The Arnold was one of the first motor cars manufactured in the United Kingdom. It was produced in East Peckham, Kent between 1896 and 1898.
The Arnold was one of the first motor cars manufactured in the United Kingdom. It was produced in East Peckham, Kent between 1896 and 1898.
William Arnold & Sons of East Peckham, Kent, was an agricultural engineering company founded in about 1844. [1]
In 1895 they acquired a licence to build Benz cars. As the Arnold Motor Carriage Co. from 1896 [2] to 1898. [3] the firm built twelve cars patterned after the Benz but fitted with their own engines. [4] Two Arnolds were exhibited at Crystal Palace in 1896. [3]
Louise Bazalgette and William Arnold's partner, Henry Hewetson, were photographed at the historic "emancipation run" which is the race still celebrated by the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. This was the first time that cars were allowed to do 14 mph and it was the first meeting of the Automobile Club (for male drivers). Bazalgette was driving an Arnold motor car. [5]
One Arnold from 1896 was fitted with one of the world's first self-starters, by electrical engineer Herbert John Dowsing. This was a dynamotor coupled to the flywheel, designed to assist the car on hills and well as starting the engine. [1]
Two Arnold cars survive. [6]
On 28 January 1896 Walter Arnold, of the Arnold (automobile) company of East Peckham, was summonsed for travelling at 8 mph (13 km/h) in a motorised vehicle, thereby exceeding the contemporary speed limit for towns of 2 mph (3.2 km/h). He had been caught by a policeman who had given chase on a bicycle. He was fined 1 shilling plus costs, the first speeding fine in England, and thus became the first person to be convicted of speeding in the UK. [7] [8] [9]
In 1902 there was a Chilean car, probably inspired in this one, but that was named Ovalle-Hogdkinson "La Chancha" ("The Pig" because of the sound it did), that was revealed in April 1902, but stored in May of the same year and later dismantled. All components, except for Michelin-imposed tires, were produced by the same Ovalle-Hogdkinson brand
L'Aster, Aster, Ateliers de Construction Mecanique l'Aster, was a French manufacturer of automobiles and the leading supplier of engines to other manufacturers from the late 1890s until circa 1910/12. Although primarily known as an engine mass manufacturer the company also produced chassis for coach-works and a complete range of components.
The Benz Velo was one of the first cars, introduced by Carl Benz in 1894 as the followup to the Patent-Motorwagen. 67 Benz Velos were built in 1894 and 134 in 1895. The early Velo had a 1L 1.5-metric-horsepower engine, and later a 3-metric-horsepower engine giving a top speed of 19 km/h (12 mph). The Velo was officially introduced by Karl Benz as the Velocipede, and became the world's first standardized serial production car. The Velocipede remained in production between 1894 and 1902, with a final count of over 1,200 produced.
A landaulet, also known as a landaulette, is a car body style where the rear passengers are covered by a convertible top. Often the driver is separated from the rear passengers by a division, as with a limousine.
Chitty Bang Bang was the informal name of a number of celebrated British racing cars, built and raced by Count Louis Zborowski and his engineer Clive Gallop in the 1920s, which inspired the book Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang.
Lagonda is a British luxury car brand established in 1906, which has been owned by Aston Martin since 1947. The trade-name has not had a continuous commercial existence, being dormant several times, most recently from 1995 to 2008, 2010 to 2013, and 2016 onward.
Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft was a German engineering company and later automobile manufacturer, in operation from 1890 until 1926. Founded by Gottlieb Daimler (1834–1900) and Wilhelm Maybach (1846–1929), it was based first in Cannstatt. Daimler died in 1900, and their business moved in 1903 to Stuttgart-Untertürkheim after the original factory was destroyed by fire, and again to Berlin in 1922. Other factories were located in Marienfelde and Sindelfingen.
