Acknowledgements .
I wish to thank the following people for their help during ray research for this study;
Mr. Frank Beeden Son of the founder, many thanks for his excellent, help.
Mrs.Frank Beeden for her hospitality. High Street, Hardingstone.
Mr. Bert Reeve. Ex employee
Mr. Maurice Reeve his son. 9 Southampton Road. Northampton.
Mr. Roger Warwick Bus enthusiast 101 Broadway East Northampton, (Now writing a history of the United Counties Bus, Co., )
Mr. Alan Burman for photographs etc., 32 Coaching Walk, Westone.
(employed by Northampton Chronicle & Echo and himself a keen collector of Information on all things.)
Mr. Reg. Cooper Ex employee now removed to Western Supermare,
Mr, Fred 'TItch' Smith, Ex employee. Ransome Road, Northampton. ,
Mr. Vic Ward, bus enthusiast, engaged on Church End. Shennington Beds.
rebuilding Lancia coach.
Mr, R. Lawson who travelled on Beedens, 82 Thirlstane Road, Northampton.
Mrs. Claydon, who travelled on Beedens, The Old Post Office
Piddington.
The Manager, Tyrecraft Ltd.. Ex Beeden's premises London Road,
Northampton.
Who allowed me access to the premises to take photographs etc.,
The Archivist, Delapre Abbey Record Office, Northampton.
For research into land sale documents.
The Borough Librarian Abington Street Northampton, - for access to
old newspapers and magazines. The Borough Museum Curator, Guildhall Road Northampton. for Information on the history of
Northampton during the, first half of 20th. Century.
Bibliography.
The Sociology of Britain between the Wars. A.G. Horstead King & Co. 1953
The History of Britain's Transport. Pamphlet by the Montagu Museum Trust Published by Entwistle Ward 1968.
Modern Economics, Pen J. Pelican 1965.
The Model Engineer. Magazine,
The Northampton Chronicle Northampton Mercury Co. Market Square
Northampton.
Papers pertaining to the estate of the late Miss Bouverie of Hardingstone, Northampton. Northampton & County Record
Office Delapre Abbey, Northampton
Main Study. Environmental Studies. C. E. Eastwood.
Title. The emergence and operation of the F & E. Beeden Omnibus Co. London Road, Northampton. 1905 to 1938
Aim.
My aim will be to explain in mainly historical and narrative form, the way this company, a pioneering concern in the dawn of the motorised transport era was created, emerged and developed during and following the 1914-18 war; now It affected the area economically. socially (cheap trips etc., for the working classes of the area.) and how its services provided many working people with the means of travelling into Northampton to work from outlying villages. I shall retell the story of the vehicles used quoting extensively from information received from the son of the creator of the company, one Mr Frank Beeden, who very kindly assisted me throughout my Investigations.
Method; I shall deal with the study under the following sub headings suitably illustrated with photographs, etc., where applicable.
Throughout the above I shall be explaining and concerning myself with the following factors,
(a) the personnel of the company- their stories experiences, and opinion.
(b) The social aspect. What did the Co. do for the people of the locality and beyond.?
(c) The physical aspect- the environment then and now.
(d) From Industrial archaeology standpoint, interesting premises and vehicles,
(e) Although the business was run as such, what did it achieve as part of a town then as now in the throes of great changes, socially, economically, physically, culturally.
Addendum. Any additional correspondence, or other related material not specific to the narrative will be included in this section.
The Story of the F & E. Beeden Omnibus & Charabanc Co.
In 1885 Frank Beeden was born into a working class family In St Andrews Road, Northampton. He was to become the founder of a company which was In its day, a pioneering company at the dawn of the motorised transport era, and which has been remembered in Far Cotton, in Northampton, and its environs with a warm nostalgia, by employees and public alike. Not everyone, of course, shares this feeling, as will be self evident In my later Information following interviews with people still resident in the area who were employed by the Company; but by and large most remember it as a company which provided a good service, and had a reputation for courtesy, reliability and dignity. Many residents of Far Cotton still remember the 'all weather motor coaches' which Initially were restricted to providing a service to Towcester and Newport Pagnell, but which In the period 1923-1938 provided extensive tours of the East, south east and south west coasts together with visits to the Malvern Hills, Matlock and Buxton, to name but a few. But what of the fortunes of this company, and why, with such a good head start in the earliest days of motor transport, did the company need to sell Its bus concession to the United Counties Omnibus Co. In 1938 ? Opinions vary as to whether the Company could have survived as a lucrative viable proposition until today. One comment made to me was 'it could have become the biggest bus company in Northampton if certain things had been done' And another' it's amazing that it survived as long as it did', With such conflicting views about a company whose origins already intrigued me I set about finding more information to establish what facts I could, and to solve the mystery about the company's sudden, (or was it gradual) demise until by 1938 the United Counties had taken over routes pioneered By Mr. Frank Beeden and his wife. How did it all begin and end ?
Mr. F. Beeden Sack Merchant.
This picture, a copy of a postcard used by the firm shows Mr. Frame Beeden, standing by the cafe of his first lorry; the occasion was an outing of members of far Cotton Working Men's Club Main Road, outside which premises the vehicle stands. This picture dates from 1910 and illustrated the way working class people travelled on outings then.
Prior to this Frank Beeden started his business in St. Andrews Road, with a horse and cart. He Married In 1904 and in 1905 Mrs, Beeden gave birth to Frank Beeden Junior, whose help and assistance has enabled me to piece together much of this study,
By 1910 with hard work by both himself and his wife it was possible to acquire a lorry, which increased enormously, his scope for work. Although mainly a Sack Merchant still, Mr. Beeden began to use his lorry more and more as a bus, placing rows of seats In the back, and later covering the back with a canopy.
Business prospered and by 1913 further vehicles had been purchased, and these are shown in the advertisement card which dates from about 1915, when he had pioneered certain transport routes into the county, ie. 'a service from the Plough Hotel, Bridge St. Northampton, where he garaged his vehicle to Towcester on Wednesdays Saturdays and Sundays,' One of these vehicles, the Napier charabanc was later converted to operation on gas instead of petrol and became known as the 'GAS BUS'
At the outbreak of war Frank Beeden had a regular bus service to Towcester was still acting very much as a carrier, and had built up a good business.
