Dave Butler, Archive Volunteer.
The Maudslay
Motor Company was established in 1901 by Cyril Maudslay, whose ancestors had
for many years owned and run the firm of Maudslay, Sons and Field, famous
throughout the 19th century as builders of boilers and engines for
ships. The motor company’s premises were
at Parkside, Coventry. Cars, lorries and
buses were produced until the outbreak of the First World War, when the company ceased
car production and concentrated on commercial vehicles. In the early 1950s, production moved to
Alcester and the Parkside premises were closed.
Coventry
Transport Museum has two Maudslay cars, a lorry and a bus on display, and some
of the company’s records from the Parkside era are held in the museum’s
archive. Archive volunteer Dave Butler
has been examining two of these records in detail.
The first
volume is an album of cuttings from various newspapers and magazines, covering
the period from the mid-1870s to 1931.
We believe that it was kept by Walter Henry Maudslay who was the
chairman and managing director of Maudslay, Sons and Field until the company’s
demise in 1900, although a few items date from after his death in 1927. A good number of these are articles about the
company and its products – a fast crossing of the Atlantic by Maudslay engined
ships, engines for new warships for the Turkish Navy, a small railway
locomotive and of course the various cars.
 |
| As well as articles about the Maudslay company, the book includes personal items including drawings by younger members of the Maudslay family. |
Perhaps more
interesting, however, are the numerous articles about the Maudslay family –
weddings, births, funerals and obituaries, letters, and children’s poems and
drawings. The articles suggest that
prior to the First World War the Maudslays had a comfortable position in
society, being reasonably wealthy and moving in what we would describe as an
upper middle class circle.
W H Maudslay
leased an estate in Ireland for a number of years, and several cuttings reflect
how the political unrest, both local and national, affected this. During the
First World War there are several references to family members and
acquaintances in receipt of gallantry awards, although fortunately for the
family no member seems to have been killed in action.
The second
volume is a similar album of cuttings, but this one appears to have been the
Maudslay Motor Company’s official press cuttings file. The cuttings in this volume concentrate on
the company’s products, mainly the cars, but there are also a few articles on
the engines which the company built for marine work. Also included are several accounts of a journey
in India and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) using a Maudslay car, which must have been quite
an adventure in the early 1900s.
We’re hoping
to feature some of these articles in future blog entries, so watch this space!
