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1865 - A young man of 19 years
old called John Boultbee Brooks bought himself a new velocipede. He would
have cut quite a dashing figure back in the day, but that was not all he
cut; the wooden saddle was excruciatingly uncomfortable. His father made
leather saddles for horses - and indeed he and his contemporaries,
normally came to work on a horse. So the young Brooks set about designing
and developing a comfortable saddle from leather in his father's works.
The rest, as they say, is history.
1866 - John Boultbee Brooks
(1846-1921) established a works in Great Charles Street, Birmingham
for the manufacture of leather strapping for horse harnesses and general
leather goods.
1870 - Noting that more and more
people were indulging in the new pastime of cycling, John Boultbee Brooks
went over to the manufacture of bicycle saddles.
1880 - The first safety bicycle
came on the scene and with it the need for more comfortable saddles. No
longer were riders willing to accept that the only option open to them
was to ride a piece of formed wood.
1882 - Brooks filed his first
patent for a sprung bicycle saddle, the first of its kind. After which he
went on to file a number of patents for bicycle saddles, motor cycle
saddles and other leather goods. These included galoshes, snap-on
leggings, handlebar muffs, folding footrests, toe-straps, gents and
ladies cycling shoes, oil-skin clothing and, of course, bags.
Many of these items are still in
existence now and can be found in Cycling museums in the UK.
A little known fact however is
that Brooks also manufactured furniture – chairs, tables, desks, cabinets
and mirrors for home, hotel or business use and stools, lockers,
cupboards, bins, shelves and tables for commercial and industrial usage.
Many of these items are chronicled
in a collection of yesteryear catalogues which can be viewed at the
Brooks England website.
1900 - In the early 1900's
Brooks Ltd., was offering an astonishingly broad range of bicycle saddles
and other accessories such as saddle bags, tool bags, saddle back rests,
inner tube cases, motorcycle belt cases, pannier bags, luggage bags, hat
cases and even bicycle mounted cigar trays.
1920s - Brooks took over the
Lycett Saddle Company and Brooks saddles became the first choice of cycling
champions. During this period each and every rider in the Tours utilized a
Brooks Saddle and Brooks current marketing campaign revolves around
photographs of famous yesteryear cyclists undertaking the stages of the
Tour de France with Brooks Saddles.
1926 - The B66, the big Brooks
best-seller was introduced. This saddles still makes up over a third of
the company’s total saddle sales.
1930s - Brooks took over the
Leatheries Cycle Saddle concern and even purchased a motorcycle company
named, coincidentally, the Brookes Company.
1935 - A history of industry in Birmingham, the
centre of bicycle saddle manufacturing in Britain, mentions that in
1935 of the 2,733,000 cycle saddles manufactured in Britain,
no fewer that 60 per cent were manufactured by J.B. Brooks & Company.
1939 - War broke out and Brooks'
skills and plant were rapidly harnessed to the help the war effort.
1945 - The war over, Brooks
entered a period of expansion unlike anything ever it had experienced
before.
1955 - A boom time for Brooks,
with a workforce of 1,500 they were selling some 55,000 leather saddles
and 25,000 mattress saddles a week.
1958 - The saddle division of
Brooks Industries Limited, as it was now called was taken over by the
Raleigh Cycle Company.
1960 - Raleigh was bought by
British Tube Investments Group, which then transferred Brooks and
Sturmey-Archer first to its automotive and then to its bicycle division.
1962 - Brooks moved to the
Downing Street Works, Smethwick, Birmingham, to be
combined with the Wright Saddle Company, then part of T.I., to form the
Raleigh Saddle Division. The current Brooks facility is found 5
kilometres north- west of the original site in the town of Smethwick.
1969 - In July of this year the
Brooks facility was ravaged by fire and gutted. Nothing daunted the
Brooks staff and they salvaged what was left of the plant and stock and
continued production.
1987 – Brooks, as part of the
T.I. Bicycle Division was taken over by the American Derby International
Group.
In 2002 Brooks England were
taken over by bicycle saddle giants, Selle Royal of Italy.
Despite such advances in
technology Selle Royal intentions in taking over Brooks are to keep the
brand alive and grow it in the respect of its tradition and history.
Brooks saddles production remain in Smethwick, Birmingham and today -
Brooks sells in over 20 countries and has rediscovered it roots by
re-manufacturing saddle models and accessories from past times. Brooks is
still held in high repute as the connoisseur’s choice.
The Old Bicycle Co is very proud
to be associated with the tradition of Brooks Saddles. The quality of the
workmanship of each saddle is second to none and every saddle is a credit
to the Brooks work force at the factory in Smethwick.
Want to own a
piece of English bicycle heritage?
See the full
range of Brooks Saddles & Accessories in:
The Old Bicycle Co
Electric Showroom.
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