The Great War 1914-18.
The Ransome Motor Company.
It was in 1914 that the premises later to become the headquarters of Beeden's business undertaking, was built. This building was situated at the corner of Ransome Road and London Road, In Far Cotton, and was built as an engineering workshop for the Ransome Motor Co.,
The premises was very well equipped for the year it was built. They contained several power lathes,an electric blower and furnace, two inspection pits an overhead belt pulley drive which provided power off which equipment could operate. There were industrial grindstones and drills and facilities for charging a very large number of vehicle batteries. In the portion of the building for vehicle display (facing onto London Road) there were two large petrol tanks capable of holding several thousands of gallons of motor spirit submerged into the ground of the showroom, Above the showroom was a large room in which a hoist arrangement and a winch, allowed vehicles to be lifted in a box arrangement, from ground floor to first floor level to facilitate painting for example. The whole premises stood on a site some 50 yds by 30 yrds and had a small walled enclosure at the rear together with other store rooms etc.,
Munitions and Explosives.
For the duration of the war the premises were employed for the manufacture of war effort. I saw an original form found by me on a visit to the premises in 1971 when I took photographs of the Interior and exterior of the building as it appears to day, being used as & sales depot tyre and exhaust fitting works by Messrs, tyrecfaft Ltd., who purchased the premises from Mr. F. Beeden Jr. In 1970,.
The form itself a product of the Ministry of Munitions of War, is for returning information about employees for a month in 1913, who worked for the Ransome Motor Co on munitions'.
F & E Beeden Expand Buisness.
The War had a tremendous effect upon motorised transport, but this happened later in the war. At the outset anyone owning vehicles could obviously operate them at a premium and this happened to Beedens. During these earlier years of the war he purchased further vehicles and expanded his bus services to providing a service to Newport Pagnell and extending his Towcester run to Abthorpe and Wappenham. As the effects of the war began to indicate themselves (boots and shoes made in Northampton for the Expeditionary force In France, local industries turned over to manufacturing munitions etc.., for the war effort) so the demand for transport locally, grew; The bus services operated by Beedens allowed many people to come into town where industrial output was in need of increased labour force. The bus service helped to meet this need.
Mr. Frank Beeden Junior when interviewed about this period of the firm's activities said 'I was about 10yrs old at, the time and remember well, going up to London with my father to fetch uppers for Sears Boot and Shoe Co in Northampton. The roads were dreadful them and you had to be pretty hardy because the cabs were open to the weather; when it rained the windscreen didn't stop very much of it. Many occasions we were soaked through when we got home.'
Although business was very good during the war, and earnings rose with increased facilities for extra work caused by the war, the facilities for social enjoyment were pretty limited. One way the working people did enjoy themselves was to hire a charabanc or lorry, and with a suitable supply of ale in casks, take a trip out. But the petrol was strictly rationed, and an alternative fuel had to be found if people like Mr. Beeden were to meet various demands upon their vehicles.
The GAS BUS.
The demand was met in a rather ingenious way by a firm In Beeston, Nottinghamshire Called BARTON BROS. who were later to become founders of the well known firm of coach specialists "Barton Coaches." They hit upon the bright idea of running petrol engined vehicles not on petrol/air combustible mixture, but on COAL GAS/AIR mixture.
This was achieved as follows:
A large canvas gas bag was attached to the top of a bus and held down with ropes. From the forward end of the bag emerged a pipe (flexible) which carried the gas from the bag down to the carburettor. The carb, was modified by removing the butterfly valve so that instead of a throttle mechanism increasing or decreasing the inlet of mixture., one had a screw valve arrangement on the down pipe which the driver of the vehicle operated by opening or closing as the bus proceeded thus controlling the amount of gas to the cylinder head.
The idea was patented by Beeston Bros, and Mr. Beeden quickly saw it as the answer to his problem. He became the local concessionaire for this firm and through him, other local firms would be obliged to obtain this invention. A rival firm the Midland. Motor Bus Co., 9 George Row Northampton, acquired a bag and operated a gas bus themselves; ironically it was this Co, which competed with Mr. Beeden's service to Towcester.
A writer In the 1920 s in a local article is quoted as saying of the gas bus, 'It was an ingenious invention, which typified this pioneering era of motor transport. The bag held sufficient gas for a journey of about twenty miles at around but not exceeding 12 m.p.h. (this was the legal speed limit until the Act of 1930 ). The outward trip would be somewhat safer than the return trip, since as the bag emptied of gas it tended to act as a sail billowing in the wind and causing the vehicle below to be that much more unstable. I saw a gas bus in Northampton in 1913 with the bag threshing about wildly from side to side and the passengers leaning out of the open sides looking up at it rather anxiously, they had good cause to ;added to the rather unsatisfactory state of the road, and the heavy unyielding suspension of vehicles this additional hazard of the gas bag would do little to settle the nerves of a timid would be passenger. '
Despite the criticisms at the time and later, people were obviously glad to make use of vehicles propelled by gas combustion. The illustrations show firstly a picture taken from a copper engraving of Mr. Beeden's Gas Bus taking a party of Forces personnel, returned from France to recover after wounding in France, from Berry Wood Asylum (Now St. Crispin Psychiatric Hospital) for a trip in the surrounding countryside. The Asylum was taken over partially by the militia as a convalescent, centre for wounded troops. Mr. Beeden provided this transport for the militia on numerous occasions. Frank Beeden remembers his father saying 'they really look forward to their outing on the old gas bus.'
Secondly is seen an outing of working class people on the Gas bus, from a public house on the corner of Alexandra Street. On this rather poor print can be clearly seen the gas pipe looping down from the bag past the driver on its way to the engine.
Reference to the Gas bus was made in the Northampton Dally Chronicle on 14th September 1917 and this can be seen In the Newspaper archives at the Borough Library Abington St. Northampton.
Chassis From The Sinn Feiners. & New Premises.
