Warrick Cycles

Last updated

The John Warrick Cycles company was established[ when? ] by John Warrick, the son of a Reading bargee. He was originally a gunsmith, apprenticed to William Soper, and together they had success manufacturing complex and highly accurate but slightly unreliable rifles. Warrick himself was a member of the Berkshire Volunteers and was an excellent marksman, using his medals and competition victories to promote the company.

After some years the market in guns declined and Warrick turned his attention to the growing trade of bicycle manufacturing. He used both the Warrick and Monarch brands in their factory on Caversham Road, Reading. The factory lasted until the 1970s, passing on to William Warrick, his son. They exported bicycles, including supplying Orville and Wilbur Wright's cycle business.

The company specialised in delivery and later motorized tricycles, especially for ice-cream and for food delivery although they did supply organisations such as the Army Cycle Corps and several department stores. One of their bicycles can be found in Reading Museum. Many were used by ice cream vendors in the mid-twentieth century, and requisitioned in the Second World War to act as aircraft simulators, with radio equipment in the ice cream box and with vision restricted so that they could only be driven by instructions.

The trade mark on Warrick bicycles was a metal triangle on the top of the rear mudguard of the cycle.

They also constructed batteries for electric cars and vans, although their early attempts at producing electric cars themselves were less successful.

Whilst their factory was located on Caversham Road by Northfield Road, they ran a shop in Reading at 24 St Mary's Butts and on Edgware Road in London. In later years they stopped making bicycles and moved on to enamelling, electroplating and other contract work, including making some parts for the prototype of the Concorde aircraft.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birmingham Small Arms Company</span> Major British industrial combine

The Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited (BSA) was a major British industrial combine, a group of businesses manufacturing military and sporting firearms; bicycles; motorcycles; cars; buses and bodies; steel; iron castings; hand, power, and machine tools; coal cleaning and handling plants; sintered metals; and hard chrome process.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jowett Cars</span>

Jowett was a manufacturer of light cars and light commercial vehicles in Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire, England from 1906 to 1954.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tricycle</span> Three-wheeled self-powered vehicle

A tricycle, sometimes abbreviated to trike, is a human-powered three-wheeled vehicle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pashley Cycles</span> UK pedalcycle manufacturer

Pashley Cycles is a British bicycle, tricycle and workbike manufacturer based in Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, England. The company was started in 1926 and still manufactures bikes in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rover Company</span> Former British car company

The Rover Company Limited was a British car manufacturing company that operated from its base in Solihull in Warwickshire. Its lasting reputation for quality and performance was such that its first postwar model reviewed by Road & Track in 1952 was pronounced finer than any but a Rolls-Royce. Rover also manufactured the Land Rover series from 1948 onwards, which spawned the Range Rover in 1970, and went on to become its most successful and profitable product — with Land Rover eventually becoming a separate company and brand in its own right.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cargo bike</span> Human powered vehicle to carry goods

There have been many human powered vehicles designed and constructed specifically for transporting loads since their earliest appearance in the 20th century. They are referred to variously depending on the number of wheels — typically two, three, or four — and by their specific use. Adjectives used to describe the tasks to which the bicycles, dicycles, tricycles, or quadracycles are put include cargo cycles, freight cycles, box cycles, carrier cycles, and so on. Sometimes they are also called cycletrucks, which uses a sense of the word 'truck' predating the automobile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Starley</span> English industrialist and inventor (1830-1881

James Starley was an English inventor and father of the bicycle industry. He was one of the most innovative and successful builders of bicycles and tricycles. His inventions include the differential gear, the perfection of the bicycle chain drive, and the penny-farthing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milk float</span> Vehicle for delivering milk

A milk float is a vehicle specifically designed for the delivery of fresh milk. Today, milk floats are usually battery electric vehicles (BEV), but they were formerly horse-drawn floats. They were once common in many European countries, particularly the United Kingdom, and were operated by local dairies. However, in recent years, as the number of supermarkets, small independent grocers and petrol stations, and convenience stores stocking fresh milk has increased, many people have switched from regular home delivery to obtaining fresh milk from these other sources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delivery (commerce)</span> Process of transporting goods from a source location to a predefined destination

Delivery is the process of transporting goods from a source location to a predefined destination. Cargo is primarily delivered via roads and railroads on land, shipping lanes on the sea, and airline networks in the air. Certain types of goods may be delivered via specialized networks, such as pipelines for liquid goods, power grids for electrical power and computer networks such as the Internet or broadcast networks for electronic information. Car transport is a particular subgroup; a related variant is Autorack, which involves the transport of autos by railroads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Enfield (England)</span> Brand name used by a European automobile company

Royal Enfield was a brand name under which The Enfield Cycle Company Limited of Redditch, Worcestershire, England, sold motorcycles, bicycles, lawnmowers and stationary engines which it manufactured. Enfield Cycle Company also used the brand name "Enfield" without the "Royal".

