From an early age, Frederick Lanchester showed an inventive interest in all things mechanical and by 1888, at the age of 20, had invented a pendulum governor to control the speed of an engine. He was one of eight brothers, two of whom – Frank and George – also shared his enthusiasm for mechanical objects. Frederick continued to invent and experiment and by 1894 had designed and built a 3hp single-cylinder internal combustion engine. He wanted to try it out on a horseless carriage but, due to restrictions on the roads, was unable to do so. The three brothers then joined forces and built the first all-British motorboat to try the engine.
In 1895, the brothers began work on a five-seat car, built to Frederick’s designs, but the small engine was deemed not powerful enough, so he built a 5hp unit. This car is generally accepted as the first four-wheeled all-British petrol-engine motorcar to be built and driven on UK roads. Later, in 1899, it was fitted with an 8hp Lanchester engine and driven from Birmingham to London for the Automobile Club exhibition in Richmond, Surrey.
Building on the success of the first Lanchester car, the brothers continued to experiment and develop their ideas and, in 1901, formed the Lanchester Engine Company to produce motorcars. In 1904, the business was reformed as the Lanchester Motor Company, and the expanded company produced some of the very best pre-World War One cars.
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THE FEW ON SCREEN
Steven Taylor looks at the Battle of Britain across film and TV
Table Service
Rachel Toy looks at the history of Ridgway Homemaker tableware
Hever Forever
Claire Saul studies the newly refurbished Boleyn Apartment at Hever Castle & Gardens - a castle fit for a queen
Shining a Light
Tony O’Neil tunes into the history of the last manned lightvessel
The Man With the Goldeneye
Film stills photographer Keith Hamshere describes how he came to enter the world of James Bond
THE ORIGINAL GOLDEN BALLS
lan Wheeler looks back on 70 years of Tiger comic and Roy of the Rovers, and chats to the man who edited and oversaw both titles
To Play the Queen
Chris Hallam looks back on the life of one of the UK’s best known lookalikes
POOLING RESOURCES
Martin Handley looks at what life was like after the Vernons Girls
POSTCARD FROM= SUSSEX
Bob Barton indulges in pleasure piers and fairground delights, as well as fulfilling a long-held ambition to visit the home of Rudyard Kipling
Oh, Miss Jones
Chris Hallam looks back at the origins and legacy of Rising Damp, ITV's most successful sitcom