![Villiers Junior](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Villiers_Junior.jpg)
Villiers Engineering was a manufacturer of
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, cruising ...
s and cycle parts, and an engineering company based in Villiers Street,
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...
, England.
Early history
In the 1890s
John Marston's
Sunbeam had become extremely successful by relying on high quality of production and finish. But Marston was dissatisfied with the pedals on his machines, which he bought in. In 1890 he dispatched his son Charles to the US on a selling trip, but included in his instructions that Charles must discuss pedal engineering with
Pratt and Whitney
Pratt & Whitney is an American aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies. Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation (especially airlines) and military av ...
in
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...
and come back with a high-class pedal and the machinery for making it. Charles said that the Villiers Engineering Co. was "the ultimate fruit" of his trip to the US, being impressed by the production system and the labour saving devices. He pointed out that "it was not possible to develop these at Sunbeamland, which had long been working on another plan, but it was possible to start them in a new factory".
As a result of the tour, in 1898, John Marston bought a small
Japanning
Japanning is a type of finish that originated as a European imitation of East Asian lacquerwork. It was first used on furniture, but was later much used on small items in metal. The word originated in the 17th century. American work, with the ...
works based in Villiers Street, Wolverhampton. Under the direction of Charles, the company made cycle parts for the Sunbeam company. As the factory was producing more parts than Sunbeam required, it sold components to other manufacturers.
1902 was a momentous year for Villiers. Firstly, John Marston sold the company to his son Charles for £6,000 on a loan against future profits. Secondly, it developed and patented the cycle
free-wheel, which every cycle manufacturer required. The production of free wheels reached its peak just after the Second World War, as the company produced 80,000 per week or 4 million per year.
Production pre First World War
Apart from the production of freewheels outlined above, the company produced its first engine in early 1912, a 350 cc
four-stroke
A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either directio ...
complete with integral two-speed gearbox. Later that year it developed a 269 cc
two-stroke
A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a Thermodynamic power cycle, power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being comple ...
(70mm bore and stroke) and the simplicity of this engine and attractive price made it a rapid success. During 1913 the Sun-Villers motorcycle was launched manufactured by the
Sun Cycle & Fittings Co.
By 1914 the Villiers 269 cc 2-stroke engine had been adopted by a large number of motorcycle manufacturers, such as the Allday (
Alldays & Onions
Alldays & Onions was an English engineering businessAlldays & Onions. ''The Times'', Friday, Jan. 14, 1916 Issue: 41063 and an early automobile manufacturer based at Great Western Works and Matchless Works, Small Heath, Birmingham. It manufact ...
),
The Royal Ruby, The New Ryder, the Bown-Villiers, the
Coventry-Eagle
Coventry-Eagle was a British bicycle and motorcycle manufacturer. Established as a Victorian bicycle maker, the company began under the name of Hotchkiss, Mayo & Meek. The company name was changed to Coventry Eagle in 1897 when John Meek left ...
, the Gerrard
Sparkbrook the Invicta (A. Barnett & Co), the Ixion, the Juno, and the Roulette.
In spite of the huge success of the 269 cc two-stroke, the four-stroke engine had not completely been shelved, as in October 1914, J.H Motors of Oldham announced two motorcycles, the No.1 fitted with a 2.75 hp Villiers four-stroke engine of 349 cc (74.5 x 80 mm bore and stroke), and a 2.5 hp two-stroke model using the Villiers 269 cc engine. Whether many of either model were made before war orders halted production in 1915 is unclear.
Other manufacturers known to use Villiers engines up to 1915 include the
Campion, The Hobart, the
Chater-Lea
Chater-Lea was a British bicycle, car and motorcycle maker with a purpose-built five-storey factory in Banner Street, EC1, in the City of London (now converted into flats) and, from 1928, premises at Letchworth, Hertfordshire. It was founded by ...
