These old motors, they all look the same... but are they?
Take a really close look at these two old motors, because they are at the centre of an historical puzzle. It is this - are they the same vehicle?
Certainly there are many similarities, but even Mike Palfreyman, who sent us for comparison the colour picture of his own car which he has had for the last 20 years, isn't sure.
The old picture with the chauffeur ready to go is from an early 20th century family album in the possession of Sir Beville Stanier, whose family seat in those days was Peplow Hall, near Hodnet.
No doubt this was the car and chauffeur of his namesake grandfather, who was the local MP.
We used the photo in Pictures From The Past the other day, where it caught the eye of Mike, from Four Crosses.
Of his car Mike said: "I believe that I am the third owner, the previous family having owned it for well over 60 years, the initial owner having been a central London hotel. Albeit worth quite a lot, I am afraid that while I can afford the car I cannot afford a chauffeur!
"My car is a 1912 Wolseley Limousine Landaulet on the 16/20 C5 chassis. It was manufactured by the Wolseley Tool and Motor Car Company of Adderley Park, Birmingham. The interior is believed to be as it left the factory in 1912.
"It is regularly driven to events on both sides of the Welsh borders such as Oswestry, Whittington, and Ellesmere, and sometimes more distant such as Bridgnorth, Arley, Trimpley, and the like, although Harley Bank is quite a challenge.
"It has never ‘failed to proceed’ apart from one puncture high up in the Welsh hills, the roadside remedy to which brought folk from out of the fields.
"Although I can see the radiator emblem of the car in your photograph I cannot readily identify the make, particularly as the body style was a very popular one in the Edwardian period.
"While most were known as Landaulets, many of the larger ones were referred to as Limousine Landaulets because of their increased seating capacity.
"An alternative name that was used was that of Town Car - a name perpetuated by Henry Ford for his enclosed versions of the model T. The idea of the high roof line was so that gentlemen did not have to stoop or remove their top hats when entering the rear compartment.
"The engine compartment of the car in your picture is particularly small for such large coachwork so it may well have been for town use only – probably taking the owner and his family out to dinner or to church on a Sunday – no doubt with the hood down on dry days.
"Many London taxis had that smaller style of body, often on a Unic chassis.
"The date is almost certainly 1910 onwards as fore doors were not generally fitted until that time."