In 1919 the Ransome Motor Co. for reasons which I cannot elucidate, went into liquidation. The premises built, only 5 yrs earlier with such fine equipment was up for sale.
Realising the potential of the premises as a base for bus operations and as a workshop for repairs and servicing of vehicles, Mr. Beeden purchased the premises 'lock stock and barrel.'
He then employed, several ex Ransome Motor Co. mechanics, and as his chief mechanic Mr George Warwick 'a gentle kindly big man, who was a first class engineer,' says Mr, Beeden.
Three years earlier the Sin Feiners had suffered at the hands of the British troops in Ireland, and their equipment, lorries and vehicles etc., of all descriptions, were then stored for future sale by auction.
The Irish Army had a quantity of LANCIA lorries of Italian manufacture which were known as the 'Rolls Royce of commercial vehicles of the day' Mr. Beeden was very keen on Lancias and travelled to Ireland where he purchased three Lancia lorries and a British Army staff car, a Crossley, all of which were transported to Northampton In 1919/20.
The Lancias were sent to Messrs Strachans and Brown In London, who were specialists in chassis work and body building, and who lengthened the chassis, building onto then bus coachwork. These were the first Lancia safety coaches which Beeden owned. Mr. Beeden was to continue with Lancias until he sold the bus concession in 1938. This_shows a copy of a paper cutting from the Northampton Daily Chronicle of 1927 and advertises 'one of the new lancia 26 seater all-weather coaches fitted with all the latest improvements' for Easter Holiday Tours.
The Army Staff car, the Crossley, referred, to earlier remained In the possession of Mr. Beeden until about 1959 -60 when it, was sold to a Mr. Rumsey of Slapton, Towcester, together with a Lancia open tourer charabanc registration - No. XI 1038. This latter was one of the Lancias originally purchased In Ireland and modified by Strachan & Brown.
The Lancia was seen again at a rally of veteran vehicles at Stamford Ball, Northants In the early 60s and on that occasion Mr. Frank Beeden Jnr. drove it around the park. He said 'it ticked over beautifully, and it handled better than I'd remembered. ' The event was covered by and reported in the magazine 'Buses Illustrated' whom I have written to seeking documentary evidence and information of this rally. The remains of the Crossley are still at Slapton. but the Lancia was resold to Mr. Vic. Ward of 70 Church End Willington Bedfordshire, who is now in process of restoring this fine machine.
On 13th February 1972, I visited together with Mr. Roger Warwick of THE United Counties Bus Co., (himself keenly Interested in local bus history which he Is writing up for a book) and Mr. Frank Beeden Jnr. Willington where I saw and photographed the vehicle. These photographs appear under the section of my study on vehicles.
By the year 1920 Mr. Beeden had acquired the old Ransome Motor Co. premises and had built up a fleet of buses to operate a service from Northampton to Towcester via Blisworth, and Northampton to Newport Pagnell via Hackleton and Piddington.
This photograph shows the proud fleet of buses circa 1920 standing outside the recently acquired premises In Far Cotton. Also clearly visible in this photograph are the tram wires overhead, and also the tram lines can just be seen in the left middle distance leading up to the Bridge Street level crossing. The bus standing at the crossing (which was a nuisance even then) also belongs to Mr. Beeden. (this photograph like so many others has been reproduced by kind permission of Mr, Frank Beeden with the printing facilities provided by Mr. Alan Burman Northampton Chronicle & Echo)
The T.B.R. Motor Omnibus & Charabanc Guide of England & Wales for August 1923 shows that the specific routes and daily, services as provided By Beedens at that time; were considerable in their scopes.
By 1922 the number of horsedrawn and mechanically propelled vehicles on the roads In Northampton under the following categories 'Hackney Carriages. Omnibuses. Carriers and carts and other Vehicles' had increased so greatly that the County Borough of Northampton drew up new Bye Laws governing the use of these Vehicles on the roads. This enactment which was ratified by the Minister or Health on 22nd February 1922, also required that drivers and conductors wear a badge issued by the local authority on which was printed or engraved the licence No. of that particular driver or conductor. Vehicles had also to be licenced by the local authority in whose area they operated i.e. The County Borough of Northampton.
Some other Authorities did like wise, but nothing was done nationally until the Act of 1950 came onto the statute book. This will be discussed later. Every year before licence renewal the buses and hackney carriages would parade on the market square for inspection by the local authority. Vehicles even then were under the Byelaws required to be in good condition:
'Section 22 states' a driver of a mechanically driven hackney carriage or omnibus shall not stand, ply or drive for hire unless every part of the machinery of such carriage or omnibus be in perfect order and under the due control of such driver .'
Up until 1925 Mr. Beeden, in order to run his fleet of buses and lorries as economically as possible, usually obtained his petrol locally and discharged it into the underfloor tanks In the showroom area of the premises in London, Rd. Realising the growing need for a commercial supply of petrol locally, to meet the demand from the public for motor spirit, Mr. Beeden had installed at the side of his premises 6 hand operated gravity feed petrol pumps. These were the first pumps in Northamptonshire and only the second in the whole of England. The photograph shows the newly installed pumps in London Road. Also visible is a Lancia Charbanc of the type purchased in Ireland and rebuilt by Strachans & Browns in London.
This shows a view of Ashfords Corner at the intersection with London Rd, in the early twenties. On the extreme right of the picture can be seen part of two Lancia Charbancs outside the main garage. The church like building in the centre of the picture was in fact a store used by Beeden for components etc., and the area behind the advertising hoardings was used to stand vehicles on and had an access road In Ransome Road. Again clearly visible in this photograph are the tram lines which went along St. Leonard's Rd and as far as St. Marys Church Cenotaph. Note that the tram lines did not run into the London Road past the bus premises.
