Star Omnibus Company horse bus, 2010 Cobham bus rally

The Star Omnibus Company and its predecessor the Andrews Star Omnibus Company, was a

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

operator in London between 1892 and 1908.

Overview

Solomon Andrews entered into agreement with the London General Omnibus Company in 1886 to supply Andrews patent buses. The Andrews patent bus represented an improvement in design over the vehicles previously used.''Pictorial World'', 9 December 1886 They were so successful that by 1891, 26 buses had been supplied.

Andrews Star Omnibus Company

On 4 October 1892, a limited company was formed, Andrews Star Omnibus Company Limited, to take over the business of some buses which had been operating since 1888 under the name of S. Andrews & Son. The Directors were Solomon Andrews and his son, Francis Emile. The General Manager was William Alexander Perry. The company was based at 31-47 New Kent Road, leased from

Samuel Plimsoll Samuel Plimsoll (10 February 1824 – 3 June 1898) was a British politician and social reformer, now best remembered for having devised the Plimsoll line (a line on a ship's hull indicating the maximum safe draught, and therefore the minimum fr ...

. In 1892 the routes of the company were as follows: *1 Elephant and Islington, 23 buses *2 Camberwell and Kings Cross, 10 buses *3 Edgware Road and Gower Street, 4 buses *4 Camberwell and Victoria, 14 buses Later routes were added as follows: *5 Camberwell and Clapham, 8 January 1893 *6 Hop Exchange and Gracechurch Street, 22 April 1893 *7 Tower Bridge, July 1896 *8 Peckham and Dulwich, July 1896 *9 Farringdon Road *10 Walham Green and Wandsworth

Star Omnibus Company

On 4 March 1899 the Star Omnibus Company (London) Limited was formed to take over the business of the Andrews Star Omnibus Company. The directors were the same and William Alexander Perry was the Managing Director. By 1900 the company had 196 buses, and 1,797 horses. The company continued to expand and by 1902 there were 246 buses and 1,905 horses. In this year, there were negotiations with the London General Omnibus Company for it to take over the company for £222,750 (equivalent to £ in ), but the deal was unsuccessful. The company started to experience financial difficulties, reportedly because of the increase in electric tramway services in London. In 1905 the company purchased some motor buses, but these were unreliable and failed to deliver any profit for the company. The situation deteriorated, and the company withdrew the motor buses on 9 August 1907. In line with most other bus operators in London, there was a significant drop in profit, and the Star Omnibus Company was unable to withstand the competition from the London Underground and the tramway services. The company was wound up on 21 February 1908.

Surviving vehicles

When the company ceased trading, the brother of William Alexander Perry, A.J. Perry purchased some vehicles and three of these survived.

1875 Knifeboard Bus

This bus was owned by Bertram Mills Circus. It was then operated on a service between Chessington South railway station and

Chessington Zoo Chessington World of Adventures Resort is a theme park, zoo and hotel complex in Chessington, Greater London, England, around southwest of Central London. The complex opened as Chessington Zoo in 1931, with the theme park being developed alo ...

from 1944 to 1948. It was obtained by a descendant of Solomon Andrews, John Andrews in 1963. It was renovated and took part in the George Shillibeer 150th anniversary in 1979. It was given to the London Bus Museum in 2007.

1890 Three Light Garden Seat Bus

This bus was owned by Bertram Mills Circus. It was then operated on a service between Chessington South railway station and

from 1944 to 1948. It was sold to Car Mart, then George Mathey, and put on display at the Tyrwhitt-Drake Museum of Carriages at Maidstone. In 1967 it was purchased by Temple Smith of Chicago. Back from the United States of America in 1989, it was restored. It was given to the London Bus Museum in 2007.

1890 Four Light Garden Seat Bus

The bus passed into the ownership of Job Master Robert Barley, then

Dollond & Aitchison Dollond & Aitchison was one of the oldest chains of retail opticians in the United Kingdom, having been established in 1750. The business was absorbed into Boots Opticians in 2009 and stores were rebranded under the Boots Opticians name, comp ...

. Bernard Mills bought it in 1948 and then it went to Tim Richards of Gawsworth Hall. It was renovated and took part in the George Shillibeer 150th anniversary in 1979 and operated a service to

London Zoo London Zoo, also known as ZSL London Zoo or London Zoological Gardens is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828, and was originally intended to be used as a collection for science, scientific study. In 1831 o ...

. The Andrews family took it back to Cardiff in 1988 for restoration, and it was given to the London Bus Museum in 2007. It is on loan to the

Beamish Museum Beamish Museum is the first regional open-air museum, in England, located at Beamish, near the town of Stanley, in County Durham, England. Beamish pioneered the concept of a living museum. By displaying duplicates or replaceable items, it wa ...

References

{{History of bus transport in the United Kingdom Transport companies established in 1892 1892 establishments in England Former London bus operators