Grace's Guide To British Industrial History

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Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain. This web publication contains 162,260 pages of information and 244,501 images on early companies, their products and the people who designed and built them.

Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain. This web publication contains 147,919 pages of information and 233,587 images on early companies, their products and the people who designed and built them.

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Rover was a British manufacturer of [[Cars]].  
[[Image:ImHaynes-Rover.jpg|thumb| Advertising Sign. ]]
[[Image:Im061208MN-Rover.jpg|thumb| December 1906. ]]
[[image:Im070310MCJ-Rover.jpg|thumb| March 1907. New London depot. ]]
[[Image:Im19080912AJ-Rover.jpg|thumb| September 1908. ]]
[[image:Im19440526SDN-Rover.jpg |thumb| May 1944. ]]
[[image:Im19530606ILN-Rover.jpg|thumb| June 1953. ]]
[[image:Im196010MotSC-Rover.jpg |thumb| Oct 1960. ]]
[[image:Im196210MotSC-Rover.jpg |thumb|  Oct 1962. ]]


* 1878 The company was founded by [[John Kemp Starley]] and [[William Sutton]] in 1878. Starley had formerly worked with his uncle [[James Starley]] (father of the cycle trade) who began in manufacturing sewing machines and switched to bicycles in 1869.
of Meteor Works, Lode Lane, Birmingham


* 1883 The first Rover was a tricycle manufactured by [[Starley and Sutton Co]] of Coventry, England in 1883.  
'''Rover''' was a British manufacturer of bicycles, motorcycles and cars.  


* 1885 In the early 1880s the cycles available were the relatively dangerous [[Penny-Farthing]] and high-wheel tricycles. [[John Kemp Starley]] made history in 1885 by producing the Rover Safety Bicycle - a rear-wheel-drive, chain-driven cycle with two similar-sized wheels, making it more stable than the previous high wheeled designs. Cycling Magazine said the Rover had 'set the pattern to the world' and the phrase was used in their advertising for many years. Starley's Rover is usually described by historians as the first recognisably modern bicycle.
'''See also -
* [[Rover: Cars|Cars]]
* [[Rover: Cycles|Cycles]]
* [[Rover: Motorcycles|Motorcycles]]


* 1888 [[John Kemp Starley]] made an electric car, but it never was put into production.
1905 The name was changed in November from the [[Rover Cycle Co]] to the '''Rover Co'''.


* 1889 the company became [[J. K. Starley & Co. Ltd]] and in the late 1890s, the [[Rover Cycle Company Ltd]]. Three years after Starley's death in 1901, the Rover company began producing automobiles with the two-seater Rover Eight to the designs of [[Edmund Lewis]] who came from [[Daimler]].  
1910 [[John E. Greenwood]] joined and designed a 3.5 hp machine


* WW1 During the First World War they made motorcycles, lorries to [[Maudsley]] designs and not having a suitable one of their own, cars to a [[Sunbeam]] design. Bicycle and motorcycle production continued until the Great Depression forced the end of production in 1925. The business was not very successful during the 1920s and did not pay a dividend from 1923 until the mid 1930s. In 1929 when there was a change of management with Spencer Wilks coming in from [[Hillman]] as general manager. He set about reorganising the company and moving it up market to cater for people who wanted something "superior" to Fords and Austins. He was joined by his brother [[Maurice Wilks]], who had also been at [[Hillman]], as chief engineer in 1930. Spencer Wilks stayed with the company until 1962 and his brother until 1963.
c1910 [[George William Ravenhall]] was Works Manager


* In the late 1930s, in anticipation of potential hostilities which would become World War II, the British government started a re-armament programme and as part of this "Shadow Factories" were built. These were paid for by the government but staffed and run by private companies. Two were run by Rover, one at Acocks Green, Birmingham started operation in 1937 and a second larger one at Solihull started in 1940. Both were employed making aero engines and airframes. The original main works at Helen Street, Coventry was severely damaged by bombing in 1940 and 1941 and never regained full production.
WWI. During the First World War, they made motorcycles, lorries to [[Maudslay Motor Co|Maudslay]] designs and not having a suitable one of their own, cars to a [[Sunbeam]] design.  