This a picture of an AEC chassis converted to an_ omnibus was No. 19 in Beeden's fleet. Mr. Frank Beeden drove this in 1923 at the incredible speed of 12 m.p.h. to Towcester and return. The trip to Towcester (5 miles away) took in excess or 40 minutes. Mr. Beeden told me 'If I met 6 vehicles between Northampton and Towcester that would be exceptionally heavy traffic. More often than not I would meet perhaps one other vehicle. ' The Twenties saw the era of the 'piracy of the roads' as it was put to me by Mr. Beeden. He said it was quite common for other competing bus companies, amongst which were. Knights, Nightingales, Alchins, The Midland Omnibus Co., Alidays, and the Wellingborough Omnibus Co. (Later to become the United Counties) to use tactics which were unethical to say the least. Mr. Beeden said 'What they did was to sabotage your service by sending a bus out just before your own was due to leave. They then picked up your passengers and because we tried to stick to a proper timetable which people could well rely on, we were pipped at the post so to speak, by these acts of piracy really. There were no regulations about timetables and the twenties was a decade of 'free for all ' on the roads as far as passenger transport was concerned. Looking back it was a very trying time for people like ourselves who tried to do things In a reasonable manner.'
But it must be remembered that in the twenties Beedens business was doing very. The new petrol pumps were a great success, and encouraged a great deal of retail trade. The workshops were capable of repairing and rebuilding engines and chassis. Frequently such major jobs as relining clutches, reboring engines, and making the white metal big end bearings were carried out in the workshops. And good facilities were needed too because not only were Beedens providing local services to Towcester and Newport Pagnell, but of course they were available for the original trade of carrying by lorry, and. more and. more were offering trips locally, and trips to the coast.
Motor Coach Tours from Northampton. In the booklet entitled 'Beeden's Motor Tours from Northampton. Lancia Safety Coaches' produced as a publicity pamphlet and also for information was printed In 1929. Amongst the tours listed are the following, which show that the extent of the touring side of the business was very considerable;
Tour number.
Mr. Beeden then told me that on one trip to the east coast a Lancia coach, carrying holiday makers, and travelling with a sister coach, was unable to hold itself on the brakes when it the driver left it for a few moments to talk to his colleague driving the other coach. To his horror he saw his coach, complete with passengers rolling backwards; the wheels must have turned slightly for it ran onto the grass verge and hit a tree growing in the hedgerow. It had traveled some 15 ft before being stopped by the tree and although the passengers were somewhat shaken no one was injured. The driver said that the ratchet on the brake lever must have slipped thus releasing the brakes, for he remembered applying it before leaving the driving position. Mr. Beeden said that had it not been for the tree stopping the coach it could have tipped over into the field below some 10 feet down. This would have been a nasty accident.
Out of Chaos Order. The Road Traffic Act 1930.
It was inevitable that sooner or later the Government through legislation, would have to control the chaotic situation which reigned on the motorised transport front, and indeed on the roads generally. Local initiative was no longer sufficient or even desirable to control the problem which was now nation wide. The Act which consisted of 6 parts, and. 123 sections was very composite indeed, covering:
One; Classification of motor vehicles. Sections under this part dealt with Licensing of drivers, Provisions as to driving and Offences in connection therewith. Provisions as to weight and weighing of motor vehicles. Accidents.
Parts Two, Three & Four Provisions against third party risks arising out of the use of motor vehicles. Amendments of law relating to highways. Regulation of public service vehicles. Licensing of same. Road Service licences. Drivers' & Conductors Licences. General provisions as to licenses. Financial provisions.
Part Five; Running of public service vehicles by local authorities.
Part Six; Administrative re arrangements and provisions as to regulations.
The five schedules related to; limits of speed. Applications and enquiry provisions re Section 46 (The power to restrict use of vehicles on specified roads) Traffic areas In England and Scotland. Provisions for the payment of compensation to officers. And the list of previous enactments repealed by this act.
Effects of the Act on local bus operators.
This Act established a composite code of legislation on roads and road vehicles. It set up Traffic areas In England and Wales,the area office under which Mr. Beeden came was the East Midland Traffic Commissioner at Nottingham. By this act operators were required;
Vehicle examiners travelled to local operators to examine their vehicles, and on this examination depended whether the operator could continue his services.
If as often happened to many operators their vehicles failed to meet the requirements of the new law, then they were effectively finished. It was as a result of this legislation that many small bus companies sold their concession for routes, to the United Counties Omnibus Co., when approaches by them Beedens were approached on several occasions but it was not until 1938 that Mr. Beeden in consultation with his family, decided to sell.
The Thirties
This was the period of the 'depression ' in England, and was a time of considerable austerity for any community. In Northampton, as in other industrial areas, the effects of a period of economic stagnation were in evidence. The Boot & Shoe Industry, the main Industry of the town suffered inevitably from the reduction in demand occasioned by the effects of unemployment; Investment fell off and so capital equipment for production was not replaced. The whole economic system throttled back. In some sectors, notably the public sector some wages and salaries were in fact cut as with the Geddes Acts and the police force.
Far Cotton, and to an extent Northampton in general housed a large number of families whose breadwinner worked on the railway. In working for the railways In the thirties one had a certain degree of security of tenure. Also various working men's clubs and public houses In the town organised to provide some social amenities in this bleak period.
For those who could afford it, Beedens. In addition to other bus companies, provided a means of escaping temporarily from the harsher realities of the time, by laying on trips, at reasonable prices, for mainly working class people and their families. This was not done as an act of charity, but the service was there, and having his base In Far Cotton, a predominantly working class area, where lived mostly railwayman or foundry-men and their families, Beeden was kept busy with trips over and above his normal services which by now had been extended to the following;
Northampton to Hardingstone Hackleton, Horton, Stoke Goldington,
Newport Pagnell.
Northampton to Milton, Blisworth, Towcester, Abthorpe, Wappenham.
Northampton to Milton-Blisworth, Shutlanger, Heathencote, Paulerspury,
Whittlebury.
Northampton to Hardingstone, Hackleton, Piddington, Hackleton, Horton,
Gates.
United Counties bought out.
In 1931 the united counties Omnibus Co., came under the control of the Tilling group of bus companies,, who acquired financial control of United Counties. The Beeden routes were later to come under the control of this group,
1930 - Beeden installs the first electric in town.
