Bremer car at Vestry House Museum, Walthamstow

Frederick William Bremer (12 July 1872 in

Stepney Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appli ...

, London – 1941 in Walthamstow, England) was a British gasfitter,

plumber A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable (drinking) water, and for sewage and drainage in plumbing systems.

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

and inventor recognised as the man who built the first petrol-fuelled car in Great Britain in 1892.

Bremer car

A gas-fitter and plumber by trade, Frederick is remembered for building (with assistant Tom Bates) the first British four-wheeled motor car with an internal combustion engine in 1892 (claimed in 1912 by the British magazine ''Motor''). In 1894 he took his car on the roads of Walthamstow, his home town. After completing the car Bremer moved on to other projects including a four-cylinder car in 1894 which has not survived to the present day. Bremer also operated a series of small businesses, including the Bremer Engineering Company, and took out patents, which included one for improved gears for motor carriages. Frederick married Annie Elizabeth Garner on 22 April 1916, despite the marriage certificate listing him as Frederick Brewer, and his father as Gerberd Brewer. In 1933 Bremer donated his car to the

Vestry House Museum Vestry House Museum is a history museum in Walthamstow focusing on the heritage of the local area. The collection includes various artefacts dating from the Victorian era to the 20th century, including numerous archived documents and photograp ...

in Walthamstow, where it can still be seen. In 1964 the Bremer Car was entered into the

London to Brighton Veteran Car Run The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run is the world's longest-running motoring event, held on a course between London () and Brighton (), England. To qualify, participating cars must have been built before 1905. It is also the world's largest ...

enlisted as car number 1, but the crankshaft broke after . The next year, again as car number 1, it completed the course in just under eight hours. Bremer died in 1941 and is buried at St Mary's Church in Walthamstow along with his wife Annie.

Legacy

Frederick Bremer School Frederick Bremer School is a coeducational secondary school in Walthamstow, East London. It has been rated good in its most recent Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial d ...

, a specialist engineering college named after Bremer, opened in September 2008. The school replaced

Warwick School for Boys Warwick School for Boys was an all-boys school in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. Warwick was one of only two boys' schools in the Borough. The school had two sites (north and south). The north site was a combination of two Victorian buildi ...

and

Aveling Park School Aveling Park School was a mixed secondary school situated on Aveling Park Road, Walthamstow which educated up to 600 pupils. In the early 1970s it was called William Fitt Junior High School and was a feeder school to McEntee, Walthamstow Girls, an ...

References

External links

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Frederick Bremer School Home Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bremer, Frederick 1872 births 1941 deaths Engineers from London Gasfitters British plumbers People from Stepney

Bremer car

Legacy

See also

References

External links