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James and Browne
James & Browne was a British automobile manufacturer, based in Hammersmith, London between 1898 and 1910. The enterprise started in 1896 as a partnership between John Melville James, a former racing cyclist, and Tom Bousquet Browne. This partnership was dissolved in 1898, with Browne continuing the business with Francis Leigh Martineau under the James and Browne name.
The James & Browne factory was located at the Chiswick end of King's Street in West London, and a car showroom was on Oxford Street.
The early cars had an unusual engine layout with the flywheel between the cylinders. The engines were mid-mounted in the chassis, and the cylinders were horizontal. Drive was to the rear wheels via a 4-speed gearbox and chain. The gearbox is in 2 parts, linked by a connecting rod: the left one contains 2nd and 4th gears, and the right one contains 1st, 3rd, and reverse.
The 2-cylinder engine is rated at 9 HP and is just over 2.5 liters. A total-loss oiling system is used on the car, lubricating 6 main oil-ways. James & Browne also launched a 4-cylinder version (16 HP) of a similar design to the horizontal 2-cylinder engine.
In 1906 a vertical-engined car was introduced known as the Vertex and available as either a 20 hp four or 30/40 hp six-cylinder.
Only two of their cars are known to have survived, one built in 1902 and the other in 1904. T.B. Browne, one of the company's founders, remained interested in the condition of the two surviving cars throughout his life and still regularly met with the owners until the early 1960s.
The car was built in 1902 and transported by train from the James and Browne works in Hammersmith, London to Albrighton Station, Shropshire. The first owner was Mr. Norman McLean of The Blue House, Tong, Shropshire. Mr. McLean had the car painted in the colours of his stables which were yellow with black lining. The car was then moved to Tong Castle, the home of his fiancée, Miss Hartley. The Hartley family had leased Tong Castle from Lord Bradford since 1855. Miss Hartley’s brother was John Hartley (tennis), the winner of the Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Singles Championship in 1879 and 1880.
Mr. McLean decided that some alterations to the car were required and instructed Mr. Ernest Roy Spencer to carry out the work. The Spencers were blacksmiths and ran their business at 15 Broadway, Shifnal, around three miles from Tong Castle.
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James and Browne
James & Browne was a British automobile manufacturer, based in Hammersmith, London between 1898 and 1910. The enterprise started in 1896 as a partnership between John Melville James, a former racing cyclist, and Tom Bousquet Browne. This partnership was dissolved in 1898, with Browne continuing the business with Francis Leigh Martineau under the James and Browne name.
The James & Browne factory was located at the Chiswick end of King's Street in West London, and a car showroom was on Oxford Street.
The early cars had an unusual engine layout with the flywheel between the cylinders. The engines were mid-mounted in the chassis, and the cylinders were horizontal. Drive was to the rear wheels via a 4-speed gearbox and chain. The gearbox is in 2 parts, linked by a connecting rod: the left one contains 2nd and 4th gears, and the right one contains 1st, 3rd, and reverse.
The 2-cylinder engine is rated at 9 HP and is just over 2.5 liters. A total-loss oiling system is used on the car, lubricating 6 main oil-ways. James & Browne also launched a 4-cylinder version (16 HP) of a similar design to the horizontal 2-cylinder engine.
In 1906 a vertical-engined car was introduced known as the Vertex and available as either a 20 hp four or 30/40 hp six-cylinder.
Only two of their cars are known to have survived, one built in 1902 and the other in 1904. T.B. Browne, one of the company's founders, remained interested in the condition of the two surviving cars throughout his life and still regularly met with the owners until the early 1960s.
The car was built in 1902 and transported by train from the James and Browne works in Hammersmith, London to Albrighton Station, Shropshire. The first owner was Mr. Norman McLean of The Blue House, Tong, Shropshire. Mr. McLean had the car painted in the colours of his stables which were yellow with black lining. The car was then moved to Tong Castle, the home of his fiancée, Miss Hartley. The Hartley family had leased Tong Castle from Lord Bradford since 1855. Miss Hartley’s brother was John Hartley (tennis), the winner of the Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Singles Championship in 1879 and 1880.
Mr. McLean decided that some alterations to the car were required and instructed Mr. Ernest Roy Spencer to carry out the work. The Spencers were blacksmiths and ran their business at 15 Broadway, Shifnal, around three miles from Tong Castle.