The Whitlock company, based in

London, England 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 major s ...

, started as a carriage builder in 1778, moved into the car industry in 1903 and finally closed in 1991.

History

Joseph Whitlock had set up his company making coaches and carriages in Holland Park, London in 1778. They must have been successful as by the start of the twentieth century they described themselves as "Coachbuilders to the Royal Family".

1900s

In 1903 a move into the car business was made when they started to sell the Whitlock Century. They had not built this themselves however, it was a re-badged car from Century Engineering (1885-1907) (

Century A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

), a manufacturer in Willesden, London, but they may well have built its body. In 1904 the range was expanded with (probably) engines and chassis from the French

Aster Aster or ASTER may refer to: Biology * ''Aster'' (genus), a genus of flowering plants ** List of ''Aster'' synonyms, other genera formerly included in ''Aster'' and still called asters in English * Aster (cell biology), a cellular structure shap ...

(

Ateliers de Construction Mecanique l'Aster L'Aster, Aster, Ateliers de Construction Mecanique l'Aster, was a French manufacturer of automobiles and the leading supplier of engines to other manufacturers from the late 1890s until circa 1910/12. Although primarily known as an engine mass ...

) company again probably with Whitlock's own coachwork. Aster manufactured engines in Saint-Denis, Paris, in single, twin or four cylinder configurations, and in 1904 they also produced a chassis. A separate company was formed in 1905 called The Whitlock Automobile Company which continued to market the Whitlock-Aster cars which, although well received, could not have been a commercial success as the company closed down in 1906. Meanwhile, another coachbuilder had been operating in Liverpool founded in 1870 by Jo Lawton and called J A Lawton and Company. It also turned to car body making and in the early 1900s opened a London works run by William Lawton-Goodman, Jo Lawton's nephew. Lawton died in 1913 and left the company in his will to his brother, leaving William with nothing, so he started a new company, Lawton-Goodman Ltd, and took over the defunct name of Whitlock and moved to new premises in Slade Works,

Cricklewood Cricklewood is an area of London, England, which spans the boundaries of three London boroughs: Barnet to the east, Brent to the west and Camden to the south-east. The Crown pub, now the Clayton Crown Hotel, is a local landmark and lies north- ...

, north London. Two new models were announced, initially called Lawtons but rapidly changing to Whitlock. Before production could be established war broke out.

First World War

During the war years the company concentrated on building ambulances on both its own and other makers' chassis and fuselages for

De Havilland The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited () was a British aviation manufacturer established in late 1920 by Geoffrey de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome Edgware on the outskirts of north London. Operations were later moved to Hatfield in H ...

DH4 aircraft.

1920s

In 1924, a new range of cars was announced still using bought in mechanical components. The smallest was the 11, 12 or 12/35 built until 1925 and using a

Coventry Climax Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, racing, and other specialty engine manufacturer. History Pre WW1 The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocat ...

(or Coventry Simplex) engine of 1368 cc or an

Anzani Anzani was an engine manufacturer founded by the Italian Alessandro Anzani (1877–1956), which produced proprietary engines for aircraft, cars, boats, and motorcycles in factories in Britain, France and Italy. Overview From his native Italy, An ...

engine of 1496 cc. Larger was the 14, also called the 16/50, with a six-cylinder 1755 cc or 1991 cc Coventry Climax built from 1924 to 1926 and bigger still the 20/70 with 6-cylinder 2973 cc

Meadows A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artifici ...

engine made from 1926 to 1930. The latter car had a radiator very reminiscent of their near neighbours

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 ...

. William Lawton-Goodman died in 1932, but his sons carried on the business, turning to commercial vehicle bodies but continuing some car body work.

Second World War

During the Second World War the company returned again to making ambulances.

Post-war

With peace in 1945, the company seems to have concentrated on making mobile shops and ice cream vans, continuing to the early 1980s, after which it concentrated on repairs. In 1991, the lease on Slade Works ran out and the company closed. One Whitlock car is known to survive.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitlock (Manufacturing) Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United Kingdom Coachbuilders of the United Kingdom