Arnold (automobile)
The Arnold was one of the first motor cars manufactured in the United Kingdom. It was produced in East Peckham, Kent between 1896 and 1898.
History[edit]
William Arnold & Sons of East Peckham, Kent, was an agricultural engineering company founded in about 1844.[1]
In 1895 they acquired a licence to build Benz cars. As the Arnold Motor Carriage Co. from 1896[2] to 1898.[3] the firm built twelve cars patterned after the Benz but fitted with their own engines.[4] Two Arnolds were exhibited at Crystal Palace in 1896.[3]
One Arnold from 1896 was fitted with one of the world's first self-starters, by electrical engineer Herbert John Dowsing. This was a dynamotor coupled to the flywheel, designed to assist the car on hills and well as starting the engine.[1]
Two Arnold cars survive.[5]
On 28 January 1896 Walter Arnold, of the Arnold (automobile) company of East Peckham, was summonsed for travelling at 8 mph (13 km/h) in a motorised vehicle, thereby exceeding the contemporary speed limit for towns of 2 mph (3.2 km/h). He had been caught by a policeman who had given chase on a bicycle. He was fined 1 shilling plus costs, the first speeding fine in England, and thus became the first person to be convicted of speeding in the UK.[6][7][8]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b G.N. Georgano, N. (2000). Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. London: HMSO. ISBN 1-57958-293-1.
- ^ Rubashow, Tom (24 October 2008). "Shilling fine for 8 mph dash down high street". Kent and Sussex Courier (Paddock Wood edition). Courier Media Group Ltd.
- ^ a b "Men who sparked the ignition". brooklands.org.uk. Archived from the original on 8 September 2008. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
- ^ Lawrence, Margaret (1994). Bridge Over the Stream. East Peckham Parish Council. p. 14. ISBN 0-9524828-1-9.
- ^ "Arnold". British Motor Manufacturers. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
- ^ US History, Criminal Justice, The first speeding ticket. Archived 3 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ BBC Radio 4, The Eureka Years, by Adam Hart Davis
- ^ National Motoring Museum – Motoring firsts
Other sources[edit]
"Arnold", in G.N. Georgano, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars 1885–1968 (New York: E.P. Dutton and Co., 1974).
External links[edit]
- Photo of one of the two surviving Arnold cars
- Webarchive template wayback links
- Use dmy dates from October 2015
- Use British English from October 2015
- 1890s cars
- Veteran vehicles
- Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of England
- Companies based in Kent
- Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1896
- Cars introduced in 1896
- All stub articles
- Veteran auto stubs