* 1940 In early 1940 Rover were approached by the government to support Frank Whittle in developing the gas turbine engine. Whittle's company, Power Jets had no production facilities and the intention was for Rover to take the design and develop it for mass production. Whittle himself was not pleased by this and did not like design changes made without his approval but the first test engines to the W2B design were built in a disused cotton mill in Barnoldswick, Lancashire, in October 1941. Rolls-Royce took an interest in the new technology and an agrement was reached in 1942 that they would take over the engines and Barnoldswick works and in exchange Rover would get the contract for making Meteor tank engines which actually continued until 1964.
WWI Rover Company made an agreement with [[Victor Riley]] for post-war manufacture of the Rover small car<ref> Archives of Rover Co [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=152-mss226&cid=22-1-1-3&kw=Victor%20Riley#22-1-1-3]</ref>


* After the Second World War, the company abandoned Helen Street and bought the two Shadow Factories. Acocks Green carried on for a while making Meteor engines for tanks and Solihull became the new centre for vehicles with production resuming in 1947 and would become the home of the Land Rover.
They acquired a factory at Tyseley


* 1950 Designer [[F. R. Bell]] and Chief Engineer [[Maurice Wilks]] unveiled the first car powered with a gas turbine engine. The two-seater JET1 had the engine positioned behind the seats, air intake grilles on either side of the car and exhaust outlets on the top of the tail. During tests, the car reached top speeds of 140 km/h, at a turbine speed of 50,000 rpm. The car ran on petrol, paraffin or diesel oil, but fuel consumption problems proved insurmountable for a production car. It is currently on display at the London Science Museum. Rover and the BRM Formula One team joined forces to produce a gas turbine powered coupe, which entered the 1963 24 hours of Le Mans, driven by Graham Hill and Richie Ginther. It averaged 107.8 mph (173 km/h) and had a top speed of 142 mph (229 km/h).
1919 [[W. F. Wyley| Colonel W. F. Wyley]] (Chairman), [[Harry Smith]] (MD), [[John Kemp Starley (1877-1941)|J. K. Starley]], [[Mark Wild]]  <ref>The Times, Thursday, Oct 09, 1919</ref>


* The 1950s and '60s were fruitful years for the company, with the [[Land Rover]] becoming a runaway success (despite Rover's reputation for making up-market saloons, the utiliarian Land Rover was actually the company's biggest seller throughout the 1950s, '60s and '70s), as well as the P5 and P6 saloons equipped with a 3.5L (215ci) aluminium V8, the design and tooling of which was purchased from Buick, and pioneering research into gas turbine fuelled vehicles. In 1967, Rover became part of the Leyland Motor Corporation, which merged with the British Motor Holdings to become [[British Leyland]]. This was the beginning of the end for the traditional Rover, as the Solihull based company's heritage drowned beneath the infamous industrial relations and managerial problems that beset the British motor industry throughout the 1970s.  
The business was not very successful during the 1920s, and did not pay a dividend from 1923 until the mid 1930s.  


* 1970 Rover combined its skill in producing comfortable saloons and the rugged [[Land Rover]] 4x4 to produce the [[Land Rover|Range Rover]], the first car to combine off-road ability and comfortable versatility. Powered by the ex-Buick V8 engine, it had innovative features such as a permanent 4 wheel drive system, all-coil spring suspension and disc brakes on all wheels. Able to reach speeds of up to 100 MPH, yet also capable of extreme off-road use, the original [[Land Rover|Range Rover]] design was to remain in production for the next 26 years.
1926 J. K. Starley is MD. <ref>The Times, Friday, Mar 05, 1926</ref>


* 1976 The Rover SD1 of 1976 was an excellent car, but was beset with so many build quality and reliability issues that it never delivered its great promise. A savage programme of cutbacks in the late 1970s led to the end of car production at the Solihull factory which was turned over for Land Rover production only. All future Rover cars would be made in the former Austin and Morris plants in Longbridge and Cowley, respectively.
1929 there was a change of management with [[Spencer Wilks]] coming in from [[Hillman]] as general manager. He set about reorganising the company and moving it up market to cater for people who wanted something "superior" to [[Ford]] and [[Austin]].  


