Frederick Rushbrooke

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Frederick William Rushbrooke (9 December 1861 - 1953) was the founder of Halfords, the United Kingdom's largest chain of cycle shops.

Contents

Career

The son of a miller and confectioner from Willenhall in Staffordshire, Frederick Rushbrooke initially established himself in business in 1892 as a wholesale ironmonger in Birmingham. [1] For recreation he enjoyed cycling on his pennyfarthing. [1] In 1902 he opened a branch of his business in Halford Street in Leicester and called it the Halford Cycle Shop. [1]

He bought Burcot Grange, a country house in Burcot in 1927 but ten years later decided to donate it to the Birmingham & Midland Eye Hospital as an annex to treat inflammation of the eye. [2]

He died in 1953. [3]

Family

In 1896 he married Lily Jenks Wilkinson [3] and they had a son and two daughters. [2]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 And it's all thanks to a passion for a penny-farthing bicycle The Times, 30 May 2005
  2. 1 2 "Burcot Grange: History". Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 16 August 2009.
  3. 1 2 "Snelson family". Archived from the original on 14 September 2009. Retrieved 16 August 2009.