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H. J. Mulliner: Difference between revisions

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'''H. J. Mulliner & Co.''' is a well-known British coachbuilder who traces their history to 1760, building coaches for the Royal Mail in Northampton. Mulliner now is the personal commissioning department for [[Bentley Motors Limited|Bentley]].  
'''H. J. Mulliner & Co.''' is a well-known British coachbuilder. The Mulliner family can trace their coachbuilding history back to 1760, building coaches for the Royal Mail in Northampton. Mulliner now is the personal commissioning department for [[Bentley Motors Limited|Bentley]].  


There were at one time four separate companies trading with the name Mulliner, all seem to have descended from the original family: '''Arthur Mulliner''' based in Northampton; '''Mulliner''' based in Liverpool who also opened a showroom in Brook Street, Mayfair, London; '''H.J. Mulliner''' who bought the Mayfair showroom; and '''Mulliners''' of Birmingham.
There were at one time four separate companies trading with the name Mulliner, all seem to have descended from the original family:  


Mulliners of Northampton and A.G. Mulliner of Liverpool joined, founding Mulliner London Ltd. They were taken over by Henry Jervis Mulliner. He founded H.J. Mulliner & Co. in the Mayfair area of London were the factory was set up. The location was convenient as his clients, the nobility could afford his services.
*'''Arthur Mulliner''' based in Northampton;
*'''Mulliner''' based in Liverpool who also opened a showroom in Brook Street, Mayfair, London jointly with Arthur Mulliner trading as '''Mulliner (London) Ltd.''';
*'''H.J. Mulliner''' who bought the Mayfair showroom;
*'''[[Mulliners (Birmingham)|Mulliners''' of Birmingham]].  


[[Rolls-Royce Limited|Rolls-Royce]] acquired Mulliner and [[Park Ward]] and merged them into [[Mulliner Park Ward]] in 1961.
==History==
Henry Jervis Mulliner founded H.J. Mulliner & Co. in 1900 in the Mayfair area of London where the factory was set up. This was probably the premises previously occupied by Mulliners (London) Ltd. The location was convenient as his clients, the nobility could afford his services. One of the early clients was [[C.S. Rolls]] who had a body built on a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost for his own use.


==Arthur Mulliner==
In 1906 the works moved out of Mayfair to Chiswick and shortly afterwards H.J. Mulliner sold his interest in the company to John Croall and retired. The family connection was maintained as Croall employed H. J. Mulliner's brother in law Frank Piesse to run the company.
Arthur H Mulliner was the son of F Mulliner who set up the original Mulliner company making mail coaches in Northampton. Arthur H's son Arthur Felton Mulliner (born 1859) took the company into the construction of motor car bodies and by 1900 they had built over 150 mainly on [[Daimler Motor Company|Daimler]] cars. In 1907, as well as the Northampton works, a new sales office and factory was opened in Long Acre, London. Business boomed during the 1920s with orders for bodies on [[Armstrong Siddeley]] and [[Vauxhall]] cars being exhibited at the 1920 London Motor Show.  


In the 1930s although orders for the more traditional makers such as Rolls-Royce and Bentley continued, large production runs from the middle market makers were proving harder to get and in 1939 the company was sold to the car distributor Henlys who closed the coachbuilding business but kept the sales and marketing operation which lasted until 1976.
Although bodies were fitted to other chassis, by the 1930s virtually the entire output was being fitted to Rolls-Royce and Bentleys.


==Mulliners(Birmingham)==
[[Rolls-Royce Limited|Rolls-Royce]] acquired Mulliner in 1959 and merged it with [[Park Ward]] which they had owned since 1939 forming [[Mulliner Park Ward]] in 1961.
This company seems to have originated around 1896 and built a few bodies for [[Daimler Motor Company|Daimler]] before deciding the future lay in making large production runs for motor companies that did not have their own facilities. An early contract was gained from [[Calthorpe cars|Calthorpe]], then a booming company, leading to probably the entire output going to them and eventual close financial and corporate links between the two.


