Ellis Briggs is a British bicycle manufacturer and shop, based in

Shipley, West Yorkshire Shipley is a historic market town and civil parish in the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, by the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, north of Bradford. The population of the Shipley ward on Bradford City Council taken at ...

, England. It is the oldest bicycle shop in the

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

area still in business today. Ellis Briggs have produced lightweight bicycles since 1936 and continue to do so. Ellis Briggs sprang to fame when the cyclist

Ken Russell Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell (3 July 1927 – 27 November 2011) was a British film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. His films in the main were liberal adaptation ...

won the 1952

Tour of Britain The Tour of Britain is a multi-stage cycling race, conducted on British roads, in which participants race across Great Britain to complete the race in the fastest time. The event dates back to the first British stage races held just after the S ...

on an Ellis Briggs. The firm went into voluntary liquidation in May 2018.

History

Ellis Briggs Cycles was founded in 1936 by Mr. Leonard Ellis and Mr. Thomas Briggs hence the name Ellis-Briggs. When the shop opened in 1936 there was already a bicycle shop in Shipley. That shop was a showroom for Baines, whose factory was based in

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and were famous for producing the Baines Flying Gate. The shop survived through the war by selling what ever was available which included children's clothing and enamel paints, as well as the usual cycling lines. It was after the war when Ellis Briggs started building lightweight racing frames, which gained them much notoriety among racing cyclists. After Thomas Briggs died in 1953 his son Jack took over the business with his wife Nora. Attention turned to the export markets of the US and Canada and during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s hundreds of frames were exported to the other side of the Atlantic. In 1965 the shop and factory moved from the old premises into a brand new building across the road. Jack and Nora Briggs retired in 1986. Their two sons John and Paul, had been working in the shop since the 1960s, Paul as a mechanic and John as Salesman. John and Paul took over and have run the business ever since. Over the years Ellis Briggs sponsored many international riders, such as Bernard Burns, Brian Robinson,

Arthur Metcalfe Arthur Metcalfe (27 September 1938–11 December 2002) was a British racing cyclist who twice rode the Tour de France and, as an amateur remains the only male rider to win the British road race championship and the British Best All-Round ...

Doug Petty Doug is a male personal name (or, depending on which definition of "personal name" one uses, part of a personal name). It is sometimes a given name (or "first name"), but more often it is hypocorism (affectionate variation of a personal name) which ...

Danny Horton Danny is a masculine given name. It is related to the male name Daniel. It may refer to: People * Danny Altmann, British immunologist * Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer * Danny Baker (born 1957), English journa ...

and

Dave Rayner David Michael Rayner (born October 26, 1982) is a former American football placekicker in the National Football League. He was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Michigan ...

. The biggest success was in the 1950s when Ken Russell, riding for Ellis Briggs as an independent rider (semi professional), won the 1952

despite not having any team support. It traded for eighty years before it went into its first term of liquidation in 2016. A management buyout failed and the firm entered into voluntary liquidation in May 2018.

References

External links

Ellis Briggs Website

{{British bicycle manufacturers Cycle manufacturers of the United Kingdom Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1936 Companies based in the City of Bradford Shipley, West Yorkshire 1936 establishments in England Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 2018 2018 disestablishments in England

History

See also

References

External links