Whites of Grimsby - Triumph car dealer 66

The feature business in this post is Whites of Grimsby Ltd who were a Standard Triumph car dealer based in Grimsby.

Whites after the 1959 alterations

Long term distributors

Whites were distributors for Standard Triumph cars for a long time. I believe they first held the franchise in 1922.  Frank White entered the motor trade after leaving the Royal Flying Corps in 1919. Later joined by Tony White who had completed his apprenticeship with the Standard Motor Co Ltd and served in the Army.

Whites before the 1959 alterations

The business initially started in a building later used by Richard Carr.  They then moved to another site which were continually developed and extended reaching approx 20,000 sq ft by 1959.

Whites after the 1959 alterations at night

The company was dissolved in 1990.

Some adverts

Triumph 1300 advert by Whites of Grimsby Ltd

Triumph Spitfire Mark 3 advert by Whites of Grimsby Ltd

Triumph 1300 advert by Whites of Grimsby Ltd

Triumph 1300TC advert by Whites of Grimsby Ltd

Triumph Vitesse Mk2 advert by Whites of Grimsby Ltd

Driving schools supplier

Whites of Grimsby supplied a fleet of Heralds to Lindsay Driving School as can be seen in this photo taken at Whites service station at Toothill..

Triumph dealers in Grimsby

April 1951:
Roland C Bellamy Ltd, St Mary's Gate
Fred W Wood Ltd, 24a Bull Ring

October 1955:
Whites Garage Ltd, St Mary's Gate        Distributor
Dolans Garage Ltd, 33 Louth Road, Sharthoe
M H Wyatt & Son, New Central Garage, Convamore Road

1959, August 1961, Feb 1965:
Whites Garage Ltd, St Mary's Gate        Distributor
Whites Garage Ltd, Convamore Road

September 1968:
Whites Garage Ltd, St Mary's Gate        Distributor
Roland A Bellamy Ltd, Doughty Road
J R J Mansbridge (G Y) Ltd t/a D H Bloomer Ltd, Eleanor Street

Roland A Bellamy Ltd, Doughty Road
Jaguar Distributors for Northern Lincolnshire, following on from Roland C Bellamy Ltd, Morris Distributors from 1920 and Jaguar from 1934.

The firm converted their demonstration Jaguars to run on Autogas (propane in the UK) in 1974 for cleaner burning, as the fuel is over 100 octane they went very well with only water vapour coming out of the exhaust! Installed the first self service Autogas stations on petrol forecourts for Total and BP 1980's. They went on to put Autogas on all their petrol forecourts and had a fleet of LPG road tankers to supply throughout the north of England.

The business of Roland A Bellamy Ltd was sold in 1982?

March 1970, March 1972, March 1974:
Whites Garage Ltd, 95 Eleanor Street        Distributor
Roland A Bellamy Ltd, Doughty Road

May 1975:
Whites Garage Ltd, 95 Eleanor Street, DN32 8AG        Distributor Rover, Land Rover and Triumph
Roland A Bellamy Ltd, Doughty Road, DN32 0LS        Dealer Triumph

June 1984, March 1988:
Grimsby Motors, 415 Victoria Street

Grimsby Motors was a part of the Marshall Group of garages.  Marshalls had branches in Bedford and Cambridge.

Marshall Group advert from March 1979

May 1994:
Dixon, 415 Victoria Street, DN31 1PE

Plea for information

If you have any more information or recollections about Whites of Grimsby, photos of window stickers, dealer badges or sill plates etc please let me know. I can be contacted via the comments to this post or on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/stephen.weblin

Further information and sources

Link to the other articles in this series.

Link to a post about Grimsby Motors

Link to face book page: Triumph Car Dealers.

Link to my Triumph Car Dealers Flickr group .

I have a collection of Standard Triumph car dealer directories: http://vitessesteve.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/triumph-car-dealer-directories.html

Picture credits: The showroom images are from the Standard Triumph Review April 1959. The Triumph 1300 advert by Whites of Grimsby Ltd and the other colour adverts were all posted to Flickr; Marshall Group advert from March 1979 posted by Martin Spivey to facebook.

Grimsby Motors Victoria Street Grimsby - Triumph car dealers 66A

Grimsby Motors were a long established car dealer. As of 1936 they were Austin dealers with branches on both Eleanor Street and St. Mary's Gate.

Grimsby Motors Victoria Street Grimsby

Grimby Motors was a part of the Marshall Group who also had branches in Bedford and Cambridge.

Motor Sport sponsor

Grimsby Motors were a sponsor of some events for the Grimsby Motor Club.