After Calthorpe failed in 1924, the managing director of Mulliners, Louis Antweiler, arranged to buy the coachbuilding company which was then renamed Mulliners Ltd. He obtained contracts with [[Clyno]] and [[Austin Motor Company|Austin]] for who he made many [[Charles Terres Weymann|Weymann]] style fabric bodies for the [[Austin 7]]. When the fashion for fabric bodies declined the business with Austin went but was replaced by orders from [[Hillman]], [[Humber (car)|Humber]], [[Standard Motor Company|Standard]] and [[Lanchester Motor Company|Lanchester]].  
==Arthur Mulliner==
Arthur H Mulliner was the son of F Mulliner who set up the original Mulliner company making mail coaches in Northampton. Arthur H's son Arthur Felton Mulliner (born 1859) took the company into the construction of motor car bodies and by 1900 they had built over 150 mainly on [[Daimler Motor Company|Daimler]] cars. In 1907, as well as the Northampton works, a new sales office and factory was opened in Long Acre, London. Business boomed during the 1920s with orders for bodies on [[Armstrong Siddeley]] and [[Vauxhall]] cars being exhibited at the 1920 London Motor Show.  


In 1929 the company went public. The main business was now with Daimler and Lanchester wherre they made the bodies for the cheaper range of cars with confusingly, Arthur Mulliner of Northampton making the up-market models. [[Alvis cars|Alvis]] was added to the list of customers.
In the 1930s although orders for the more traditional makers such as Rolls-Royce and Bentley continued, large production runs from the middle market makers were proving harder to get and in 1939 the company was sold to the car distributor [[Henlys Group|Henlys]] who closed the coachbuilding business but kept the sales and marketing operation which lasted until 1976.


During World War 2 they made bodies for military vehicles and troop carrying gliders.
==See also==
 
*[[Mulliner Park Ward]]
After the war body making for cars resumed with [[Aston Martin]], Armstrong Siddeley and [[Triumph Motor Company|Triumph]] joining the list of customers. [[Standard-Triumph]] had by then a shortage of body making capacity and this led them to buy the company in 1958.  The name disappeared in 1962.
*[[Park Ward]]
*[[Mulliners (Birmingham)]]


==References==
==References==
 
*A-Z of British Coachbuilders. Nick Walker. Bay View Books 1997. ISBN 1-870979-93-1
A-Z of British Coachbuilders. Nick Walker. Bay View Books 1997. ISBN 1-870979-93-1


[[Category:Coachbuilders]]
[[Category:Coachbuilders]]

Latest revision as of 10:17, 25 May 2010

H. J. Mulliner & Co. is a well-known British coachbuilder. The Mulliner family can trace their coachbuilding history back to 1760, building coaches for the Royal Mail in Northampton. Mulliner now is the personal commissioning department for Bentley.

There were at one time four separate companies trading with the name Mulliner, all seem to have descended from the original family:

  • Arthur Mulliner based in Northampton;
  • Mulliner based in Liverpool who also opened a showroom in Brook Street, Mayfair, London jointly with Arthur Mulliner trading as Mulliner (London) Ltd.;
  • H.J. Mulliner who bought the Mayfair showroom;
  • Mulliners of Birmingham.

History

Henry Jervis Mulliner founded H.J. Mulliner & Co. in 1900 in the Mayfair area of London where the factory was set up. This was probably the premises previously occupied by Mulliners (London) Ltd. The location was convenient as his clients, the nobility could afford his services. One of the early clients was C.S. Rolls who had a body built on a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost for his own use.

In 1906 the works moved out of Mayfair to Chiswick and shortly afterwards H.J. Mulliner sold his interest in the company to John Croall and retired. The family connection was maintained as Croall employed H. J. Mulliner's brother in law Frank Piesse to run the company.

Although bodies were fitted to other chassis, by the 1930s virtually the entire output was being fitted to Rolls-Royce and Bentleys.

Rolls-Royce acquired Mulliner in 1959 and merged it with Park Ward which they had owned since 1939 forming Mulliner Park Ward in 1961.

Arthur Mulliner

Arthur H Mulliner was the son of F Mulliner who set up the original Mulliner company making mail coaches in Northampton. Arthur H's son Arthur Felton Mulliner (born 1859) took the company into the construction of motor car bodies and by 1900 they had built over 150 mainly on Daimler cars. In 1907, as well as the Northampton works, a new sales office and factory was opened in Long Acre, London. Business boomed during the 1920s with orders for bodies on Armstrong Siddeley and Vauxhall cars being exhibited at the 1920 London Motor Show.

In the 1930s although orders for the more traditional makers such as Rolls-Royce and Bentley continued, large production runs from the middle market makers were proving harder to get and in 1939 the company was sold to the car distributor Henlys who closed the coachbuilding business but kept the sales and marketing operation which lasted until 1976.

See also

References

  • A-Z of British Coachbuilders. Nick Walker. Bay View Books 1997. ISBN 1-870979-93-1
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