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The Car Lover’s Guide to London

By Chris Randall

2024 review by James Loveridge

To the motoring historian there are places that are instantly recognisable as connected with motoring: Brooklands for early motor sport; Cowley for Morris; Derby for Bentley; Stuttgart for Mercedes-Benz and Maranello for Ferrari are obvious examples. London, per se, does not have the same cachet but as Chris Randall says in his recently published book The Car Lover’s Guide to London it is full of such places, though rather ironically probably only by foot or public transport these days. To get best use out of this very interesting title you will need an up-to-date A to Z or similar, as the places named have their areas or streets given, but how to get to them is up to you.

Quite sensibly Chris only deals with places you can still see, so there are, inevitably, some places of former interest not included such as Napier in Acton, Allard in Clapham, Putney and Brixton and Earls Court where the Annual Motor Show used to be held. Obviously this is not meant as a criticism of this nicely produced and fully illustrated book, as there is nothing to see of these, but their one-time existence does contribute to the importance of London in motoring history.

The guide is divided into broad areas of the city, Greater London, but not the City of London itself though, of course, a great deal of the finance for the British Motor industry came from there. Quite clearly considerable research has gone into this book. The stories are told of institutions (for want of a better word) that serve motorists such as the Automobile Association and the Royal Automobile Club and of the headquarters for various manufacturers such as Devonshire House, Barclay Square House, 14-15 Conduit Street, 88 Regent Street and others. The origins of the London to Brighton run are also covered. Space is given to places where famous makes had their beginnings such as Chagford Street, Marylebone where the Bentley was born and 244 Alexandra Park Road in Hornsey where Colin Chapmen started his very successful business, behind the home of his then girlfriend Hazel.

Chris has cast his net wide, so we hear about other aspects, for example Lendrum & Hartman who were early importers of American cars, actual manufacturers such as Talbot at Barlby Road, North Kensington and showrooms such as Bristol’s at Kensington High Street. Even suppliers of parts for motor vehicle are not neglected and ample space is given to probably the most attractive (if you like that sort of thing), Michelin’s Bibendum Building at 81 Fulham Road with its mixed Art Nouveau and Art Deco design and its ceramic tiles of early motor racing. Mention is made of the places occupied by coachbuilders – Mulliners in Chiswick and Hoopers in St James’s, and by suppliers of other essentials such as Duckhams.

All in all, this 136 page, card bound, soft cover book published by White Owl, an imprint of  Pen & Sword Books of Barnsley (and Philadelphia!) is extremely good value and well worth its £14.99 cover price. Maybe it should be in your pocket (it is only 5 ½ inches by 7 ½ inches big) for when you next visit London – or to inspire a lunchtime visit if you have the misfortune to work there!

Publisher: White Owl Books (whiteowlbooks.co.uk)

Price: £14.99 plus postage.

Description:  Hardback published without a dust jacket.  136 pages.

ISBN: 978 1 39904 965 8.


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