* 1981 [[Austin Rover Group]] was formed in 1981 as the mass-market car manufacturing subsidiary of BL. In the 1980s, the slimmed-down BL used the Rover badge on a range of cars co-developed with Honda. The first Honda-sourced model, released in 1984 was the Rover 200, which, like the Triumph Acclaim that it replaced, was based on the Honda Ballade. (Similarly, in Australia, the Honda Quint (known in Europe as the Quintet) and Integra were badged as the Rover Quintet and 416i.) In 1986, the Rover SD1 was replaced by the Rover 800, developed with the Honda Legend. By this time Austin Rover had moved to a one-marque strategy and was renamed simply Rover Group. The Austin range were now technically Rovers, though the word "Rover" never actually appeared on the badging — there was instead a badge similar to the Rover Viking shape, without wording. These were replaced by the Rover 400 and Rover 600, based on Honda's Concerto and Accord.
1930 He was joined by his brother [[Maurice Wilks]], who had also been at [[Hillman]] as chief engineer. Spencer Wilks stayed with the company until 1962 and his brother until 1963.
This was to prove to be the turn-around point for the company, steadily rebuilding its image to the point where once again Rovers were seen as upmarket alternatives to Fords and Vauxhalls.  


* 1994 The takeover by BMW saw the development of the '''Rover 75''', before the infamous de-merger in 2000. BMW retained the rights to the Rover name (and the associated portfolio of brands such as Mini, [[Triumph]] and [[Austin-Healey]]) after it sold the business, only licensing it to the Phoenix consortium while it was in control of Rover.
1932 [[E. Ransom Harrison]] (Chairman)  and [[H. Rowe Graham]]. <ref>The Times, Friday, Dec 02, 1932</ref>


The BMW management knew that '''Rover''' needed a new product lineup to be competitive with Opel/Vauxhall, Volkswagen, Ford and the other leading mainstream volume manufacturers. The 75 was the first part of this lineup. The MINI was the second. To replace both the 200 and the 400 with a more direct successor to the 1980s 200 was the Rover 55 (R30 project) intended to combat the Opel Astra, Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf in the competitive and lucrative European small family car segment. This high volume semi-premium vehicle was cancelled in 2000, just as the Rover group was sold. The BMW 1-Series is considered by some to be the result of this project. BMW has the rights to the R30 project's engineering and design.
In the late 1930s, in anticipation of potential hostilities which would become World War II, the British government started a re-armament programme and as part of this "[[Shadow Factories]]" were built. These were paid for by the government but staffed and run by private companies. Two were run by Rover, one at Acocks Green, Birmingham, started operation in 1937, and a second, larger one at Solihull, started in 1940. Both were employed making aero engines and airframes. The original main works at Helen Street, Coventry, was severely damaged by bombing in 1940 and 1941, and never regained full production.


* 2005 The company continued as the MG Rover Group but production ceased on April 7, 2005, when it was declared insolvent. In July 2005 the entire company was sold to the Nanjing Automobile Group, who indicated that their preliminary plans involved relocating the Powertrain engine plant to China while splitting car production into Rover lines in China and resumed MG lines in the West Midlands (though not necessarily at Longbridge), where a UK R&D and technical facility would also be developed.
1940 In early 1940 Rover were approached by the government to support [[Frank Whittle]] in developing the gas turbine engine. Whittle's company, [[Power Jets]] had no production facilities and the intention was for Rover to take the design and develop it for mass production. Whittle himself was not pleased by this and did not like design changes made without his approval but the first test engines to the W2B design were built in Bankfield Shed, a disused cotton weaving mill in Barnoldswick, Lancashire, in October 1941.  


1942 [[Rolls-Royce]] took an interest in the new technology and an agreement was reached in 1942 that they would take over the engines and Barnoldswick works and in exchange Rover would get the contract for making ''Meteor'' tank engines which actually continued until 1964.


