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Rhode motor car

postie

postie

The buck stops here
Staff member
Found this today.
 

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The internet throws up that FW Mead & TW Deakin were suppliers of motorbike components (their Medea/Media Light Car & Cyclecars had ceased before the first world war) who turned to Light Car manufacture in 1921 with the launch of the Rhode, named after Cecil Rhodes, founder of Rhodesia. Reliable cars with a sporting style, starting with the 9.5 hp model of 1921 through to the Hawk 12/50 of 1929. All models had a four-cylinder engine of various capacities. Ceased 1935.

Mead & Deakin Ltd.
Rushy Lane ---------------- not sure where this is - map experts please
Tyseley
Birmingham
 
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Here is a translation from a German website:

Rhode is a former British manufacturer of automobiles.
Company history
The Rhode engine co from Birmingham began in 1921 with production of automobiles.
In 1931 production ended.
Vehicles:
All vehicles were equipped with four-cylinder engines.
The first model 9½ HP was manufactured between 1921 and 1925. The engine had a capacity of 1087 cc.
The 10.8 HP from 1924 to 1925, the 11/30 HP from 1926 to 1929 as well as the Hawk from 1928 to 1929 had an engine with 1232 cc capacity.
The last model was the Hawk 12/50 HP, which was offered between 1929 and 1931 with 1496 cc capacity.
A vehicle of this mark can be seen in the Dingles Fairground Heritage Centre in Lifton in Devon.


There is also a photograph here - is it the same car as the one in post #1?


I read that their premises were in Blythswood Road, Tyseley.
 
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Before WW1 Mead and Deakin were sidecar manufacturers. Here they both are, in a c1912 "Canoelet" sidecar of their own design and manufacture.
(Incidentally, the London Gazette of 27 October 1931 has this notice, with Mead and Deakin as one of the named companies:
Notice is hereby given pursuant to section 295 (3) of 19 & 20 Geo. V, ch. 23 (Companies Act, 1929), that at the expiration of three months from the date hereof, the names of the undermentioned Companies will, unless cause is shown to the contrary, be struck off the Register, and the Companies will be dissolved)
 
Lloyd, My Wife`s, Mom & Dad are RIP, the family lived in Blythswood Rd, it is only a short road it started by Tyseley Station, Kings Rd and also joined Redfern Rd, at the bottom end was a not very large factory which made all sizes of umbrella`s which they exported all over world they were there before 1939?, cheap foreign products caused them to close about 1976?, it was occupied by a welding and maybe still is, i shall have to check, the older residents said it was car factory when the first moved into their houses perhaps it was the Rhode Car factory. Len.
 
I think they had numerous subsidiaries Lloyd which could account for the date discrepancy - nice pic of them. I found this advert for the Canoelet. Strange brand name, there seems to have been an optional windscreen
 
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Interesting connection, Len. Here is the Blythswood Rd premises now - likely the site of Rhode Cars, possibly even the same building.

I've delved a little into this firm and come up with the following:

Mead and Deakin was a partnership of Frederick William Mead, born 4th quarter 1879 Aston vol 6d page 283,and Thomas William Deakin, born 1879 or 1881 or 1884.
Mead and Deakin's works is listed in the 1925 phone book as Bushy Lane, Tyseley (which should really be Rushey Lane) - phone Acocks Green 92.
The Rhode Motor Company is listed at Blythswood Road - the factories probably backed onto each other. Acocks Green 381.

Frederick William Mead is in the 1911 census as a Motor Engineer, living with his parental family and siblings at 61 Ladypool Rd, Sparkbrook. By 1920 he had moved to The Harbour, Bidford on Avon (once a farm but now a guest house with a small housing estate built on some of the farmland) and married locally to Gladys Goodall in 1914. By 1925 he was at 'Norwood', Solihull.
The Meads had four recorded children, Richard b. early 1915; Ronald, b. early 1918; Janet, b. late 1918; and Diana, b. mid 1923, Solihull district (the others were Alcester district, which includes Bidford).

In the 1920s Thomas William Deakin lived at 'Foots Cray', Dorridge (phone Knowle 111) Sadly his name is too common to trace accurately further at this time.
 
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I thought I knew every car built and manufactured in the UK but this site never fails to confound me you learn something new every day.
 
Morning Lloyd, Correction to my post page #8, made further search and the entrance in Blythswood led into the factory in Rushey Lane that at this time produces exhaust pipes, still searching. Len.
 
I have been to various motor museums including Beaulieu Abbey several times but I can not remember ever seeing or even reading about Rhode cars.
 
