Bicycles & Motor Cycles

The history of Cyles and Motorcyles in Coventry

James Starley, the designer of a revolutionary sewing machine, built an engineering factory in the city in 1861. Starley's partner, Josiah Turner, worked with Starley to bring the manufacture of cycles to the city. In 1866 Turners nephew, Rowley Turner, told his uncle of Boneshakers he had seen in France. Rowley brought one of these boneshakers from France creating a sensation when he rode it from the station. 

Starley's Grave in London Rd Cemetery

Immediately Starley set to work improving it. The result was  the invention of the Penny Farthing - so called because of the relationship between the size of the front wheel to the rear wheel. In England at the time there were 240 pennies to the pound and 4 farthings to the penny. The penny was much larger than the farthing, hence the name. 

In 1880 a  selection of catalogues of bicycles were made available in America. 

The selection of catalogues included the following:

• Rudge from Coventry, England 
• Starley and Sutton Coventry, England
• The Eagle Bicycle Mfg.

So it was that in about 14 year Starley's invention had crossed the Atlantic and was being made there too. Starley died in 1881 soon after demonstrating a new tricycle to Queen Victoria at Windsor.

By the end of the century thousands of people were  involved in the manufacturing of cycles in Coventry. As will be mentioned elsewhere this workforce became the foundation of the motor industry in Coventry.

COVENTRY was used as a prefix by seven motorcycle manufacturers over the years