Birmingham is one of England's principal industrial centres and has a history of industrial and scientific innovation. It was once known as 'city of a thousand trades' and in 1791, Arthur Young described Birmingham as "the first manufacturing town in the world". Right up until the mid-19th century Birmingham was regarded as the prime industrial urban town in Britain and perhaps the world, the town's rivals were more specific in their trade bases. Mills and foundries across the world were helped along by the advances in steam power and engineering that were taking place in the city. The town offered a vast array of industries and was the world's leading manufacturer of metal ware, although this was by no means the only trade flourishing in the town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunbeam Cycles</span>

Sunbeam Cycles made by John Marston Limited of Wolverhampton was a British brand of bicycles and, from 1912 to 1956 motorcycles.

Lucas Industries plc was a Birmingham-based British manufacturer of motor industry and aerospace industry components. Once prominent, it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was formerly a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. In August 1996, Lucas merged with the American Varity Corporation to form LucasVarity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matchless</span> British motorcycle and automobile manufacturer

Matchless is one of the oldest marques of British motorcycles, manufactured in Plumstead, London, between 1899 and 1966. A wide range of models were produced under the Matchless name, ranging from small two-strokes to 750 cc four-stroke twins. Matchless had a long history of racing success; a Matchless ridden by Charlie Collier won the first single-cylinder race in the first Isle of Man TT in 1907.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chater-Lea</span>

Chater-Lea was a British bicycle, car and motorcycle maker with a purpose-built five-storey factory in Banner Street, EC1, in the City of London and, from 1928, premises at Letchworth, Hertfordshire. It was founded by William Chater-Lea in 1890 to make bicycle frames and components. It made cars between 1907 and 1922 and motorcycles from 1903 to 1935. William died in 1927 and the business was taken over by his sons John and Bernard. After vehicle production finished, the company remained trading as a bicycle component maker and contract manufacturer until 1987. The company relaunched in 2017 as a maker of high-end British manufactured bicycle components and launched its first new products in the summer of 2019.

CCM is a Canadian bicycle brand owned by Canadian Tire. The brand was first used by the Canada Cycle & Motor Co. Ltd, founded in Weston, Ontario in 1899. CCM dominated the Canadian bike market for much of the 20th century before becoming bankrupt in 1983. The CCM trademark was then acquired by Procycle Group, while the company's hockey assets were sold off.

The Raleigh Bicycle Company is a British bicycle manufacturer based in Nottingham, England and founded by Woodhead and Angois in 1885. Using Raleigh as their brand name, it is one of the oldest bicycle companies in the world. After being acquired by Frank Bowden in December 1888, it became The Raleigh Cycle Company, which was registered as a limited liability company in January 1889. By 1913, it was the largest bicycle manufacturing company in the world. From 1921 to 1935, Raleigh also produced motorcycles and three-wheel cars, leading to the formation of Reliant Motors. Raleigh bicycle is now a division of the Dutch corporation Accell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Worksman Cycles</span> American bicycle manufacturer

Worksman Cycles is a family-owned American manufacturer of bicycles and tricycles for industrial, commercial and recreational use. The company was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Ozone Park in the borough of Queens in New York City. Previously in the Spear Building the company also operates an additional factory in Conway, South Carolina. Worksman is the oldest bicycle manufacturer in the United States and has operated its own factory-direct e-commerce store since 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adolphe Clément-Bayard</span> French entrepreneur

Gustave Adolphe Clément, from 1909 Clément-Bayard, was a French entrepreneur. An orphan who became a blacksmith and a Compagnon du Tour de France, he went on to race and manufacture bicycles, pneumatic tyres, motorcycles, automobiles, aeroplanes and airships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morrison-Electricar</span> Former British electric vehicle manufacturer

Morrison-Electricar was a British manufacturer of milk floats and other battery electric road vehicles (BERV). Their first vehicle was built for a bakery in 1933, and the company ceased to exist when it was finally sold to M & M Electric Vehicles in 1983.

References