1924 Brooklands May Race



Brooklands race meeting held on the 17th May 1924. Finishing test of the 1,000 mile trial.
Those who completed the 1,000 mile trial were the Drivers listed below. Posted by Len. D. Bowdenin a Trojan

  • B. Alan Hill in a Rhode
  • Stanley Watson in a Surrey
  • J.F. Deverill in a Gwynne
  • Major D. Johnston in a Galloway
  • H.A Taplow in a Lea-Francis
  • J.S. Wood in a Wolseley
  • D. Chinnery in a Gwynne
  • Hon. V.A,Bruce in an A.C.
  • V.E. Leverett in a Galloway
  • C.Brimlow in an Argyll
 
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I recently came across a couple of pictures of a Rhode motor car CJ 7046 taken apparently in the 1950s. Car is in fairly derelict condition. I wonder if there is a list of surviving Rhode cars and whether this one is still around. The car looks to be a 1923 or 24 model with the disc wheels. It is a 4 seater tourer.
 
Here I am replying to my own posting. Have just taken a close up look at the restored Rhode car that started this thread and the numbers visible on number plate are 7046 so the wreck that I have black & white photographs of did get restored. Wonder who owns it now?
 
The Mead part of Mead and Deakin was my gt uncle Fred Mead, and I remember my father Robert Mould talking about the Rhode Motor Company, I have a brochure of one. I think it all went bust. I am in contact with Diana Mead, my father's cousin, she is nearly 90yrs old now.By the way, my father was in business in Dudley Rd, Smethwick as H.Mould builders and plumbers merchants which his father Harry Mould started.
Good to read about family history here !
 
HI ROSAMARY ;
Just read your thread on your family thread the name rings abell with me i am just wondering what end of dudley rd was there selling pitch
to my knowledge there was at one time three car dealer on dudley rd many many years ago;
and also i would like to asked a question on where does the deakin family and especialy mould family
was deakins from the smethwick area and mould from around the spark hillor spark brook area possiblely stratford rd end of birmingham
you do not have to answer if you do not want to moulds i knew and ait of a coinidence with deakins as i knew two familys
and the one deakin was from farm street hockley and the other was smethwick ;
hope you did not mind me asking ; best wishes Astonian;
 
Hi Astonian,
Thanks for your reply. My grandfather Harry Mould started a builders and plumbers merchants business in about 1897 at 417 Dudley Road, they owned premises both sides of the road, my father Bob Mould took over and worked there until he died in 1986, my brother ran it briefly before it was sold. I don't know where the Deakin family came from, the Mead family lived in Ladypool Rd, Smethwick, that's where Fred Mead was born who was the partner in Mead and Deakin.
Harry Mould was born in 1875 in Aston, the family lived in Kings Norton for a while, but after marriage Harry and Charlotte Mould lived at 379 Rotten Park Rd, that's where my father Bob Mould was born in 1909.
Hope this is some help to you,

All the best,

Rosemary
 
Hi Mikejee,

I guess that a Rhode motor car was auctioned at Hockley Heath in the twenties because the Mould family lived at Hockley House at that time and the Moulds are related to the Meads, in fact I think that my grandfather Harry Mould put money into the Rhode business.

All the Best,

Rosemary
 
in my Birmingham industrial Heritage Book p 165, I list 3 locations Blytheswood Road, Rushey Lane and Webb Lane, Hall Green, this information was extracted from newspaper, magazine and trade directories. I regularly ask the question at the Classic Car Shows at the NEC, to find out more about surviving examples. There may be one or two in private ownership although perhaps not intact. I recall there is a Building Plan for Blytheswood Road premises in Birmingham Reference Library.
 
I have recently inherited a Rhode. My father bought this 1925 10.8hp 2-Seater in 1957 and became a founding member of the Auckland Vintage & Veteran Car Club. My understanding is that this car is one of 3 Rhode cars in NZ. Also on a couple of occasions tourists from the UK would appear in our driveway, both of these gentlemen also had a Rhode car - one was based Poole and the other in Gloucester. I do have a number of photocopies of different articles, featuring the Rhode and printed between 1921-30, these are sourced from "The Light Car and Cyclecar" and "The Autocar" magazines. There is also an excellent summary of the history of the Rhode Motor Company in "The Automobile", April 1994, and a short article in the Birmingham Mail, 24/10/1960.
Unfortunately my father dis-assembled his Rhode for a restoration many years ago so I have a "project" rather than a car.
 
DSC_0196.jpg Here is a picture of our Rhode it is the one from the Dingles Steam Village, we have recently collected it and got it running once again,it had been on loan for 20 years. My grandad bought the car back in the early sixties, at one time he owned 2 more Rhodes but i have no idea where they went to, would love to find out where they are or see some more pictures and find out more info on these cars, hopefully this one will be out and about a little bit during next year
 
Rhode2.jpg
A photo of the 2 door version, now dis-assembled. My mothers aunt also owned a Rhode saloon. It came to an unfortunate end versus a tram in downtown Auckland.
 
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