The Holdsworth Motorhomes Company was a UK-based campervan conversion company running from 1968 to the mid-1990s, founded by Richard Holdsworth. It was one of the first UK campervan conversion companies, developing to hold contracts with

British Leyland British Leyland was an automotive engineering and manufacturing conglomerate formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd (BLMC), following the merger of Leyland Motors and British Motor Holdings. It was partl ...

for the Sherpa, and the first UK company to hold approval from

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...

. The company ran into increasing financial difficulty, and ceased trading after one deal left the business with a surplus of stock. In 1996 its major assets were sold to new investors under Cockburn Holdsworth, but this venture was short lived, with production ending in 1998.

History

Having returned from a motorhome trip around

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, Richard and Heather Holdsworth wanted to continue their travels with trips around Europe. As a result, in 1968 they started converting a Volkswagen in their lockup garage in Clapham Common,

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, with Richard constructing furniture and Heather the

upholstery Upholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially seats, with padding, springs, webbing, and fabric or leather covers. The word also refers to the materials used to upholster something. ''Upholstery'' comes from the Middle English word ...

and soft furnishings including

curtains A curtain is a piece of cloth or other material intended to block or obscure light, air drafts, or (in the case of a shower curtain), water. A curtain is also the movable screen or drape in a theatre that separates the stage from the auditorium ...

. After being asked to assist with other conversions, the couple began creating conversion kits for friends and other VW owners. After increasing production to sell via the commercial market, the company moved to

Ashford Ashford may refer to: Places Australia *Ashford, New South Wales *Ashford, South Australia *Electoral district of Ashford, South Australia Ireland *Ashford, County Wicklow *Ashford Castle, County Galway United Kingdom * Ashford, Kent, a town ** ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, and then in 1972 to a former aircraft hangar in Woodley,

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

. The company would convert many ordinary vans into campervans, these vehicles included Commer Standard and a Commer Super,

Ford Transit The Ford Transit is a family of light commercial vehicles manufactured by the Ford Motor Company since 1965, primarily as a cargo van, but also available in other configurations including a large passenger van (marketed as the Ford Tourneo in ...

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

and two types of

: one with a fixed roof and one with a rising roof. The line was extended with the addition in 1977 of the

Leyland Sherpa Leyland may refer to: Places * Leyland, Lancashire, an English town ** Leyland Hundred, an hundred of Lancashire, England * Leyland, Alberta, a community in Canada Companies * Leyland Line, a shipping company Automotive manufacturers * Le ...

van and the combination of VW vans that was offered was constantly evolving. The company would branch away from camper vans into mini bus conversions and it was this side of the business that would ultimately see its downfall. A deal to supply a few thousand minibus conversions collapsed and the company was left holding stock that it couldn't sell. The financial burden of this overstocking would lead to its ultimate demise.

Legacy

Holdsworth Motorhomes created some outstanding campervan conversions, many of them panel conversions. Innovative use of space created comfortable conversions that combined a utilitarian ethic with a sense of romance and adventure. During its life the quality of the company's work was recognised by external motor companies such as

and most notably Volkswagen who gave the company approved status for its conversions.''Holdsworth Owners Club''
Holdsworth Owners Club The landscape that the company left behind was a healthy campervan conversion industry with many companies following in the wake of the Holdsworth Conversion Company. Richard Holdsworth is today the president of The Holdsworth Owners Club and as well as advising on

motorhomes A motorhome (or motor coach) is a type of self-propelled recreational vehicle (RV) which offers mobile living accommodation. Features Motorhomes usually have sleeping spaces for two to eight people. Each sleeping space is either fixed or conv ...

is now a novelist and at work on his second novel.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Richard Holdsworth's websiteHoldsworth Owners Club
Recreational vehicle manufacturers Defunct companies of the United Kingdom Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1968 1968 establishments in England Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1998 1998 disestablishments in England