Freestone and Webb were

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

coachbuilder A coachbuilder or body-maker is someone who manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles.Construction has always been a skilled trade requiring a relatively lightweight product with sufficient strength. The manufacture of necessarily ...

s who made bodies for

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

and

Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of luxury cars and SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded as Bentley Motors Limited by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Cricklewood, North ...

motor cars but also built bodies on other chassis including Alfa Romeo, Packard, and Mercedes-Benz. The business was founded in 1923 by V.E. Freestone and A.J. Webb as a specialist coachbuilding service in workshops (Unity Works) in Brentfield Road, Stonebridge Park,

Willesden Willesden () is an area of northwest London, situated 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933, and has forme ...

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nor ...

, where it remained for its entire life. Freestone had learnt his trade working at

Crossley Motors Crossley Motors was an English motor vehicle manufacturer based in Manchester, England. It produced approximately 19,000 cars from 1904 until 1938, 5,500 buses from 1926 until 1958, and 21,000 goods and military vehicles from 1914 to ...

, Webb had returned to England having trained in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. While working on

bespoke The word ''bespoke'' () has evolved from a verb meaning 'to speak for something', to its contemporary usage as an adjective. Originally, the adjective ''bespoke'' described tailor-made suits and shoes. Later, it described anything commissioned t ...

Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars they developed the style known as ''

Top hat A top hat (also called a high hat, a cylinder hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned hat for men traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditionally m ...

,'' and popularised the '' Razor Edge'' style. Delivering up to 15 cars per annum they showed their cars at the

London Motor Show London Motor Show, formerly the London Motorfair, is a motor show in England. It was held biannually at Earls Court Exhibition Centre, from 1977 to 1999. When the event won the support of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders and P&O ...

and won the Gold Medal in the private coachbuilders competition nine years in a row. Converted to aircraft components like many coachbuilders during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

they made highly detailed and intricate wing tips for the

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

. After the Second World War Rolls-Royce offered a complete steel-bodied car, the Bentley Mark VI from 1946 and later the

Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith The Silver Wraith was the first post-war Rolls-Royce. It was made from 1946 to 1958 as only a chassis at Rolls-Royce's former Merlin engine plant, their Crewe factory, alongside the shorter Bentley Mark VI. The Bentley too was available as ...

. In the postwar austerity orders to Freestone and Webb tumbled and they began to suffer financial difficulties. A.J. Webb died in 1955. In May 1957 Freestone & Webb Limited was taken over by the Swain Group, which owned motor dealer H.R. Owen of Berkeley Street, London. This was the same year as the introduction of the

Bentley S1 The Bentley S1 (originally simply "Bentley S") was a luxury car produced by Bentley Motors Limited from 1955 until 1959. The S1 was derived from Rolls-Royce's complete redesign of its standard production car after World War II, the Silver Clo ...

Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud The Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud is a luxury automobile produced by Rolls-Royce Limited from April 1955 to March 1966. It was the core model of the Rolls-Royce range during that period. The Silver Cloud replaced the Silver Dawn and was, in turn, r ...

both of which continued to be available as a chassis-only option until 1965. Freestone & Webb continued to refurbish and build bodies until 1958 when it became a pure showroom brand. After Swain decided to divest itself of its coach building arm and focus just on motor retail Freestone & Webb was sold to the new owners of fellow coachbuilders

Harold Radford Harold Radford & Co Limited of Melton Court, South Kensington, London SW7, (opposite South Kensington tube station and now Lamborghini London) were long-established retailers of Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars who, under G H Radford, developed a be ...

in 1963. A new company called Freestone & Webb Limited was incorporated and registered at

Companies House Companies House is the executive agency of the company registrars of the United Kingdom, falling under the remit of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. All forms of companies (as permitted by the Companies Act) are in ...

in 1990 by an enthusiast owner, who sold it together with his 1935 Bentley 3½ Litre saloon at an auction at

Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...

, on 2 June 2010.

References

External links

{{coords, 51.546, -0.259, display=title Companies based in the London Borough of Brent Coachbuilders of the United Kingdom Motor vehicle manufacturers based in London Willesden British shadow factories Manufacturing plants in England 1923 establishments in England British companies established in 1923 Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1923 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1963 1963 disestablishments in England