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Nicholls Forecourt
© Bedfordshire and Luton Archives Service
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Your Story: Bedford’s Motoring Heritage |
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Nicholls & Son
The Nicholls family were carriage-builders who branched out into car bodies, before acquiring the Deane family carriage works on St Mary’s Square in 1911. The main showroom had been built for Deane in 1865. Nicholls gave up car body building in about 1927 to concentrate on retail sales and repairs, and opened additional workshops in Cauldwell Street opposite. The business was sold and transferred to Kingsway (off Cauldwell Street) in 1968.
Murkett Bros
Nicholls Showroom
© Bedfordshire and Luton Archives Service |
The four Murkett brothers (from Huntingdon) converted the former George Hotel at 3 High Street into a garage in 1911, moving the repair workshop to along The Embankment in1922. They had the only garage in Bedford High Street, and were agents for many makes of car. Murketts continued trading at Barkers Lane from 1959.
J Crawley & Sons
Joseph Crawley was an ironmonger, as was his father before him and became a motor trader at 4 St Mary’s Street in about 1914. His sons George, who died young, and Sydney joined him in the business. Sydney Crawley was chief test rider at Triumph Motor Cycles in Coventry, and competed in the Isle of Man TT. He went on to found Bedfordshire Autocar Company (see below), but kept control of his father’s old company, which also owned premises at 171-175 Tavistock Street from 1948. J Crawley & Sons was wound up after Sydney’s death in 1959.
Words: Richard Wildman & Alan Crawley
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