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JA Prestwich Industries, was a British engineering equipment manufacturing company named after founder
John Alfred Prestwich John Alfred Prestwich (1874 – 1952) was an English engineer and inventor. He founded JA Prestwich Industries Ltd in 1895 and was a pioneer in the early development of cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, '' ...
, which was formed in 1951 by the amalgamation of J.A.Prestwich and Company Limited and Pencils Ltd.


History

John Prestwich, an engineer, commenced manufacture of scientific instruments in 1895, when he was 20, initially behind his father's house at 1 Lansdowne Road, Tottenham,
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 ...
. By 1911 he had moved to new premises in Tariff Road, within the Northumberland Park area of Tottenham, London, an
which still exists as of 2015
Prestwich was initially best known for his
cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of Film, motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens (o ...
cameras and projectors. He worked with S.Z. de Ferranti and later the cinema pioneer William Friese-Greene. Circa 1902 J.A.Prestwich and Company began manufacturing motorcycle engines which were used in many motorcycle marques. The motorcycle engines were associated with racing and record success and were used in speedway bikes into the 1960s. Prestwich also made engines for aeroplanes. In 1919 Prestwich formed Pencils Limited to exploit his invention of new machinery and the company made Master Pencils, also in Tariff Road. In the nineteen thirties engine production increasingly focused on small industrial and agricultural engines. During WWII Prestwich produced around 240,000 industrial petrol engines in support of the war effort, together with millions of aircraft parts, fuses, etc. In 1951 the assets of J.A.Prestwich and Company Limited and Pencils Ltd were taken over by J.A.Prestwich Industries Limited which was registered on 23 April 1951 and floated on the London Stock Exchange shortly after. By 1957 practically all the shares in the company had been acquired by Villiers Engineering Company Limited of Wolverhampton, which also made motorcycle and industrial engines. The engineering works in Northumberland Park closed in 1963 and J.A.Prestwich Industries Limited was liquidated in 1964. Papers, photographs and publicity material relating to the company are held at the Bruce Castle Museum, Tottenham and the Science Museum Library & Archives at the Science Museum at Wroughton.


Products


Motorcycles

From 1904 to 1908 complete motorcycles were produced from the development of the first overhead valve
motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruisin ...
engine to be produced in the UK. After that the factory concentrated on supplying its engines to other manufacturers, including Brough Superior, Triumph Motorcycles, A. J. Stevens & Co. Ltd, Enfield Cycle Co, Hazlewoods Limited, Zenith Motorcycles,
Grindlay Peerless Grindlay Peerless is a historic motorcycle manufacturer that operated out of Coventry, England, throughout the early 20th-century, specialising in racing machines including the record breaking 498cc Grindlay Peerless. Although a relatively s ...
and HRD Motorcycles, the forerunner of Vincent Motorcycles. Machines that incorporated its engines included the
AJS Model D The AJS Model D is a British motorcycle made by A. J. Stevens & Co. Ltd in Wolverhampton between 1912 and 1925. With production halted by the First World War AJS managed to develop the Model D into a popular sidecar machine and it was eventuall ...
, fabricated for the Russians in the First World War. JAP exported significant numbers of engines to foreign motorcycle manufacturers including Dresch and Terrot in France, and Ardie,
Hecker Hecker may refer to: * Hecker (surname) * Hecker, Illinois * Hecker uprising * Hecker (motorcycle), motorcycle window * Hecker Payss See also * Hacker (disambiguation) * Heckert Heckert is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: ...
and Tornax in Germany. Latterly, JAP engines (under Villiers control) were used in motorcycle racing, and most commonly speedway or dirt track. Various enthusiasts continued development of the engine into the 70's primarily for grass track, speedway and long track use. Variants included the use of 4 valve heads, twin spark plugs and early electronic ignition systems. Some were modified to run as alcohol fuelled engines primarily for speedway use. All the engines were 4 stroke. Use of the engine declined in the 70's as competing engines from Jawa-CZ and Weslake were developed giving better performance. File:JA Prestwich 'Jap' motorcycle 1946 SLNSW.jpg, JA Prestwich 'Jap' speedway bike, Sydney, 9 February 1946. File:Elstar JAP.JPG, 1948 Elstar JAP Grasstrack,
National Motor Museum Monorail The Beaulieu Monorail is England's first monorail, linking the National Motor Museum to the Beaulieu Palace House. the monorail line passes through the main museum building, allowing passengers to see the automobile collection from above. Origi ...
File:Rotrax JAP.JPG, 1950 Rotrax JAP Speedway,
National Motor Museum Monorail The Beaulieu Monorail is England's first monorail, linking the National Motor Museum to the Beaulieu Palace House. the monorail line passes through the main museum building, allowing passengers to see the automobile collection from above. Origi ...
File:1948 J.A.P. Speedway Racer.jpg, 1948 J.A.P. Speedway Racer,
California Automobile Museum California Automobile Museum is an automobile museum located in Sacramento, California. It has a collection of over 150 classic cars, race cars, muscle cars and early models displayed throughout of museum space. The mission of the California A ...