As mentioned earlier, Mr. Beeden In 1923 had Installed the first petrol pumps for commercial sales, in Northampton, these being second only in the country to those of the automobile Association installed in 1922 at Aldermasion.
In 1930 business had increased so much that it was time again to expand. Mr. Beeden couldn't extend his existing petrol pump forecourt next to the main building as In the meantime he had sold a piece of the land to the Electricity Company for the building of a small sub station. Instead he purchased from the Bouveries of Hardingstone, who owned the land, an area between his existing premises and the wall of Delapre abbey with a frontage onto London Road.
Here he had built probably the best pull in patrol station in the town then equipped, with electrically operated pumps. One ex employee interviewed said it cost Mr. Beeden £2,000. but I could not confirm this.
The extract from the Chronicle & Echo dated 15th December 1957 entitled 'Far Cotton New estate and bus Service is a letter to the editor from Messsr Beeden refuting an assertion made at a meeting of the Town Council by representatives of the then new estate at Delapre, that bus services from the Queen Eleanor Cross area were Inadequate for early morning workers who needed to get to town centre.
Mr. Beeden points put in his reply that the services provided by his company are more than adequate and that a special dispensation granted by the Traffic Commissioners ' for services' that terminate before 9am buses will stop on request and also drop their passengers at the Town Hall. This is a special concession for workers buses.' In this same cutting a certain T.J.A points out in his letter, that Messrs Beeden provide a more than adequate service for the requirement.
The United Counties Bus Co, buys Beeden's bus concession. Mr. Frank Beeden told me in interview,
'In 1933 we were again approached by the United Counties to sell out. We,that is my father and I made a joint decision in consultation with the family and the employees that we would sell.
You see we were on the brink of another war and no one knew what that would bring. Coupled to this uncertainty was the fact that our vehicles were now becoming obsolete and to equip the company with new vehicles would have required a tremendous outlay of money which we were not prepared to do. And so we sold out to U. Counties,
He went on 'we then concentrated on the petrol station and garage repairs side of the business. I was sorry to see the bus concession go, but I was glad in other ways. It had taken up so much of my time that I had had virtually no family life at all. I looked forward to seeing my family more now that the buses were finished. ' 'The United Counties purchased from us a certain number of buses, the rest were either left in the space at the rear of the garage, or in the garage in Southampton Road, Far Cotton. Three vehicles were left at the wooden garage at Piddington next to the two houses owned by my father. Their they remained for the most part until being disposed of in various ways.'
The second world war.
Mr. Beeden didn't find himself sitting back for long. With the out break of war the premises were taken over by the Militia for effecting repairs to vehicles, including tanks. Mr. Beeden remembers that the Army in order to get tanks Into the workshop for repair, would pull them in by means of a large rope which they secured round one of the Iron clad stanchions which was concreted Into the garage floor and which finished up supporting the roof of the building. He felt that in using this as a sort of capstan the Army was in danger of pulling down the whole building, but they never did. Mr. Beeden was in charge of administration of the new petrol rationing which came into force with the outbreak of war.
One incident that Mr. Beeden remembers very well during the was, occurred one night In 1941 when he and a driver of long standing, Bill Muskin, were locking up the premises In London Road. They could hear aeroplanes droning way over head and talked about which poor blighters were 'going to get it tonight' Suddenly they heard a whistling noise coming from the sky,and realising it must be a bomb, they flattened out on the gravel driveway of the station. Mr. Beeden. said' my heart was beating like mad. I was sure It was going to fall right on top of us. The noise got louder and louder and then we heard a terrific explosion. The bomb had fallen Into the railway goods depot between Far Cotton End and the Power Station doing a great deal of damage. But no one was hurt, When Bill and I pulled ourselves together we were shaking all over. It was a very frightening experience, you see if the bomb had hit our station with all that petrol stored there half of Far Cotton would have gone with it.'
The Air Raid Wardens used the workshops as a refuge whilst on duty; This is a photograph of the stove which they used to sit round when off duty. It It still their today but not used. During those cold dark nights of the war years this stove must have provided a welcome warmth for the volunteers In their off duty hours until the morning came.
The Fifties and Sixties.
With the ending of the war Beedens were able to re-continue their main business which was the garaging and repairing of private vehicles and the sale of petrol oils, and motor components.
Petrol was of course, still rationed for a long time after the ending of the war and Mr. Beeden recalled that this was a 'major headache' which he was responsible for. He said that on too many occasions to recall he would complete his days work and take home with him all his booking work which often took him into the small hours to complete.
The old vehicles, disposal.
These stood for the main part at the rear of the two premises in London Road, Far Cotton, where they deteriorated until In the late fifties The Historic Commercial Vehicle Club purchased from Beeden:-3 AEC's and 2 Napiers Also Messrs. Tate & Lyle Ltd., purchased the old McCurd lorry chassis and later in my study in the Vehicle section can be seen the Information on this and the ether vehicles sold at this time, following correspondence between myself and the current owners, But unfortunately with the exception of these vehicles, and a Lancia Charabanc and the Ex army staff car, the Crossley, the remaining veterans found their way to the scrap yard. A sad pity but as Mr. Beeden said ' We got rid of them because we needed the ground. They weren't earning anything standing there and they had all just about rotted so we got rid or them. If I had them for sale today they would be worth thousands of pounds, but we didn't think about their potential Value at the time of sale.
1970. Mr. F. Beeden (the founder of the company) dies.
The founder Mr. F. Beeden continued to take an active though reduced, role in the running of the business into the late 60s and a common sight up to this time was to see Mr. Beeden In his 1936 Rover driving from his home in Southampton Road to the petrol station, about 50 yards away in London Road.
I was told by a local resident that in all the years Mr. Beeden had been driving from his home into the main London Road, he never stopped at the major road junction, but merely drove straight out into the main road with a left turn. If this is true then he was a very lucky man because the London Road is now a very busy road and has been for many years.
In 1970 at the age of 85yrs Mr. Beeden died of natural causes and at that time family decisions had to be taken about the business in the light of Mr. Beeden's will, the contents of which I of course, know nothing.
