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1901 French-built 10 hp 2-cylinder Decauville.
cluded that by the time Royce returned from
South Africa he was converted to the usefulness
of the motorcar and took a further step by
purchasing a Decauville 10 hp.
1902 was also a time of difficulty for Royce
Ltd. The company was now capitalized for the
huge sum of £170,000 and cranes had been
supplied at home and abroad in great numbers.
Royce’s sizeable business was now being
threatened by cheaper foreign competition
and the post-Boer War recession. Royce would
not compromise his quality and instead had
begun to think of diversification. It is unclear
whether the partners’ diverging paths were arrived
at amicably. Claremont’s considerable
voting strength on the Royce Ltd. board was
perhaps reduced by Royce’s even greater holdings.
But it is inconceivable that Claremont
could have retained his position at Rolls-Royce
until 1921 and kept up good family relations in
Manchester without full acceptance by Royce.
Buying the First Car
Royce’s choice of the Decauville might have
been influenced by two popular books: first,
Robert Moffat Ford’s highly detailed The Motor
Car Manual was published in 1899 and by
1901 was in its third edition of 255 pages.
Ford’s Motor Car Co. of 168 Shaftesbury Avenue,
London held the agency for Decauville
and the wonderfully named Eureka car; second,
the Badminton series Motors and Motordriving
compiled by Alfred Harmsworth
(later ennobled as Lord Northcliffe and a major
force behind the scenes at Rolls-Royce;
see also FL p. 6284) was published in April
1902 and was an immediate success. Rolls
himself contributed a chapter. In his own
chapter for the book Harmsworth singled out
three small cars in particular, the De Dion,
Darracq, and Decauville. It was a Decauville
10 hp grey tonneau that Royce chose, probably
in late 1902 or early 1903. It is not clear if
it was bought before or immediately after the
holiday in South Africa. Royce described it as
the “time saver.” The 10 hp model was
launched in France in late 1901 and intro-
duced to England in March 1902. Incidentally,
noisy though the Decauville might have
been, Royce kept his until at least 1906, two
years after his own make appeared. In these
early years, 1902–05, of Royce’s motoring he
recorded that he drove 11,000 miles.
There has been speculation that Royce’s Decauville
was originally owned by William J.
Crampton of London, and “Huntington
House,” Sawston near Cambridge, the electrical
pioneer and friend of Edmunds. However,
he was still in possession of his 10 hp in January
1903 when it was used in the Non-Skid
Trials (to test tires and chains for the then slippery
roads). By July 1904 his car, now with different
wings and thus probably modernized,
was registered A-1230 and he was again listed
with a 10 hp in 1905. A recent disclosure from
Crampton family papers shows that Royce’s
Decauville was one of the first four imported
in 1902, the others being for the agent Moffat,
a Mr. Kincaid, and Crampton himself.
Royce’s decision to make an improved car
soon followed and by May 1903 he had agreement
to proceed, so it is said, from Claremont
and the third director at the crane works,
Richard D. Hulley. He was on the verge of
creating one of the most famous names in engineering
history. Claremont had seen how
Royce had moved into cranes in 1894 and
now, contrary to the 1899 flotation prospectus,
was intent on making motorcars. This was
the time to distance himself and Claremont
seized it. In April 1903 he became managing
director of Glover’s when Edmunds became
its Chairman. Claremont did remain Chairman
of Royce Ltd. in a part-time capacity.
Glover’s were about to be ruled as a “benevolent
dictatorship” by “a strict disciplinarian
who used spectacular methods,” so one wonders
if Royce Ltd. workers had been Claremont’s
guinea pigs earlier!
©Rolls Royce
Owners Owners Club Club
Rolls-Royce Motors
Early Car Manufacture in Manchester
Legislation in 1865 had severely restricted the
use, and thus the development, of motorized
The 1900 Thornton tandem made only yards from Royce’s works. This seems to
have been inspired by the French-made Leon Bollée (Rolls had one) which was
also made under license in Coventry as the Motette. Thornton used Royce Ltd.
for electric motors so it is likely Royce was aware of this newcomer.
vehicles in Britain. Speed was limited to 4 mph
in the country and 2 mph in towns. In addition,
three people had to be with a vehicle, one of
whom walked out in front with a red flag. In
1878 a small concession permitted the attendant
out front to walk without the flag! It was
not until November 14, 1896 that what became
known as the “Emancipation Act” came
into force (now the date of the annual London
to Brighton Run). The attendant was dispensed
with and 12 mph was permitted.
Britain had already seen a huge rise in the
manufacture and use of bicycles and it was several
of their manufacturers who took advantage
of the new Act to design motorcars. There
were some advanced designs, such as the Lanchester,
but generally British makers were well
behind the French and Germans whom they
could only copy or buy engines from. Many
early makes were rebadged creations from
proprietary French components. No wonder
the French dominated the British market for
so long. Racing, too, was prohibited in Britain
which further held back development.
How familiar was Royce with the motorcar at
the time of the 1900 Trial for example or
when he began to make his own? Manchester
was then hardly full of motorcars, foreign or
locally made. However, many ventures were
springing up although none that would later
threaten Coventry’s position as the center of
the motor industry. Through his business contacts,
and magazines, Royce would have become
aware of fascinating developments
virtually on his doorstep. Many of these new
makers required bicycle-type chains and a
world famous maker of these was a local,
Hans Renold. Royce had assisted Renold on
manufacturing problems with his new roller
chains requiring accurate layout and presswork.
Cycle & Motor World (July 24, 1897, p.
569) noted that “Hans Renold invented a
silent gear chain for motor cars.”
The first car made in the city was claimed
to be the Holland, just one made in nearby
Longsight ca. 1895 by Frank Holland, an
March/April 2004 THE FLYING LADY 7267
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