Grey-Green was a bus and coach operator in England. It was based in

Stamford Hill Stamford Hill is an area in Inner London, England, about 5.5 miles north-east of Charing Cross. The neighbourhood is a sub-district of Hackney, the major component of the London Borough of Hackney, and is known for its Hasidic community, the ...

and operated in London and the East of England.

History

Grey-Green can trace its origins back over a century to the foundation of George Ewer's horse carriage business in 1885. The business prospered, and summer-only services were soon operating to many South Coast resorts. Before the end of the 1920s, East Anglia was well covered too. The first service to operate throughout the year was a

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...

service that commenced in June 1928. The 1930s started with the introduction of a London to Harwich service, and operations continued to expand rapidly through East Anglia and to the coast, interrupted only by World War II. Routes run by the Prince Omnibus Company of

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

were added in the 1930s. Orange Luxury Coaches, Brixton was acquired in 1953, and this long-established company remained as a subsidiary of the main company until wound up in December 1975. Orange Luxury Coaches vehicles carried the Queen's arms, being suppliers of coaches to the royal household. The large-but-ageing United Service Transport fleet was taken over in 1965. Several of the companies taken over retained their separate identities and distinctive liveries in order to maintain goodwill, but in 1966 it was decided to concentrate the group's operations on two trading names: Grey-Green and Orange. By 1972 it operated out of garages in

, Lea Bridge,

Mile End Mile End is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London, England, east-northeast of Charing Cross. Situated on the London-to-Colchester road, it was one of the earliest suburbs of London. It became part of the m ...

and Brixton in London, and

Walton-on-the-Naze Walton-on-the-Naze is a seaside town on the North Sea coast and (as Walton le Soken) a former civil parish, now in the parish of Frinton and Walton, in the Tendring district in Essex, England. It is north of Clacton and south of the port of H ...

Felixstowe Felixstowe ( ) is a port town in Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest Containerization, container port in the United Kingdom. Felixstowe is approximately 116km (72 miles) northea ...

and Great Yarmouth in East Anglia. Subsequent acquisitions included the London coaching business of

Birch Brothers Birch Brothers was a bus and coach operator in south east England. History William Birch started running horse-drawn cabs in London in 1837. After his death in 1846 his widow, Elizabeth, took over the business and in 1847 extended it to inclu ...

in 1971, Mitcham Belle Coaches in 1974, and Dix Coaches in 1976. In 1980 Grey-Green was a founding member of the British Coachways consortium which competed with

National Express National Express Group is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Birmingham, England. It operates bus, coach, train and tram services in the United Kingdom, Ireland (National Express operates Eurolines in conjunction ...

, but pulled out after a year. In 1980 Grey-Green was sold to the

Cowie Group Arriva plc is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England.The Arriva London Story
Arriva London It was one of the first private operators to operate

London Regional Transport London Regional Transport (LRT) was the organisation responsible for most of the public transport network in London, England, between 1984 and 2000. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and operatio ...

services under contract following the process started with the

privatisation of London bus services The privatisation of London bus services was the process of the transfer of operation of buses in London from public bodies to private companies. For half a century, operation of London bus services for public transport was under the direct co ...

, eventually operating nearly 20 in all. In 1987, Grey-Green successfully bid for routes

125 125 may refer to: *125 (number), a natural number *AD 125, a year in the 2nd century AD *125 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC *125 (dinghy) *125 (New Jersey bus) See also * 12/5 (disambiguation) 12/5 may refer to: *December 5 in month/day date nota ...

173 Year 173 ( CLXXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Pompeianus (or, less frequently, year 926 ''Ab urbe c ...

, 179 and

379 Year 379 ( CCCLXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Ausonius and Hermogenianus (or, less frequently, year 1132 '' A ...

. In 1988, it began operating routes 24, 298 and 313. In 1991, a further five routes were taken over and a new Barking garage opened. By 1994, the portfolio had expanded to include routes 20, 103,

141 141 may refer to: * 141 (number), an integer * AD 141, a year of the Julian calendar * 141 BC __NOTOC__ Year 141 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caepio and Pompeius (or ...

, 167,

168 Year 168 ( CLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Apronianus and Paullus (or, less frequently, year 921 '' Ab urbe c ...

, 188,

210 Year 210 ( CCX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Faustinus and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 963 '' Ab urbe condit ...

, 235,

275 __NOTOC__ Year 275 ( CCLXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelianus and Marcellinus (or, less frequently, year 10 ...

, 473 and D9. The high-profile routes 24 and 188 brought non-red London buses directly into the city. Grey-Green also operated bus services in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, in

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. T ...

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it wi ...

and Medway, commuter services from

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

and north Kent to London, and international services to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

. The company's basic livery was green and white (having evolved from the green and grey that gave Grey-Green its name). The coaching fleets were painted in separate liveries. With the growth of the Cowie Group through acquisition of other bus operators, Grey Green co-existed for a time with other companies such as Kentish Bus. In 1998, the Cowie Group was rebranded as

Arriva Arriva plc is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England.Bamber Forsyth unites Cowie
''Design Week'' 23 October 1997 and Grey-Green's

and

Barking Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking ** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...

garages were absorbed into

Arriva London Arriva London is a major bus company operating services in Greater London. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus and operates services under contract to Transport for London. It was formed in 1998 from a fusion of previously separate Arriva s ...

, and the other operations by other Arriva companies.

References

External links

*
Grey-Green Coaches tribute site
{{Defunct British Bus Companies Arriva Group bus operators in England Former coach operators in England Former London bus operators 1885 establishments in England 1998 disestablishments in England Former bus operators in Suffolk Former bus operators in Norfolk Former bus operators in Essex British companies established in 1885 British companies disestablished in 1998

History

References

Further reading

External links