At this time a very attractive offer was made by Texaco Oil Company Ltd., for the purchase of the petrol station which was built in 1930. Subsequently the land was sold and a new petrol station built there. And thus the business which had started at the beginning of the century with horse and cart, had progressed into a flourishing local bus company running an efficient and courteous service, and which had provided many working class people of the town with the means of taking an annual holiday at the coast, or at least trips out into various parts of the country, ended.
Personal accounts by ex-employees and other interested people.
Mr. Frank Beeden (Son of the founder)
I saw Mr. Beeden on many occasions during the preparation of this study and I am greatly indebted to him and his wife for the help they both gave me freely and willingly.
Mr. Beeden joined his father In the family business at about age fourteen, but recalls incidents and happenings, e.g. accompanying his father and others in trips etc., before his 14th birthday In 1919.
He explained 'My father and mother were both stubborn people but very determined. They had to be to succeed. They both worked very hard to get the business going in the early days and of course, continued to work hard throughout. !I drove most of the vehicles at one time or another ,after I got my Public Service Vehicle licence at age 17. The McCurd lorries of which we had several were terrible to drive because of the difficult gear change. By contrast the Lancia was very pleasant to drive, and it was a great, thrill for me to drive the Lancia again at the Veteran Rally at Stamford Hall in 1962. Mr. Rumsay of Slapton Towcester who purchased it from us in 1958 entered it; it was now of course in running order but the bodywork was just as it had remained for over 20 yrs in the garage, it was still in very good condition.
Mr. Beeden told me that the vehicle was now in Bedfordshire being restored by a private individual and I agreed to take Mm to see it, when I could arrange a visit. He went on 'In 1923 I was doing the Towcester run and had. as my vehicle M 4136 which was an AEC 32 seater coach. It was originally registered on 13th April 1922 and finished its life with us on the 30/9/29. I remember one occasion when it was very foggy and I was approaching the junction of the Mereway and the Towcester Road hill just outside Northampton. I somehow misjudged the road and we hit the bank which was about 2ft high, on the wrong side of the road near the cemetery. It shook everyone up a bit but no one was injured. In bad weather I often had either the conductor or a passenger walking In front of the bus; you see the lights on the vehicles were not very good and there were no cats eyes to guide you. Apart from that the roads themselves left a lot to be desired. In 1922 I remember one of our AEC coaches was in collision with a tram In near the level crossing In Cotton End. The axle was twisted as a result of the bump and had to be taken out for repair. Somehow it couldn't have been repaired because when we cleared out the workshop in 1971 there it was still twisted as it was 49 yrs earlier. I well remember the day when I was riding in one of the buses, I think It was the Napier Mx 9742, which later was converted as a Gas Bus, and we had just turned the corner to descend Bridge Street. My father was driving, The handles for the doors on the old charabanc jutted out several inches. Standing outside Rowland Hill's shop was a horse and cart and just as we were about to pass it the unfortunate horse decided to turn its head to see what was going on. The front nearside door handle caught the horses nostril and tore it. We stopped and ran back to see what damage dad been done. The nostril was of course bleeding badly and we had to help bind it up. Apart from that the animal was alright and survived. During the depressed years in 1926 we had. police protection when delivering boots and shoes made by Messrs. Sears Ltd., Adnitt Road Northampton, to shops and warehouses in London. The crowds in London tried to stop us doing the deliveries and they were, very angry men. It was altogether very frightening, I didn't look forward to doing the deliveries at all Afterall we weren't stopping them from getting a job, but I suppose they felt angry because we had work and they didn't
I asked Mr. Beeden whether he would have sold out to the United Counties in 1938 if he had been head of the company and he replied that the decision was taking as a partnership agreement with his father for the reasons that the vehicles were coming to the end of their working lives, and the possibility of war meant a great deal of uncertainty. I enquired, about who actually used their buses for getting In and out of Northampton. Mr. Beeden said that they carried a great many foundry workers from Northampton to Towcester where they worked at the foundry of Groom & Tattersall. Also brewery and boot and shoe workers travelled Into Northampton from as far away as Newport Pagnell. But not only working people travelled on the coaches, The wives of quite wealthy men who had their own car but used it for travelling to work or where ever, used the coaches to come into town for shopping, or to attend meetings In connection with charitable work. Workers took their annual holiday via Beedens coaches, when they would travel down to the east coast (the most popular area) on one Saturday and return with Beedens on the following Saturday. This took place throughout the thirties. Yarmouth, Margate and Bournemouth in that order being the most popular resorts.
Fined for speeding.
The speed limit, imposed on motor vehicles was 12 m.p.h. until the Road Traffic act of 1930 when it was increased to 30 m.p.h. Mr. Beeden, when asked 'did you ever have any tiffs with the law? ' replied, 'Yes, on one occasion I was travelling through Dunstable with a coach party and was stopped by the police who said that according to their speedometer, I was travelling at l6 3/4 m.p.h. They said I would receive a summons to appear at court for exceeding the speed limit. I duly received the Summons and appeared at the Bedford County Magistrates Court, where I pleaded not guilty. I was in fact found guilty and was fined £2. This was in 1926. I thought the fine was quite heavy but I suppose on reflection, if i had pleaded guilty the fine would have been less.' Company Records destroyed.
I was naturally Interested to see any day books, journals, or other company records showing details of transactions for vehicle purchases and sales etc., also information on the employees length of service and starting and leaving dates,
I was unable to see any of these as all records had been burned, following the death Of Mr.F. Beeden in 1970. I have therefore had to rely upon mainly verbal evidence and photographic material, for which I make no apology, as I feel that personal contact is extremely worthwhile in eliciting information.
Mr. & Mrs. Beeden now live in High Street. Hardingstone. They were extremely helpful to me, especially as I am a native of Far Cotton, and well remember myself playing on some of the silent old veteran buses and lorries which stood on the open ground near the garage. I was about ten at the time i.e. 1948, and more than once I remember this same Mr. Beeden chasing me and my friends from his vehicles, He recalled 'Yes I chased lots of children off the old vehicles, mainly for their own safety, because the floors were missing In some and they were quite dangerous.' I told him 'being chased off was all part of the fun.'
