Park Ward

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith with bodywork by Park Ward (1951)
Bentley Mark VI Park Ward Drophead Coupe (1949)
Bentley S2 Continental Park Ward Drop Head Coupe

Park Ward was a British coachbuilder founded in 1919 by William M. Park and Charles W. Ward , who worked together at FW Berwick Ltd. had worked, was founded. The company was based in Willesden (North London). In 1961 it went into the newly formed Mulliner Park Ward company .

Company history

After making bodies for a number of automobiles in the early 1920s, the company allied with Bentley in particular . In 1922 Rolls-Royce asked if they would like to participate in the construction of standard bodies for the small 20hp model . The project did not come to fruition, but such bodies were built for Rolls-Royce customers who exhibited a 40 / 50hp model at the British Empire Exhibition in 1924. From the mid-1920s, the company focused on Bentley and Rolls-Royce models.

In 1933, Rolls-Royce bought shares in Park Ward, and after Rolls-Royce took over Bentley, the company became the first choice for Bentley customers who wanted a body for their car. All-steel bodies were introduced in 1936 in addition to the bodies in composite construction. In 1939, Rolls-Royce bought the remaining shares in Park Ward and made the company a wholly-owned subsidiary.

After the Second World War , Park Ward continued the construction of special bodies in all-steel construction and was used by Rolls-Royce to build the factory bodies of their cars from the Bentley Mark VI.

In 1961, Rolls-Royce merged the brand with the newly acquired company HJ Mulliner & Co. to form Mulliner Park Ward . The shops were brought together in the factory in Willesden and the bodies for vehicles such as the Rolls-Royce Phantom V and the Bentley S3 Continental , the latter a further development of a Park Ward design, which eventually became available as Rolls-Royce.

In the 1990s, Rolls-Royce revived the Park Ward name for special versions of the Silver Spirit and Silver Seraph .

literature

Web links

Commons : Park Ward  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files