==Sources of Information==
After the Second World War, the company abandoned Helen Street and bought the two Shadow Factories. Acocks Green carried on for a while making Meteor engines for tanks and Solihull became the new centre for vehicles with production resuming in 1947..
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rover_%28car%29] Wikipedia
 
1946 [[Maurice Wilks]] became technical director. The company was in difficulties because steel quotas were allocated on the basis of a company's export sales, and the Rover luxury cars did not sell well overseas. Faced with an allocation of steel enough for only 1100 cars, instead of the 20,000 planned annual output, Rover needed a short-term project to keep the production lines running at Solihull. This led in 1947 to the development of the [[Land Rover]], based on the American jeep, by Wilks and his design team. The Land Rover was produced at Solihull.
 
1947 E. Ransom Harrison (Chairman), <ref>The Times, Thursday, Jan 16, 1947</ref>
 
Launched in 1948, the [[Land Rover]], a small four-wheel drive vehicle, was originally intended as a farm vehicle, to be more versatile than a jeep. An immediate success, used as much on the road as off it, it sold better than the Rover luxury cars. The Land Rover saved the company, and turned Rover primarily into a manufacturer of light commercial vehicles.
 
1950 [[Rover]] built the first gas-turbine powered car: ''Jet One''<ref>The Times, Jul 02, 1971</ref>
 
1953 [[Rover Gas Turbines]] Ltd, a private company, was formed as a subsidiary<ref>The Times Sep 03, 1953</ref>
 
1954 E. Ransom Harrison retires due to ill health and [[H. Rowe Graham]] is new chairman. <ref>The Times, Friday, Oct 15, 1954</ref>
 
1956 H. Rowe Graham (Chairman) <ref> Times, Friday, Nov 23, 1956</ref>
 
1958 Spencer Wilks is Chairman. <ref>The Times, Tuesday, Nov 25, 1958</ref>
 
1961 Rover Company were manufacturers of "Rover" cars and "Land Rover" commercial vehicles. <ref>[[1961 Dun and Bradstreet KBE]]</ref>
 
1964 69th AGM. [[George Farmer|L. G. T. Farmer]] is Chairman. <ref>The Times, Wednesday, Nov 18, 1964</ref>
 
1965 Bid for [[Alvis]] <ref>The Times, Saturday, Jun 05, 1965</ref>
 
1967, Rover became part of the [[Leyland Motors|Leyland Motor Corporation (LMC)]], which already owned [[Triumph Motor Co|Triumph]].
 
== See Also ==
<what-links-here/>
 
== Sources of Information ==
<references/>
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rover_%28car%29 Wikipedia on Rover Cars]
* Trademarked. A History of Well-Known Brands - from Aertex to Wright's Coal Tar by David Newton. Pub: Sutton Publishing 2008 ISBN 978-0-7509-4590-5
* Coventry’s Motorcycle Heritage by Damien Kimberley. Published 2009. ISBN 978 0 7509 5125 9
 
[[Category: Cars]]
[[Category: Cycles]]
[[Category: Motorcycles]]
[[Category: Motorcycles - TT Races pre-WWI]]
[[Category: Town - Coventry]]

Latest revision as of 15:26, 12 March 2021

Advertising Sign.
December 1906.
March 1907. New London depot.
September 1908.
May 1944.
June 1953.
Oct 1960.
Oct 1962.

of Meteor Works, Lode Lane, Birmingham

Rover was a British manufacturer of bicycles, motorcycles and cars.

See also -

1905 The name was changed in November from the Rover Cycle Co to the Rover Co.

1910 John E. Greenwood joined and designed a 3.5 hp machine

c1910 George William Ravenhall was Works Manager

WWI. During the First World War, they made motorcycles, lorries to Maudslay designs and not having a suitable one of their own, cars to a Sunbeam design.

WWI Rover Company made an agreement with Victor Riley for post-war manufacture of the Rover small car[1]

They acquired a factory at Tyseley

1919 Colonel W. F. Wyley (Chairman), Harry Smith (MD), J. K. Starley, Mark Wild [2]

The business was not very successful during the 1920s, and did not pay a dividend from 1923 until the mid 1930s.

1926 J. K. Starley is MD. [3]

1929 there was a change of management with Spencer Wilks coming in from Hillman as general manager. He set about reorganising the company and moving it up market to cater for people who wanted something "superior" to Ford and Austin.