The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run is the world's longest-running motoring event, held on a course between London and Brighton, England. To qualify, participating cars must have been built before 1905. It is also the world's largest gathering of veteran cars. The first edition, "The Emancipation Run" in 1896, celebrated the recently passed Locomotives on Highways Act 1896, which liberalised motor vehicle laws in the United Kingdom.
John Henry Knight, from Farnham, was a wealthy engineer, landowner and inventor. With the help of the engineer George Parfitt he built one of Britain's first petrol-powered motor vehicles, Frederick Bremer of Walthamstow having built the first in 1892. On 17 October 1895, with his assistant James Pullinger, they drove through Farnham, Surrey, whereupon he was prosecuted for using a locomotive with neither a licence nor a man walking in front with a red flag. This is sometimes misreported as the first person to be convicted of speeding in the UK, but that sobriquet subsequently fell to Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent, in January 1896.
East Peckham is a village and civil parish in Kent, England on the River Medway. The parish covers the main village as well as Hale Street and Beltring.
The Benz Patent-Motorwagen, built in 1885 by the German Karl Benz, is widely regarded as the first practical modern automobile and was the first car put into production. It was patented in January 1886 and unveiled in public later that year. The original cost of the vehicle was 600 imperial German marks, approximately 150 US dollars.
The Star Motor Company was a British car and commercial vehicle maker based in Wolverhampton and active from 1898 to 1932. At its peak Star was the UK's sixth largest car manufacturer and produced around 1000 cars a year.
Dorothy Elizabeth Levitt was a British racing driver and journalist. She was the first British woman racing driver, holder of the world's first water speed record, the women's world land speed record holder, and an author. She was a pioneer of female independence and female motoring and taught Queen Alexandra and the Royal Princesses how to drive. In 1905, she established the record for the longest drive achieved by a lady driver by driving a De Dion-Bouton from London to Liverpool and back over two days, receiving the soubriquets in the press of the Fastest Girl on Earth, and the Champion Lady Motorist of the World.
Events from the year 1896 in the United Kingdom.
Edward Butler (1862–1940) was an English inventor who produced an early three-wheeled petrol automobile called the Butler Petrol Cycle, which is accepted by many as the first British car.
The Eric-Campbell was a British car made from 1919 to 1924 by Eric-Campbell & Co Limited of Cricklewood, London. The company was formed by H Eric Orr-Ewing and Noel Campbell Macklin.
Road speed limit enforcement in the United Kingdom is the action taken by appropriately empowered authorities to attempt to persuade road vehicle users to comply with the speed limits in force on the UK's roads. Methods used include those for detection and prosecution of contraventions such as roadside fixed speed cameras, average speed cameras, and police-operated LIDAR speed guns or older radar speed guns. Vehicle activated signs and Community Speed Watch schemes are used to encourage compliance. Some classes of vehicles are fitted with speed limiters and intelligent speed adaptation is being trialled in some places on a voluntary basis.
Hurtu was a pioneering French car made by Diligeon et Cie based in Albert, Somme from 1896 to 1930. As well as cars, the company also made sewing machines and bicycles.
George Nicolas "Nick" Georgano was a British author, specialising in motoring history. His most notable work is The Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars, first published in 1968.
Société Parisienne was a French manufacturer of velocipedes, bicycles and tricycles from 1876. They began limited automobile construction in 1894 and regular light car (voiturette) construction in 1898 or 1899, and they ceased operation in 1903. The vehicles, variously known as Parisienne, Victoria Combination, Eureka, l'Eclair, Duc-Spider and Duc-Tonneau, were manufactured by Société Parisienne E. Couturier et Cie of Paris.
Louise Bazalgette born Louise Seville was an early British motorist. She was present at the Emancipation Run in 1896 when car owners celebrated being able to exceed 4 mph. She was widely reported as a woman who was making long trips in a car. She was the only woman to enter the three week long Thousand Mile Trial in 1900.
"Arnold", in G.N. Georgano, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars 1885–1968 (New York: E.P. Dutton and Co., 1974).