, the Diamond, and the
Excelsior
Excelsior, a Latin comparative word often translated as "ever upward" or "even higher", may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Literature and poetry
* "Excelsior" (Longfellow), an 1841 poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
* ''Excelsior'' (Macedo ...
.
Production during World War One
During World War One, in common with many firms not directly involved in making military transport, the Villiers factory changed to production of munitions, in particular fuses for 75mm shells. Companies engaged in war work still worked on new models anticipating the end of the war, with Villiers applying for 16 engine-related patents during the war. One particular issue was a generic problem – the fact that before the war most engines relied on German-made magnetos for ignition, which caused a major issue during the war. In January 1917 Villiers patented their solution to this problem – the flywheel-magneto, which became a standard feature of their engines.
Production in the inter-war years
Immediately after the war Villiers picked up where they had left off, with supply of the 269 cc engine, now as the Mark II engine with different method of attaching the exhaust. By 1919 the bikes that used the Villiers engines included the Excelsior lightweight, the Diamond (D.F.& M. Engineering Co), the Royal Ruby, the Wolf Lightweight (Wulfruna Engineering), the Carfield, the Ruffells, the P.V. (Elliston & Fell), the Sparkbrook, the Yvel, the P&S lightweight (Pearson and Sopwith), the Chater-Lea, the Campion, the Victoria (of Glasgow), the Hobart, the Olympic, the Ixion, the Bown-Villiers, the Wilkin, and the Saltley. The engine remained much the same, and continued to use a separate magneto, though it did have an oil pump to provide crankcase and piston lubrication via a hollow crankcase bolt – a design that Villiers had patented during 1914/1915.
![Villiers 300 cc engine 1926](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Villiers_300_cc_engine_1926.jpg)
The Mark III engine embodied some changes to crankcase and brushes in 1919/1920, and in March 1920 the new Villiers Mark IV engine complete with flywheel magneto was revealed. In May 1920 a new British Excelsior lightweight model was announced, this being the first motorcycle to show the new Villiers engine using the flywheel-magneto instead of a separate magneto.
In September 1922 Villiers announced the details of their new 1923 engine range,
["Three Sizes of Villiers Engine", The Motor Cycle, 28 September 1922, pp437-438] which included 147 cc, 250 cc and 343 cc engines. These engines featured a radial-finned cylinder head, with both the inlet and exhaust port being at the front of the engine, and they all had the Villiers flywheel-magneto. While the 147 cc relied on petrol-oil mixture for crankshaft lubrication, the two larger engines used a separate oil-feed system. The new 250 cc engine produced 25 per cent more power than the older 269 cc engine.
In 1926 Villiers introduced an even smaller engine, the 125 cc with twin exhaust ports and side-mounted carburettor, and in 1927 they introduced the 344 cc twin 2-stroke. Villiers were to go on to produce a wide range of single and twin cylinder 2-strokes primarily for motorcycle use. At the end of the 1920s they also started producing engines for stationary use, with the first model being the water-cooled WX11 and in 1933 the air-cooled Mar-vil. Villiers engines were also used in lawn mowers, for example the 147 cc engine was used in the
Atco Atco or ATCO may refer to:
Businesses
* ATCO, a Canadian diversified company involved in manufacturing, utilities, energy and technologies
** ATCO Electric, a subsidiary of the above company
* Atco (British mower company), a mower manufacturing com ...
mowers of the 1920s and in 1931 it was joined by a 98 cc Villiers engine, known as the Midget.
The Villiers company also had links to the
Seagull
Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, m ...
outboard marine engines, both of which owed their existence to
John Marston. The Seagull engines used the Villiers flywheel magneto, and a 'Seagull-Villiers' carburetor.
In 1936,
L. E. Baynes and
Sir John Carden
Sir John Valentine Carden, 6th Baronet MBE (6 February 1892 – 10 December 1935) was an English tank and vehicle designer. He was the sixth baronet of Templemore, County Tipperary, from 1931.
Work
Born in London, Carden was a talented, self- ...
