Swift Leisure are a British manufacturer of leisure vehicles, including caravans and motorhomes. Started in 1964, the company is based in Cottingham, East Riding of Yorkshire.
It celebrated its Golden 50th year in 2014, [1] with the launch of SMART HT, the first fully composite caravan without any timber and ply in the body, and using a patent pending aluminium jointing systems and a patent pending floor construction.
Swift was founded in 1964 by Ken Smith. [1] The company started with the single Swift brand of caravans, based on a distinctive tri-front window design (all of which opened – unique at the time), which also allowed easy see through to the rear for the driver whilst travelling.
Following the break-up of the travelling caravan business of Cosalt plc, in 1994 the company acquired the Cosalt brand of Abbey, followed in 1994 with the purchase of Sprite leisure and the Ace brand in 2001. Since late 2008 Swift Leisure has dropped the Abbey and Ace brands of touring caravans. Within the Swift International division, the company has operations in Denmark, the Netherlands and New Zealand. [2]
The company moved manufacturing from Hedon Road, Kingston upon Hull to Dunswell Lane, near Cottingham in 1970. In the early 2000s the company moved to an adjacent site in Cottingham to allow expanded production facilities. [3] [4] [5]
Key events in the companies history: [6]
Haltemprice is an area in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, directly to the west of Kingston upon Hull. Originally an extra-parochial area, it became a civil parish in 1858, in 1935 it was expanded by the combination of the urban districts of Cottingham, Anlaby, and Sculcoates to form a new urban district; the district included the villages of Anlaby, Cottingham, Hessle, Kirk Ella, Skidby, West Ella and Willerby. Urban districts were abolished 1974.
Hedon is a town and civil parish in Holderness in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately 5 miles (8 km) east of Hull city centre. It lies to the north of the A1033 road at the crossroads of the B1240 and B1362 roads. It is particularly noted for the parish church of St. Augustine, known as the 'King of Holderness', which is a Grade I listed building.
The Hull Barnsley & West Riding Junction Railway and Dock Company (HB&WRJR&DCo.) was opened on 20 July 1885. It had a total projected length of 66 miles but never reached Barnsley, stopping a few miles short at Stairfoot. The name was changed to The Hull and Barnsley Railway (H&BR) in 1905. Its Alexandra Dock in Hull opened 16 July 1885.
Cottingham is a large village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies 4 miles (6 km) north-west of the centre of Kingston upon Hull, and 6 miles (10 km) south-east of Beverley on the eastern edge of the Yorkshire Wolds. It has two main shopping streets, Hallgate and King Street, which cross each other near the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, and a market square called Market Green. Cottingham had a population of 17,164 residents in 2011, making it larger by area and population than many towns. As a result, it is one of the villages claiming to be the largest village in England.
Haltemprice and Howden was a constituency in the East Riding of Yorkshire from 1997 to 2024.
Skidby is a small village and civil parish in Yorkshire Wolds of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated about 6 miles (10 km) north-west of Hull city centre, 2.2 miles (3.5 km) west of Cottingham and 5 miles (8 km) south of Beverley.
Willerby is a village and civil parish located on the western outskirts of the city of Kingston upon Hull in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
The A1079 is a major road in Northern England. It links the cities of York and Kingston upon Hull, both in Yorkshire. The road is noted for its past safety issues, and regularly features in the Road Safety Foundations reports on Britain's most dangerous roads. Campaigners have been calling for the entire route to be made into a dual carriageway.
The Kingston upon Hull tramway network was a network of 4 ft 8+1⁄2 instandard gauge tram lines following the five main roads radially out of the city centre of Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Two of these lines went west, and two east. The fifth went to the north, and branched to include extra lines serving suburban areas. Additionally a short line linked the city centre to the Corporation Pier where a ferry crossed the Humber Estuary to New Holland, Lincolnshire.
Patrington Haven is a hamlet in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, in an area known as Holderness. It is situated approximately 8 miles (13 km) south-east of the town of Hedon and 1 mile (1.6 km) south-west of the village of Patrington.
Mark Hammerton Group Ltd was a UK-based travel organiser and travel publisher specialising in camping, caravanning, motorhome and mobile home holidays on campsites in France, Spain, Italy and other European countries. The Group published the market-leading Alan Rogers campsites guides and offered a European travel service for readers including ferry bookings. The Group was acquired by The Caravan Club in 2012 under the brand Alan Rogers Travel Group, along with its subsidiary company Belle France, which offers walking and cycling hotel holidays.
The Hull and Holderness Railway was a branch line in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England that connected the city of Kingston upon Hull with the seaside resort of Withernsea via the town of Hedon and the villages of Keyingham and Patrington.
The A1033 road is a main arterial route across Kingston upon Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire connecting Hull with Withernsea. The road carries traffic to and from the Port of Hull and Salt End at its western end, and local and holiday traffic at its eastern end. It is a primary route from the junction of the A63 road to the Salt End roundabout and is maintained on that section by National Highways. The section by the docks is also part of a designated abnormal load route.
Cosalt plc was a diversified marine safety and leisure company, based in Grimsby, Lincolnshire. It was a constituent of the FTSE Fledgling Index.
Samuel Alper OBE was an English caravan designer and manufacturer responsible for the famous Sprite caravan, founder of the Little Chef chain of roadside restaurants, a viticulturist who revived the ancient Roman winery at Chilford Hall, a sculptor, the founder of the Curwen Print Study Centre for teaching printmaking and a philanthropist who sent caravans abroad to aid in disaster relief programmes.
The East Riding of Yorkshire is a local government district with unitary authority status, and is a ceremonial county of England. It is named after the historic East Riding of Yorkshire which was one of three ridings alongside the North Riding and West Riding, which were constituent parts a Yorkshire ceremonial and administrative county until 1974. From 1974 to 1996 the area of the modern East Riding of Yorkshire constituted the northern part of Humberside.
Hedon Aerodrome, was an airfield located 6 miles (9.7 km) east of Kingston upon Hull in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The airfield was in operation intermittently between 1912 and the late 1950s both in a civilian and a military capacity. It was rejected as a Second World War airfield due to its proximity to the Salt End chemical works and oil tanks.
Elddis is a caravan and motorhome manufacturer based in Consett, County Durham, England.
EastRider is the brand name given to a network of long-distance bus services across the East Riding of Yorkshire and North Yorkshire, operated by Go-Ahead Group company East Yorkshire. The EastRider services, all operating from Kingston upon Hull, serve the destinations of Bridlington, Goole, Hornsea, Withernsea and York using a fleet of specially-branded high-specification buses.
..Cottingham's own caravan maker, the Swift Group, based at Dunswell Road. The story of Swift Caravans is a rags-to-riches affair, since a company that in 2007 had sales of £191.3 million, began life in 1964 as a small operation located in a garage on Hedon Road, Hull. The company moved to Cottingham in 1970 and since then has expanded its facilities there with a training centre and a new factory complex
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