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Rare 1920s photograph of Standard Motor Company
16 January 2014
This wonderful image of the Standard Motor Company Works was brought in by one of our dedicated Friends, Jane Gammie, who has been assisting in the archives for the past few years. Jane noticed the image in an old family book, one for boys who had an interest in motoring.
The Standard Motor Company began in 1903 at small premises of Fleet Street, but soon after moved to larger premises on Much Park Street. In late 1906 they moved to the factory you see in the picture, formerly used by Enoch John West who made ‘Progress’ cycles and motors. The factory was situated on the corner of Cash’s Lane and Foleshill Road, where Quick Fit and Magnet Bathrooms are now located. If you look closely at the image, you can just see the bridge on Cash’s Lane sloping upwards on the far right hand side.
The image states that the image was dated 1922. If true, then Standard did not remain there much longer, as following the Great War, they developed their factory at Canley, eventually becoming a huge site until closure in 1980. Standard were a massive company in their day, known for creating popular family saloons such as the ‘Vanguard’ model, introduced in 1947. Adopting the ‘Triumph’ name in 1945, the company became known as ‘Standard-Triumph’, and turned out many famous Triumph models including the ‘Dolomite’, ‘Stag’, ‘Spitfire’, and ‘TR’ series.