Abbey Coachworks

Abbey Coachworks ; Wingham Martin Walter
legal form	Limited Company
founding	1930
resolution	1939
Seat	London , UK
management	WH Terry, DHB Power
Branch	Body shop

Aston Martin 15/98 Open Sports Tourer with development of Abbey Coachworks

Abbey Coachworks Ltd. (later: Wingham Martin Walter ) was a British body manufacturer that manufactured standardized bodies for mid-range automobiles in the 1930s.

Company history

Abbey Coachworks was founded by WH Terry and DHB Power. In the late 1920s, Terry and Arthur Compton owned the London bodywork manufacturer Compton Sons & Terry . Compton left the company in 1930 and founded AP Compton Ltd. in Hanwell . Terry formed together with Power and some former employees of Compton Sons & Terry their own company, which traded as Abbey Coachworks. Abbey was based in London, but changed plants several times within the city.

Abbey Coachworks designed and manufactured mainly sporty two-door vehicles for mid-range chassis ("mainstream chassis"). WH Terry was responsible for the design. Usually, they were commissioned in large numbers by British car dealers, and some of the manufacturers also included the Abbey versions in their official catalogs. The company received its first order in 1930 from London-based Wolseley dealer Eustace Watkins , who ordered sports coupes based on the Wolseley Hornet . In 1932, two new sports car types ( Abbey Special and Abbey Falcon ) on Hornet chassis followed, as well as an open and closed two-seater based on the MG Magna , which was offered at a price of £ 345. The design was considered attractive, the craftsmanship was described as solid. In the following years Abbey produced similarly designed special versions for the Morris 10-4 , the Vauxhall Light Six and the Ford Eight .

In 1937 Abbey took over the competitor Martin Walter Ltd. , which was known for the production of convertibles and was mainly represented on the market under the established brand name Wingham. Abbey then changed the company name to Wingham Martin Walter , probably in the expectation that it would be associated with a gain in prestige. In the following year the company was represented at several exhibitions under a new name; Sports cars based on Daimler and Delage chassis were shown here, which were positioned in a higher market segment than Abbey's previous designs. However, no lasting success could be achieved here. With the outbreak of war, the body production at Abbey and Wingham Martin Walter ended. After the end of the war it was not resumed.

In 1943 the Abbey Panel and Sheet Metal Company was founded in Nuneaton ( Warwickshire ) . There is no connection to Abbey Coachworks.

Since 1990 the name Abbey Coachworks has been used by an automobile dealer in Wembley. There is no relationship whatsoever with the body manufacturer of the 1930s.

literature

Nick Walker: A – Z of British Coachbuilders 1919–1960 . Shebbear 2007 (Herridge & Sons Ltd.) ISBN 978-0-9549981-6-5 .

Web links

Commons : Abbey Coachworks - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

^ ^A ^b ^c Nick Walker: A – Z of British Coachbuilders 1919–1960 . Shebbear 2007 (Herridge & Sons Ltd.) ISBN 978-0-9549981-6-5 , p. 72.
↑ ^a ^b Motorsport Magazine, Issue 4/1932, p. 38.
↑ Article on Abbey Coachworks in: Motorsport Magazine, Issue 5/1932, p. 300; reproduced on the website www.motorsportmagazine.com (accessed on July 27, 2015).

[Walker-1] A ^b ^c Nick Walker: A – Z of British Coachbuilders 1919–1960 . Shebbear 2007 (Herridge & Sons Ltd.) ISBN 978-0-9549981-6-5 , p. 72.

[MS4-32-2] Motorsport Magazine, Issue 4/1932, p. 38.

[3] Article on Abbey Coachworks in: Motorsport Magazine, Issue 5/1932, p. 300; reproduced on the website www.motorsportmagazine.com (accessed on July 27, 2015).