Aircraft engines

Early aircraft were light and basic, and needed a reliable lightweight engine for power. JAP motorcycle engines were often used in this application. A JAP engine was originally fitted in A V Roe's 1909 triplane, regarded as the first all-British aircraft, and for a while Prestwich and Roe had a partnership. JA Prestwich at first would deliver the same engine to the aircraft manufacturer, allowing them to make local modifications – mainly larger venturi tubes for the carburettor, to allow for greater air intake at altitude. In the late 1920s and early 1930s JA Prestwich produced various heavier engines under licence, including those for the UK market for Aeronca.


Motorcar engines

JAP engines were extensively used in cyclecars in the 1910 to 1914 period when they were popular with small manufacturers. In 1914 JAP announced a new engine made specifically for the cyclecar: a V-twin of 90mm bore and 85mm stroke (1082cc). The engine had a larger flywheel than the motorcycle engine and an enclosed magneto drive. The engine was illustrated fitted to a Morgan three-wheeler. In light of JAP's development of high-powered light engines for speedway, some low volume pre-war car manufacturers, including G.N., T.B., Morgan Motor Company and Reliant, used JAP engines to power their vehicles. This use of the JAP extended into motor racing after WWII. Most were used in specialist UK lightweight formulas, or more extensively in Formula 3 and Formula 2 racing and in
hillclimbing Hillclimbing, also known as hill climbing, speed hillclimbing, or speed hill climbing, is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course. It is one of the oldest forms of motorsport, since the firs ...
after developments by John Cooper. Cooper cars powered by JAP engines won the British Hill Climb Championship for eleven consecutive years. In its later life, JA Prestwich produced components for other vehicle manufacturers, including the cylinder head for the Lotus Cortina and the early versions of the Ford-based Lotus Elan engine.


Film production and projection

Cinematographic equipment including
camera A camera is an optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), with a ...
s, printers, mutoscopes, cutting and perforating machines, and
projectors A projector or image projector is an optical device that projects an image (or moving images) onto a surface, commonly a projection screen. Most projectors create an image by shining a light through a small transparent lens, but some newer type ...
, such as the Bioscope projectors for the Warwick Trading Company and Charles Urban, were produced by the company in the early part of the 20th century.


Railway trolleys

Early models of the
railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...
maintenance ganger's
Wickham trolley The Wickham trolley was a railway engineering personnel carrier built by D. Wickham & Co of Ware, Hertfordshire. This long established firm introduced their rail trolley in 1922 as a lightweight track inspection and maintenance vehicle. This was ...
, from 1948, used a vee-twin JAP engine. This drove through a large flat flywheel and a friction drive. In the 1950s other Wickham trolleys used the 600 cc JAP engine and drove through a clutch, tail shaft and bevel drive.


Utility engines

J.A. Prestwich also made small utility engines under the JAP name for a variety of uses, both stationary and in motorised equipment. They ranged in size from the smallest model 0 two-stroke engine to the much larger type 6 engine, and were used on rotovators, generating sets, milking sets, water pumps, lawnmowers, hay elevators and other agricultural machines. Most were 4-stroke, but there were some 2-stroke engines such as the model 0; they were quite reliable, and examples can still be seen at vintage rallies around Britain. While most of the engines bore the JAP name, some, such as the model 3 OHV engine made for Arthur Lyon & Co for their ALCO generator sets, had timing covers with the name ALCO Featherweight cast in. J.A.P. also had a factory in Chelmsford Road, Southgate, London, employing 40 to 50 people, where these engines were being made in 1955.


See also

* Lister Auto-Truck * Lympne light aircraft trials


References


External links


A brief history of JA Prestwich/JAPGracesguide.co.uk: JA Prestwich Industries company history
{{Authority control JAP Defunct engineering companies of England Defunct motorcycle manufacturers of the United Kingdom Aircraft industry in London Vehicle manufacture in London Cinematography Engine manufacturers of the United Kingdom Motor vehicle engine manufacturers Motorcycle engine manufacturers Motorcycle manufacturers of the United Kingdom Manufacturing companies based in London Manufacturing companies established in 1895 Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1902 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1964 1895 establishments in England 1951 establishments in England 1964 disestablishments in England Defunct companies based in London Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange British companies established in 1951 Formula One engine manufacturers British companies disestablished in 1964 British companies established in 1895