Mr. Bert Reeve. 9 Southampton Road, Far Cotton,
Mr. Reeve is now retired. He Is still very active and has an extremely goo and alert mind. He worked for Beeden from 1930 up to the outbreak of the second world war, and. after returning from the RAF rejoined the garage business. He drove most of the vehicles at one time or another on both local routes and also on tours.
This picture shows some of the drivers standing on the market square where they were picking up passengers for the runs to the East and South coasts. They are from left to right Mr. Bert Reeve, Mr. Bill Bradbury, Titch Smith, Jack Botierill, Mr. L. Bull. The two buses which can be clearly seen are Gilfords, which had on the front two upstanding cylinders. The function of these was to aid the suspension; they were pressurised with air from the normal air hose used for inflating the tyres. When they went down again they were again pumped up. The bus which is on the far left of the picture was an AEC Reliant, This photograph Is circa 1934.
This photograph shows Mr, Bert Reeve with his conductor a Mr. Lick Travell standing In front of the A.E.C. Reliance coach Registration RU 8824. This coach which was new in 1928, was originally owned by Elliott Bros, Bournemouth, In the background can be seen two Lancia coaches the registration of the nearer coach Is TY 3598 which was originally owned by a Northumberland Independent operator and later acquired by United. Automobile Services Ltd., Note the bald front tyre on the AEC! Of the older vehicles, the lancias and McCurds and Napiers Mr. Reeve remarked 'They were anything but easy to drive. Apart from the crash box which made gear changing difficult (and this also applied to the AECs and Gilfords and the Tilling Stevens coaches) the direct steering made driving very hard work; Road conditions weren't very good either and the vehicle lights left a lot to be desired. On many occasions when I drove on the Northampton to Newport Pagnell run, when we went through the village of Lathbury the road was overhung by trees. At night it was often necessary for the conductor to sit on the front nearside mudguard with a white handkerchief He would signal to me so that. I Knew when I was going into the ditch and could, pull out a bit. At nights when the weather was foggy or Icy things got worse. Sometimes he would walk In front of the bus to guide me through the worst of the fog. When there was Ice on the roads turning corners was hellishly tricky. The buses would, often slide round the bend. When I look back it makes me wonder how we got through but we always did somehow!
The drivers Strike.
Mr. Reeve recalls the time In the thirties when the drivers struck for better wages. 'We just refused to take the buses out' he said. 'The old man called us all into his office where we had a heated discussion but we got some more money in the end. The wage for a driver was under £2. per week and conductors got around 35/-. Times were very hard. But they were also very enjoyable. There was a great spirit of enjoyment, on the trips to the coast. I suppose people were happy to get away for, a while to enjoy themselves.
Coaches looked after.
He went on 'Mr. Beeden was very fussy about bis vehicles. And every year they would get a new coat of clear varnish. That's why they lasted so well bodily. Reg Cooper who was a first class mechanic looked after the engine side really well. He rebuilt several engines and modified others.
Mr. Fred Smith (Titch ) . 14 Ransome Road Far Cotton.
Mr. Smith, was known as 'Titch' by everyone on the company. He joined Beedens in 1933 and left them 3 1/2 yrs later to become a driver on the Corporation buses, a thing for which he feels Mr. Beeden didn't forgive him. He said 'I was on the Newport Pagnell on Wednesdays and Sundays, and the Towcester run for the rest of the week. We carried a tremendous amount of goods, you Know; We carried everything from cases of beer to sheep. At Towcester we stopped for 3/4 hr, and I would borrow a bike and do the deliveries In Towcester In that time. When I joined the Corporation In mid 1936 I was the youngest driver on there and the only single man. 'l didn't have a Saturday or Sunday off for the whole 3 1/2 yrs on Beedens. But I did have one day off in the week. We started at 7 am sharp. I was a conductor sometimes and drove other times. I got 35/- a week. Myself and George Richards were the only two single men who worked for Beeden.
The Towcester Trip.
It took us 25 minutes to Towcester, that's eight miles, but I can remember when we did It from Towcester to Northampton in 11 minutes, that was at over 40 mph. We did that in the AEC Reliance. She went like a bomb after Reg. Cooper rebuilt the engine. He spent all winter getting that engine perfect and when he had finished she was a flyer.
Towcester Race Days.
On race days I conducted 4 coaches between Northampton & Towcester, without returning to Northampton at all. You see I would get off the coach returning to Northampton at the Cemetery, Mereway, and get onto the outgoing coach to Towcester to conduct that. I didn't get into Northampton again until the last coach returned at night.
A drink 'out of the bag'
Mr. Smith explained that it was a perk of the job that the driver and conductor would have a drink at a public house 'on the firm' or out of the conductor's fare bag. They often stopped at the Oak Inn at Blisworth where the whole of the passengers and crew would pile out for a drink. 'I remember two schoolmasters from Tiffield School who always caught the coach and joined us for a drink every time.'
Football Supporters Coach.
When the local team the Cobblers, played at home Beedens provided coaches to collect supporters from the surrounding villages and bring them into Northampton. Mr. Smith said 'I remember one trip well. We had the 24 sealer Lancia and Jack Botterill was driving. I was conductor. We finished up carrying 43 passengers on the 24 seater and we had to negotiate Hunsbury Hill. To get up the hill with this load I had to sit on the front mudguard and with the side of the engine cowl lifted I Kept flooding the carburetor to get the bus up the hill. We made It!
Buses Cared for.
Mr.Smith remembers that Beeden insisted on buses being washed down with hose and sponge, followed by a good leathering off. This happened at the end of the day.