Plea for information

If you have any more information or recollections about Grimsby Motors or the Marshall Group, photos of window stickers, dealer badges or sill plates etc please let me know. I can be contacted via the comments to this post or on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/stephen.weblin

Further information and sources

Link to the other articles in this series.

Link to post about Whites of Grimsby

Link to face book page: Triumph Car Dealers.

Link to my Triumph Car Dealers Flickr group which includes many photos of Standard Triumph garages etc from my collection and many other contributors .

I have a collection of Standard Triumph car dealer directories: http://vitessesteve.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/triumph-car-dealer-directories.html

Picture credits:  The Austin adverts were posted by Stiff on http://www.rodsnsods.co.uk/forum/chat/blog-thread-best-web-16392/page12

Mantles Garages Limited - Triumph car dealers 65

Mantles Garages Ltd were a Standard Triumph car dealer based in Bigglewade and are the feature business in this post.

Mantles Garages Ltd, Bigglewade

Some history

Mantles Garages Ltd, Bigglewade Chronicle Advert 30-09-1949

Mantles Garages Ltd was established by Ben Mantle and opened the Biggleswade garage in 1933.  During the WW2 the premises were requisitioned for the repair of aircraft parts.  Having started in Bigglewade the firm now operates in Royston.

Mantles_logo

Ian Mantle took of the running of the firm after the war.  Ian was involved in the development of touring caravans during the 1950's.  He was a rally and race car driver who campaigned Berkeley sports cars with some success.

Caravan towing record breaker

Triumph Renown stateside

An article in "The Globe" volume 39 no 5 from December 2013 was recently bought to my attention. The article is about a Triumph Renown originally sold by Mantles and that is now in California USA.

Well, Bill, we’re very sorry to hear about your mother, but welcome to the club, and thank you for this account of setting out on the road to Razoredge ownership. We can tell you that Mantle’sGarage in Biggleswade is still going strong, now in its third generation of family ownership. Your car would have been bought during the time when Ian Mantle had recently taken over from the founder Ben, who had started the company in 1920. Ian was a motorsport and rally enthusiast, who amongst many
other achievements earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records by towing a caravan around the Monza track in Italy for 24 hours at an average speed in excess of 70mph.

The firm’s current promotional video proudly shows the current owner, John Mantle, with a Mini they hold which they originally sold 47 years ago. Bill can top that!

Rear Window Sticker

Not just Biggleswade

Mantles had several branches. In the Rover Group era they had premises in Biggleswade, Cambidge and Royston.

Mantles Rover Biggleswade Royston Cambridge Sticker

 

Mantles Cambridge 2 June 1967 Cambridge News Advert

Plea for information

If you have any more information or recollections about Mantles Garage Limited of Biggleswade, photos of window stickers, dealer badges or sill plates etc please let me know. I can be contacted via the comments to this post or on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/stephen.weblin

Further information and sources

Link to the other articles in this series.

Link to face book page: Triumph Car Dealers.

Link to my Triumph Car Dealers Flickr group .

I have a collection of Standard Triumph car dealer directories: http://vitessesteve.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/triumph-car-dealer-directories.html

Picture credits: Mantles Garages Ltd, Bigglewade, Caravan towing record breaker and Mantles_logo images from Mantles website http://www.mantles.co.uk/ ; Mantles Cambridge 2 June 1967 Cambridge News Advert posted to flickr by Nivek.Old.Gold;

Swan Motors of Yardley, Birmingham - Triumph Car Dealers 23D

This very short article in my series about Triumph car dealers features Birmingham dealer Swan Motors of Yardley.

Swan Motors invoice 14 March 1961

Swan Motors, 1628 Coventry Road, Yardley, Birmingham 26 were Austin, Standard and Triumph car dealers at the time of this invoice in 1961.  Thanks to http://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/bedford-dormobile.htm the source of the image of the invoice shown above.

I have records from my collection of dealer directories that Swan Motors held the Standard Triumph franchise in October 1955, 1959,  August 1961 when they were said to be open 7 days a week, February 1965, September 1968, March 1970 until March 1972.

Swan Motors ran from the site for many years.  At one point it ran a hire shop and I can remember hiring an engine crane from them back in the 1990's.  For along time they offered MOT's.

A successor business called SAS Autos still has a connection with the old Leyland era in that it was a MG Rover dealer and is a XPart AutoService centre.  

Swan Motors of Yardley tax disc holder

I found this image of a Swan Motors branded tax disc holder on facebook.