, trading as Carden-Baynes Aircraft of
Heston Aerodrome
Heston Aerodrome was an airfield located to the west of London, England, operational between 1929 and 1947. It was situated on the border of the Heston and Cranford areas of Hounslow, Middlesex. In September 1938, the British Prime Minister, Ne ...
, launched the
Carden-Baynes Auxiliary, a light aircraft which was essentially a motorized
Abbott-Baynes Scud 3
The Carden-Baynes Auxiliary was the first motor glider with a retractable engine and propeller; it is known as the Abbott-Baynes Scud 3 when engineless. Both aircraft, built in the mid-1930s, were still flying in 2010 as pure sailplanes.
Deve ...
glider. This carried a retractable 249 cc Villiers engine driving a push-propeller and producing 9 bhp, and the fuel tank held enough to run the engine for thirty minutes. The 249 cc Carden-Baynes Auxiliary is believed to be the lowest-powered aircraft in the history of powered flight.
Production during the Second World War
During the war part of Villiers production was again turned to fuses for shells, with over 10 million produced, although they continued to make engines and cycleparts. Their engines were also used in small motorcycles designed for air drop with paratroopers – the Excelsior
Welbike
The Welbike was a British single-seat folding motorcycle produced during World War II at the direction of Station IX — the "Inter Services Research Bureau" — based at Welwyn, UK, for use by Special Operations Executive (SOE). It has the dis ...
and the
James
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguat ...
ML paratrooper's machine known as the Clockwork Mouse.
Post-war production
In 1956, Villiers produced its two millionth engine and presented it to the
Science Museum
A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in mu ...
in London.
In 1957 Villiers absorbed
JA Prestwich Industries
JA Prestwich Industries, was a British engineering equipment manufacturing company named after founder John Alfred Prestwich, which was formed in 1951 by the amalgamation of J.A.Prestwich and Company Limited and Pencils Ltd.
History
John Pres ...
, makers of the J.A.P. engines. In 1962 the company were claiming that:
"jointly the two companies produce a vast range of two-stroke and four-stroke petrol engines and four-stroke diesel engines from 1/3 to 16 b.h.p. These are the engines which power many of Britain's two-stroke motor cycles, scooters and three wheelers, and the great majority of the motor mowers, cultivators, concrete mixers, generating sets, elevators, pumping sets. etc."
Villiers manufactured a range of single and twin two-stroke engines (from 98 cc to 325 cc) for light motorcycle and vehicle manufacturers until the 1960s.
In the early 1960s, the company was taken over by
Manganese Bronze Holdings
Manganese Bronze Holdings plc (MBH) was the holding company of LTI Limited. The firm's sole business in its final years as a company was London black taxicab manufacturing through the LTI subsidiary.
The Manganese Bronze and Brass Co was fou ...
, and in 1966 together with
AMC
AMC may refer to:
Film and television
* AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain
* AMC Networks, an American entertainment company
** AMC (TV channel)
** AMC+, streaming service
** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company
*** ...
became
Norton-Villiers
Norton-Villiers was a British motorcycle manufacturer formed in the 1960s following the collapse of AMC. With the general decline of the British motorcycle industry, under a British Government initiative it was later combined with the remnants ...
, and in 1972 merged with the BSA group to become
Norton-Villiers-Triumph
Norton Villiers Triumph (NVT) was a British motorcycle manufacturer, formed by the British government to continue the UK motorcycling industry, until the company's ultimate demise.
Formation
Triumph had been owned by the BSA Group since 1951, ...
, which eventually went into liquidation in 1978.
References
Notes
Bibliography
*
External links
Local History site on Villiers
{{British motorcycle manufacturers, state=collapsed
Defunct motorcycle manufacturers of the United Kingdom
Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of England
Manufacturing companies based in Wolverhampton
Motor vehicle engine manufacturers
Engine manufacturers of the United Kingdom
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1898
British companies disestablished in 1966
1898 establishments in England
1966 disestablishments in England
British companies established in 1898
Carburetor manufacturers