1930 He was joined by his brother Maurice Wilks, who had also been at Hillman as chief engineer. Spencer Wilks stayed with the company until 1962 and his brother until 1963.

1932 E. Ransom Harrison (Chairman) and H. Rowe Graham. [4]

In the late 1930s, in anticipation of potential hostilities which would become World War II, the British government started a re-armament programme and as part of this "Shadow Factories" were built. These were paid for by the government but staffed and run by private companies. Two were run by Rover, one at Acocks Green, Birmingham, started operation in 1937, and a second, larger one at Solihull, started in 1940. Both were employed making aero engines and airframes. The original main works at Helen Street, Coventry, was severely damaged by bombing in 1940 and 1941, and never regained full production.

1940 In early 1940 Rover were approached by the government to support Frank Whittle in developing the gas turbine engine. Whittle's company, Power Jets had no production facilities and the intention was for Rover to take the design and develop it for mass production. Whittle himself was not pleased by this and did not like design changes made without his approval but the first test engines to the W2B design were built in Bankfield Shed, a disused cotton weaving mill in Barnoldswick, Lancashire, in October 1941.

1942 Rolls-Royce took an interest in the new technology and an agreement was reached in 1942 that they would take over the engines and Barnoldswick works and in exchange Rover would get the contract for making Meteor tank engines which actually continued until 1964.

After the Second World War, the company abandoned Helen Street and bought the two Shadow Factories. Acocks Green carried on for a while making Meteor engines for tanks and Solihull became the new centre for vehicles with production resuming in 1947..

1946 Maurice Wilks became technical director. The company was in difficulties because steel quotas were allocated on the basis of a company's export sales, and the Rover luxury cars did not sell well overseas. Faced with an allocation of steel enough for only 1100 cars, instead of the 20,000 planned annual output, Rover needed a short-term project to keep the production lines running at Solihull. This led in 1947 to the development of the Land Rover, based on the American jeep, by Wilks and his design team. The Land Rover was produced at Solihull.

1947 E. Ransom Harrison (Chairman), [5]

Launched in 1948, the Land Rover, a small four-wheel drive vehicle, was originally intended as a farm vehicle, to be more versatile than a jeep. An immediate success, used as much on the road as off it, it sold better than the Rover luxury cars. The Land Rover saved the company, and turned Rover primarily into a manufacturer of light commercial vehicles.

1950 Rover built the first gas-turbine powered car: Jet One[6]

1953 Rover Gas Turbines Ltd, a private company, was formed as a subsidiary[7]

1954 E. Ransom Harrison retires due to ill health and H. Rowe Graham is new chairman. [8]

1956 H. Rowe Graham (Chairman) [9]

1958 Spencer Wilks is Chairman. [10]

1961 Rover Company were manufacturers of "Rover" cars and "Land Rover" commercial vehicles. [11]

1964 69th AGM. L. G. T. Farmer is Chairman. [12]

1965 Bid for Alvis [13]

1967, Rover became part of the Leyland Motor Corporation (LMC), which already owned Triumph.

See Also

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Sources of Information

  1. ↑ Archives of Rover Co [1]
  2. ↑ The Times, Thursday, Oct 09, 1919
  3. ↑ The Times, Friday, Mar 05, 1926
  4. ↑ The Times, Friday, Dec 02, 1932
  5. ↑ The Times, Thursday, Jan 16, 1947
  6. ↑ The Times, Jul 02, 1971
  7. ↑ The Times Sep 03, 1953
  8. ↑ The Times, Friday, Oct 15, 1954
  9. ↑ Times, Friday, Nov 23, 1956
  10. ↑ The Times, Tuesday, Nov 25, 1958
  11. ↑ 1961 Dun and Bradstreet KBE
  12. ↑ The Times, Wednesday, Nov 18, 1964
  13. ↑ The Times, Saturday, Jun 05, 1965
  • Wikipedia on Rover Cars
  • Trademarked. A History of Well-Known Brands - from Aertex to Wright's Coal Tar by David Newton. Pub: Sutton Publishing 2008 ISBN 978-0-7509-4590-5
  • Coventry’s Motorcycle Heritage by Damien Kimberley. Published 2009. ISBN 978 0 7509 5125 9
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