The Arnold was one of the first

motor car A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...

s manufactured in the United Kingdom. It was produced in

East Peckham East Peckham is a village and civil parish in Kent, England on the River Medway. The parish covers the main village as well as Hale Street and Beltring. History The Domesday entry for East and West Peckham reads:- :'' The Archbishop himself h ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

between 1896 and 1898.

History

William Arnold & Sons of

, was an agricultural engineering company founded in about 1844. In 1895 they acquired a licence to build Benz cars. As the Arnold Motor Carriage Co. from 1896 to 1898. the firm built twelve cars patterned after the Benz but fitted with their own engines. Two Arnolds were exhibited at

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

in 1896. One Arnold from 1896 was fitted with one of the world's first self-starters, by electrical engineer

Herbert John Dowsing Herbert may refer to: People Individuals * Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert Name * Herbert (given name) * Herbert (surname) Places Antarctica * Herbert Mountains, Coats Land * Herbert Sound, Graham Land Australia * Herbe ...

. This was a dynamotor coupled to the flywheel, designed to assist the car on hills and well as starting the engine. Two Arnold cars survive. On 28 January 1896 Walter Arnold, of the Arnold (automobile) company of East Peckham, was summonsed for travelling at in a motorised vehicle, thereby exceeding the contemporary

speed limit Speed limits on road traffic, as used in most countries, set the legal maximum speed at which vehicles may travel on a given stretch of road. Speed limits are generally indicated on a traffic sign reflecting the maximum permitted speed - expre ...

for towns of . He had been caught by a policeman who had given chase on a bicycle. He was fined 1 shilling plus costs, the first speeding fine in England, and thus became the first person to be convicted of

speeding Speed limits on road traffic, as used in most countries, set the legal maximum speed at which vehicles may travel on a given stretch of road. Speed limits are generally indicated on a traffic sign reflecting the maximum permitted speed - expres ...

in the UK.US History, Criminal Justice, The first speeding ticket.
BBC Radio 4, The Eureka Years, by Adam Hart Davis
/ref>National Motoring Museum – Motoring firsts
/ref>

References

Other sources

"Arnold", in G.N. Georgano, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars 1885–1968 (New York: E.P. Dutton and Co., 1974).

External links

Photo
of one of the two surviving Arnold cars 1890s cars Veteran vehicles Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of England Companies based in Kent Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1896 Cars introduced in 1896 {{Veteran-auto-stub

History

See also

References

Other sources

External links