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Velocette factories

C

colinmann

knowlegable brummie
I heard there were several around Birmingham, the one most interesting to me is Meriden just outside Birmingham, it still has the Velocette sign on the building.
 
While I was growing up there was quite a large Velocette M/Cycle factory on the corner of York Rd and Cateswell Rd. Hall Green.
 
Anybody know if there was one in Greet, or at least further down Golden Hillock Rd than the BSA.

I can remember going on a guided tour of a Motorbike factory down there with my dad when I was a kid, someone he knew worked there.
I'm sure it wasnt teh BSA, at least not Armoury Rd.
 
The one at York road is now housing I htink. Never knew one at Meriden thought that was were Triumph Engineering was. Now a housing estate.
 
Here it is but looks like it may just be spares and accessories.

Looks to be opposite where the Triumph plant was.
 
There was one in Redfern road Tyseley opposite the Bakalite. I think it closed in the early 70s.
 
If my memory serves me correctly there was one of there
depot down bracebridge streetwhich handled the old velocette
late forties to early fifties
astonian ;;;;;
 
Although i remember these m/cycles i wondered with an italian sounding name where the company originated from???Dek
 
Dek, the Italian name would have been inspired velocipede the Victorian word for bike, trike, quadrike etc.
They were Veloce but changed their name to Velocette.
There's a saddle brand called Velo.
 
No, the site was cleared and a new factory replaced it. It was designed to make record turntables but was taken over by Lucas Gas Turbine for there engine fuel sytems. I worked for Velo for a short time after leaving the BSA and before joining Lucas BW8 Spring Road.
 
Cutting from the announcement of the closure
Mike

closure_velocette.jpg
 
colinmann said:
Thanks, is there any remains of it?
Click to expand...

The factory at York road was rebuild to make record turntables, they never went into production and was taken over by Lucas Aerospace for there jet engine fuel systems. This div is now TRW. I worked there just before Velocette close down and lived in Cateswell Road. I expect the Coventry site is spares only like BSA in Southampton. See my earlier post.
 
Hi

As stated above, the original name of this company was Veloce. The change came
after the introduction of a 276cc 2 stroke in 1913, which was called the Velocette
(little Veloce), and the name stuck. Quite a long running British maker, - 1904 - 1971..
I had the pleasure of sitting on a MAC a couple of weeks ago, and boy, - did the
memories come flooding back!

Kind regards

Dave
 
One history that I've got somewhere records over 100 separate Motorcycle 'factories' in the greater B'ham area. The Most well known are, of course, the BSA at Armoury Rd, Triumph at Meriden, and Norton at Bracebridge St. James & Excelsior were at Tyseley , (now part of the I-Mex site), Velocette were at Hall Green, Ariel at Selly Oak, York Rd, but there were many others.
Ok Supreme, New Imperial in the Jewellry Quarter side of Handsworth, and a host of smaller makes throughout the City & suburbs. My Great Grandfather made the 'Metro' in a small factory in Ladywood, just down from the present Police Stn. Broad St and its off roads had about a dozen makes.
Most of these used heavyweight bicycles with proprietry engines, like the Villiers (Wolverhampton) to power them. Many started in the 1880s and 90s but folded at WW I . Some were reborn in the 20s and went through the 1928 Crash to emerge as combines. Again, WW II caused problems, many firms were lost, or moved to other production types. Even the major ones such as Matchless & AJS had to Combine in AMC, Later, due to appaling corruption amongst the management, even BSA, Triumph, Norton & Villiers ended up as one 'lump'.
Velocettes main problem was, as ever, idiots at the top failing to listen to the buying public. Whilst everyone was shouting for the Sports single, the Goodmans were talked into producing the LE (Noddy Bike) and Viceroy. Just as Ariel's disasterous foray into little enclosed machines, (Leader & Arrow) caused their downfall, the Velo drove themselves into the ground. Even BSA were'n't immune from this stupidity ... remember the 'Ariel 3' ?

The Classic and Vintage 'bike world is a very healthy one, worth £ Billions world wide and bringing over £ 1.1/2 Billion into the UK in sales and parts remanufacture alone. Average price for a 500cc Velocette Venom is about £6,000, with Thruxtons worth up to 3 times as much. LE's ? Unless you really want one ......
 
Just remembered .... (I'm getting old - sorry !) ... one of the Goodman's started a new Engineering firm a few years ago producing NEW Velocettes to order. I was going to buy one, but family commitments, etc..,
 
There were various Veloce works in Birmingham, that at York Road was the last and longest lived, to my knowledge there was not a Veloce/Velocette factory in Meriden. It is a name that does travel back to the early days of motorcycle manufacture in Birmingham
 
Some posts here are seven years old, a good chance that the sign in post 10 is no longer there. A post, also four years old, mentions Meriden Works, Birmingham Road, Coventry. The company, having a long lived name, does seem to have had many places of work. ;)
 
Velocette...jpg
Showing off their Made in Birmingham Velocette motor cycles.

Edit. Additional information provided by Oldmohawk as follows :
Police Constable J. Proctor on Triumph motor cycle SDG-606, three Police Constables on Velocette Motor cycles. Training Course Constables believed to be left to right: Unknown, (816 AAD), Norman Green (WDD 964), Ken Price (536 ADF). (Gloucestershire Police Archives URN 199)
 
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