleton Ashby did not wish to continue the motor business when his father retired. The Pioneer Motor Works was eventually sold to Churchills, the machine tool makers. 

Later the building was used by The Plessey Company Ltd, and it is now occupied by "Go Floor It" (formerly M.J.Gowling Ltd.) Christine Williams, February 2002.

References

Much of the information on the Pioneer Motor Works was obtained from a magazine article by Nick Baldwin (source and date unknown) which also referenced the Stratford Motor Museum.

Other information from Mary Taylor."

Pioneer Motor Works, Worcester, undated

So that is it.

Location; Chorlton-cum-Hardy and Towcester

Pictures; The North End Chapel, undated, Baptist Chapel as a garage, undated, and the historic green plaque. Circa 2002, courtesy of Towcester and District Local History Society

*Asby Cars,  https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/Ashby%20Cars

**Towcester and District Local History Society, http://www.mkheritage.co.uk/tdlhs/Places/Plaques/NEBaptist.html?fbclid=IwAR3bpe-l6gLprsDD0XuM5EpL1GaNd6KiSnUE8ZYe-1_0q7BN5A2gvfM31Vo

So …. where in Chorlton-cum-Hardy was Victor Stapleton Ashby in 1921? ……..

Now as questions go this is not as daft as it reads, nor is it a candidate for The Twilight Zone.*

Barlow Moor Road, circa 1920s

Victor Stapleton Ashby made motor cars and briefly from 1921 till later in the decade he made them on Barlow Moor Road in Chorlton.

Just where is still unclear but made them he did, and such was my surprise that we were the automobile centre of south Manchester that a few days ago I wrote about Mr. Ashby, his father and the Ashby motor cars.**

To be accurate they were “a two-seater light car powered by a 970 cc 8 hp engine, three-speed gearbox or four-ratio friction drive, continued until 1924”.***

The family were based in Towcester in Northamptonshire and look to have made the transition from traditional coach building in to cycle and motor engineers by the beginning of the last century.

In 1901 they patented an experimental motor car, applied for an international patent, and went into a partnership with Short Brothers the aircraft manufacturers in 1919, employed six Ashby staff members, and the car was known as the Short-Ashby in 1921.

But owing to poor sales Short Brothers withdrew their support in 1922 and the Ashby’s then moved to Chorlton-cum-Hardy.

Barlow Moor Road, date unknown

And here comes the mystery because Victor’s father and mother remain in Towcester, but he does not show up on the 1921 census, so it is reasonable to suppose he moved with the business.

That said I can find no reference to him or his wife and daughter.  They married in 1915, and by the following year he was serving in the London Motor Boat Section as a “motor engineer” until he was demobbed in 1919.

Twenty years later they are living back in Towcester but so far for those missing few years in the early 1920s there is nothing.

All of which means it will be one of those old fashioned searches involving the street directories and electoral rolls for the period which are on microfilm in the Central Ref in town and the slow laborious hunt for a name and an address.

Looking for Victor

In the meantime someone might have an idea where they lived in Chorlton.

We shall see.

Location; somewhere in Chorlton

Pictures; Barlow Moor Road circa 1920s from the collection of Allan Brown and Barlow Moor Road, date unknown, from the Lloyd Collection

* The Twilight Zone (marketed as Twilight Zone for its final two seasons) is an American science fiction horror anthology television series created and presented by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from October 2, 1959, to June 19, 1964. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twilight_Zone_(1959_TV_series)

**When Chorlton made cars ………..https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/2023/01/when-chorlton-made-cars.html

*** ***Graces Guide to British Industrial History, https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Victor_Ashby_and_Son