Plea for information

If you have any more information or recollections about this garage, photos of window stickers, dealer badges or sill plates etc please let me know.  I can be contacted via the comments to this post or on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/stephen.weblin

Other Triumph car dealers in the Birmingham area

Link to a post about All Electric Garage .

Link to my post about P J Evans Ltd

Link to post about Cranmore Bros Ltd 

Link to Spot Garage (Northfield) Limited

Further information and sources

Link to the other articles in this series.

Link to face book page: Triumph Car Dealers.

Link to my Triumph Car Dealers Flickr gallery of images I have found on Flickr.

Link to face book page: Triumph Car Dealers.

Link to my Triumph Car Dealers Flickr group .

I have a collection of Standard Triumph car dealer directories: http://vitessesteve.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/triumph-car-dealer-directories.html

Picture credits: Swan Motors invoice 14 March 1961 from the oldclassiccar website: http://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/bedford-dormobile.htm

County Garage of Barnstaple - Triumph Car Dealer 64

The feature business in this post is County Garage who were a Standard Triumph car dealer based in Barnstaple .

It was reported in the Standard Triumph Review January 1961. A Triumph Herald in a beautiful floral setting outside the house of its owner, Mr. S. Harris, of Ilfracombe. The car was supplied by the County Garage, Barnstaple.

Triumph car dealers in Barnstable

From my collection of directories I have been able to compile details of the businesses that sold Triumph cars over the years in Barnstable.

1951:
Barnstaple Motor Co., The Square, BARNSTAPLE,
County Garage, Boutport Street, BARNSTAPLE.
West Regional Autos, Ltd., Newport Road, BARNSTAPLE.

1955:
The County Garage (Barnstaple), M and J Squire. Boutport Street. 'Phone 2286 (3 lines). Distributor 24hr service
Central Garages (Barnstaple) Ltd, Boutport Street. 'Phone 2060.
Hollowtree Garages, Newport. 'Phone 2176.

Central Garage - Barnstable North Devon Journal, 28 March 1934. Triumph Gloria

Central Garages (Barnstaple) Limited was established as a company 14 July 1949.  A liquidator was appointed to wind up the company 17 March 1995.
1959, 1961:
The County Garage (Barnstaple), M and J Squire. Boutport Street. 'Phone 2286 (3 lines). Distributor 7 day opening
Central Garages (Barnstaple) Ltd, 42 Boutport Street. 'Phone 4366 7 day opening

1965:
The County Garage (Barnstaple), Boutport Street. 'Phone 2286 (4 lines). Distributor
Central Garages (Barnstaple) Ltd, Boutport Street. 'Phone 4366
Fairways Motors (Barnstaple) Ltd, Newport Road. 'Phone 5191.

1968, 1970:
The County Garage (Barnstaple), Boutport Street. 'Phone 2286 (4 lines). Distributor
Central Garages (Barnstaple) Ltd, Boutport Street. 'Phone 4366

1972:
The County Garage (Barnstaple), Boutport Street. 'Phone 0271 2286 Distributor

1974:
County Garage (Barnstaple), Boutport Street. 'Phone 0271 73232 Distributor

1975: + Land Rover and Rover

June 1984 Austin Rover franchase
March 1988 County Garage (Barnstaple), 116 Boutport Street EX31 1TF. 'Phone 0271 73232

Demolished

County garage, Boutport Street, Barnstable was demolished to make way for Green Lane Shopping Centre. The photos in this section are both from https://www.barnstaplehistory.com/county-garage-boutport-street-green-lanes/

 The first 50 years a history

I have a copy of a copy of a booklet called the "the  first 50 years 1928-1978" the original of which was kindly lent to me.

Still trading

County garage, Barnstable are still trading as of 2018 they held several franchises for new car sales Dacia, Kia, Land Rover, Renault, Suzuki, Vauxhall

Plea for information

If you have any more information or recollections about County Garage of Barnstaple, photos of window stickers, dealer badges or sill plates etc please let me know. I can be contacted via the comments to this post or on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/stephen.weblin

Further information and sources

Link to the other articles in this series.

Link to face book page: Triumph Car Dealers.

Link to my Triumph Car Dealers Flickr group .

I have a collection of Standard Triumph car dealer directories: http://vitessesteve.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/triumph-car-dealer-directories.html

Picture credits: Triumph Ilfracombe from Standard Triumph Review January 1961; The photos in this Demolished section are both from https://www.barnstaplehistory.com/county-garage-boutport-street-green-lanes/ ; Central Garage - Barnstable North Devon Journal, 28 March 1934. Triumph Gloria - David Nicholl