Ailsa Craig Engines was a manufacturer of marine and specialist made-to-order

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...

s from 1891 to 1972. Named after the island off the coast of Ayr, Scotland,

Ailsa Craig Ailsa Craig (; sco, Ailsae Craig; gd, Creag Ealasaid) is an island of in the outer Firth of Clyde, west of mainland Scotland, upon which microgranite has long been quarried to make curling stones. The now-uninhabited island comprises the r ...

, the company began as a

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bic ...

manufacturer in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

in 1891, later moving to Putney, London, where the then owner went into partnership and set about building early vehicles, going on in 1904 to produce the world's first

V12 V12 or V-12 may refer to: Aircraft * Mil V-12, a Soviet heavy lift helicopter * Pilatus OV-12, a planned American military utility aircraft * Rockwell XFV-12, an American experimental aircraft project * Škoda-Kauba V12, a Czechoslovak experim ...

engine intended for a Russian airship and even a

petrol engine A petrol engine (gasoline engine in American English) is an internal combustion engine designed to run on petrol (gasoline). Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas and ethanol blends (such as ''E ...

vacuum cleaner A vacuum cleaner, also known simply as a vacuum or a hoover, is a device that causes suction in order to remove dirt from floors, upholstery, draperies, and other surfaces. It is generally electrically driven. The dirt is collected by either a ...

for

Hubert Cecil Booth Hubert Cecil Booth (4 July 1871 – 14 January 1955) was an English engineer, best known for having invented one of the first powered vacuum cleaners. He also designed Ferris wheels, suspension bridges and factories. Later he became Chairm ...

in 1904.

Car production

Trading as the Putney Motor Company around 12 cars were made between 1902 and 1912. Each was individually designed to order. The smallest was a single cylinder engined light car made in 1902. At the other extreme was a 50 hp four-cylinder fitted with a luxury body and supplied to the

Earl of Norbury Earl of Norbury, in the County of Tipperary, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1827, along with the title Viscount Glandine, of Glandine in the King's County, for the Irish politician and judge John Toler, 1st Baron Nor ...

. Between 1906 and 1907 they also sold the Mayfair car which was imported from an unknown source probably French.

Overview

A little later, Ellis Kisch took over and the company moved to 46/47

Strand-on-the-Green Strand-on-the-Green is one of Chiswick's four medieval villages, and a "particularly picturesque" riverside area in West London. It is a conservation area, with many "imposing" listed buildings beside the River Thames; a local landmark, the Ke ...

, Chiswick in West London. There was a concentration on reliable

marine engineering Marine engineering is the engineering of boats, ships, submarines, and any other marine vessel. Here it is also taken to include the engineering of other ocean systems and structures – referred to in certain academic and professional circl ...

with a Royal Appointment being granted in 1926. Following successful work for the Ministry of Munitions and the Admiralty during the First World War, there was a massive war commitment in 1939 when 5000 engines were to be supplied from an additional factory site in Twickenham. Harold Linford, who was the chief designer and general manager, was killed when an aerial bomb exploded over the Factory at Strand-on-the-Green in 1941. John Watson took over the running of the factory until the move to Ashford in 1949/1950 and there produced further quality diesel engines, with the help of Ricardo Engineering, under the direction of Robert Kisch – son of Ellis, between 1958 and 1963/4 when he was taken ill and moved ultimately to

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

. This ultimately resulted in the company being sold to the Warsop's Fram Group in 1964.

Closure

In 1972, Ailsa Craig ceased trading, although Dr Kisch and his son Christopher Kisch, continue to offer advice where appropriate.All primary sources regarding this article are held at The Motorboat Museum, Wat Tyler Country Park, Pitsea Hall Lane, Basildon, Essex SS16 4UH UK +44 (0)1268 550077 – the subject published on this page has been researched through archived primary materials held at the Motor Boat Museum.

References

{{reflist

External links

*http://www.ailsacraig.org/ Engine manufacturers of the United Kingdom Marine engine manufacturers Manufacturing companies based in Glasgow Manufacturing companies based in London Defunct manufacturing companies of Scotland Manufacturing companies established in 1891 1891 establishments in Scotland Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Scotland British companies established in 1891 1972 disestablishments in Scotland British companies disestablished in 1972