Mrs Beeden a strong character and influence. 'She worked as hats as the governor did, and she had a mind of her own. I remember a chap called Jimmy Bowers was sacked three times by Mr. Beeden. Mrs. Beeden set him on again three times. Paid Cash always. 'It was a tradition with Beeden that he paid cash for everything he had.' The new petrol station built in 1930 cost him £2.000. I believe he paid cash then too. Couldn't Change Gear. 'Tommy Amos was only allowed to drive his 14 seater. If that was off the road, Tommy had to conduct while I drove, He could manage the gears on his usual vehicle, but any other he couldn't. After one trip in first gear all the way, he was told in conduct if his bus was off the road' Christmas Treat. 'On the Towcester run, on Boxing Day we would always call at the Keeper's Lodge on the Fermor-Hesketh Estate, which was on the the road into Towcester, There we would stop and partake of the hospitality of the lodge keeper, who provided the driver and the conductor with mince pies and Port, We used to look forward to that little treat you know.'
Near _collision.
' In the early thirties there weren't that many vehicles on the road to Towcester so the possibility of a collision during the day was remote; however there was a certain Colonel Tysack who lived near to Towcester, and he was the proud owner of a sports Bugatti. Now there probably weren't more than a handful of these very powerful and expensive cars in the country, so when we heard this car roaring along the roads we knew it was Col. Tysack. I think on occasions Ive seen him doing sixty or seventy miles an hour in that car.
On the occasion I'm going to tell you about we were approaching the Hesketh estate near Towcester, on the long straight stretch of road, There are two breaks in the estate wall and both of these are lodge gates about two hundred yards apart. Suddenly out of the direction of Towcester came this roaring noise; it was Col, Tysack travelling at great speed towards us on our side of the road. He couldn't have seen us because he kept on coming. If I tell you that to avoid him we had to take the bus through the first lodge gate and drive along the path inside of the wall, finally emerging back onto the road out of the other lodge gate, it's no lie. Col. Tysack didn't even stop, but if we had not taken evasive action, there would have been a very nasty accident indeed.' Mr. Smith concluded by saying that in spite of everything, he enjoyed his tour of duty on 'The old firm.'
Mrs. Claydon, Biddington Village.
She is a delightful old lady of 72 yrs, who rents one of two houses owned by the Beeden family, in the village and alongside her house Is the old garage in which three vehicles of Beeden's fleet used to stand overnight, on the last trip back from Newport Pagnell at night.
She moved Into the village in October 1929 and has been there ever since; she was the former postmistress.
She told me ' When I moved into this rented house, In 1929, I didn't have to pay bus fares Into Northampton on Mr. Beeden's coaches. They were very kind to me. The buses very comfortable, we thought so anyway. It was lovely in the summer when they used to peel back the hood of the charabancs.
The Beedens worked very hard. Elizabeth his first wife was a real worker. She would act as conductress on the buses. They would drop you outside your house, or where ever you wanted dropping. and they would help you into the coach. They were real ladies and gentlemen in them days, not like today when the United Counties bus sometimes starts off before you're properly on it.
The Beeden bus went right to the top of the village. The United Counties won't do that now.
I asked her if she remembered any particular journey, 'Oh. yes, when we went on Beedens to the seaside. We started off at 5.30 a.m. and I was very excited. We went to the south coast, Bournemouth. The bus didn't break down and the journey was very enjoyable. I don't remember a bus ever breaking down. And I travelled on them a great many times, 'Who used the buses mainly ? I asked.
'Well, a lot of workmen, because they ran a workmen's special at 8 a.m. And speaking about the ideality you understand, that a lot of villagers worked either at the closing shop In Hackleton, or up at the Hall in service. But their wives would use the buses to go Into town to work at the factories. Yes a lot of women used them to go Into Northampton. It was a very good and personal service they operated.
Buses in good condition.
I remember that the Buses were always clean outside and Inside. Much cleaner than buses are today.
Rival bus Co.
Mrs Claydon said 'originally the village asked Mr. Beeden to call at the village when he was on route for Hackleton. But he wouldn't do so. Well Ayres of Hardingstone, ran a couple of buses so the village asked him to call. When Beedens heard this they said they would call, and from then on they did, and the villagers were very glad too.
I took photographs of the old wooden garage which appear opposite. Three vehicles were housed in this garage until the late fifties,when they were sold to Sturridge the scrap dealer at Roade, for breaking up. These were; NH 2787. A Leyland. An AEC Charabanc nick named 'The Rambler'. A Lancia 20 sealer Charabanc. They were sold for about £50. and broken up.
Mr. Reg. Cooper. 39 Delapre Crescent Road Far Cotton.
Mr. Reg. Cooper joined the company as chief mechanic, originally 'for a few months' in the early thirties. He originated from London where he had had experience with Lancia engines at Alldays.
Mr. Cooper said ' Mr. Beeden Snr. was a very stubborn man. On one occasion he so annoyed me that I literally threw him out of the workshop. I had a lot of work to do on the vehicles because with the new Road Traffic Act they really had to be up to scratch to get a five year certificate They were inspected by a local inspector, and one from the Traffic Commissioners office in Nottingham. These men could be very officious. But I gave them as good as they gave me. The Lancia always had one main fault, and that was the coupling arrangement between engine and gear box, so that if you separated the two it was virtually impossible to line them up again satisfactorily. To overcome this I designed and built into these vehicles, a flexible coupling which eliminated this problem. Later Lancia themselves adopted a flexible coupling because of the demand for it. also these vehicles would throw oil out of the main bearings like nobodys business. It was not uncommon for a Lancia to carry a barrel of oil for topping up on a journey, and they would get through that oil too. I was again able to rectify this problem for Beedens by designing a modification which worked. I also refitted the dyno-motors which had been taken off the Lancias mainly because they didn't work. But I got them to work. I stayed with the Company until 1938 when I went to work at Coventry in the motor industry, I think if Beeden had thought about the future in the thirties, more than he did, he could have been the biggest bus operator in the town. Instead of hanging onto a lot of old vehicles he could have sold these and bought a couple of AEG Regal demonstration coaches, for about £1200 each. These were then the latest thing in bus travel and with then and an expanded business concession selling either lorries or buses, he could have created the basis for a vastly expanded business. And the war would have helped him here too. But he chose not to think big and so sold out to the United Counties. I often talked to him but I don't think he really wanted to listen. Nevertheless for a man with small beginnings he did very well, theres no doubt about that. But the company didn't realise its potential in my view.