Rick Ford responds to our earlier feature about Eastbourne: "Your story of early motor engineers in Eastbourne was splendid. But let us travel to the west and back in time to perhaps the turn of the Century? The New Forest occupies much of southern Hampshire and on its eastern boundary flow the lower reaches of major chalk streams, the Avon, Test and Itchen. The fly-fishing offered, attracted wealthy residents aplenty. Market towns prospered and in one, Romsey, the brewery supported many, many pubs, the landlords of which often worked in the day for the Brewery! This affluence around Romsey and the appearance of the Motor Car persuaded a young engineer, Mr. Mitchell, to set up a business to service this growing need. He started in the matriarchal home on a tributary stream of the Test, which boasted a mill house adjacent. This became the first workshop of Mitchell Brothers, Romsey. Later a highly successful Vauxhall agent, relocated in yet another ex-mill but much more extensive, in the town.
So here, in the first image, the embryonic workforce labour, in the open, are straightening a very early chassis. A stout baulk of timber and young muscles, their tools, the jig, the empty crates from the delivery of the "Pratts Motor Spirit", no doubt from the railway station, on the handcart. The tricycle fore-car will tease your readers, whilst behind sulks a quality rear entrance motor car, from very early in the century, perhaps it is the owner of the radiator propped against the mill house door. Note they were already agents for 'Napier Motors' but I do not recognise the striking poster on the door of a striding figure. Why is the riverside home of Mrs Mitchell flag bedecked at this period?
The business grows rapidly, the open mill yard is now a well built shed. This is on the main London to Bournemouth, unsurfaced road and directly opposite the town entrance to Lord Mountbatten's Broadlands estate. A hire/taxi vehicle is now required and poses on the entrance ramp, AA3942 (foto 2) is (maybe a Buick of 1909/10 ? ) is soon on an errand seen here on 'The Causeway' on the bank of the mighty River Test. No doubt heading for 'Saddler's Mill' where the salmon leap on the way to their upstream spawning grounds. Many years later I also drive to Saddler's Mill to collect a passenger, the resident, Mrs Wellesley-Parkin (her car: RR 20/25 GLZ63 Coupe by Barker)."
(Photo Mrs. Wellesley with her Rolls-Royce 20/25 by Rick Ford)
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Eastbourne revisited
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