Development of the ‘horseless carriage’

Weston’s disposal of his horse-drawn omnibus service might have been a far-sighted decision, as the days of horse-power were numbered. Alternative forms of propulsion were being sought nationally and internationally. The first four-wheeled petrol-driven car made in this country was built by the three brothers Lanchester early in 1896 in Coventry.

A few months earlier the Daimler Company in Paris had produced a 6 hp twin cylinder ‘wagonette’. This was said to look like a four-wheeled dogcart, having a hood in front for use in wet weather, with a maximum speed of about 20mph. The principle of the engine was much the same as a gas engine.

The first motor-driven buses were developed by Daimler and another company De Dion and began to appear on the streets of London in about 1904. By 1908 the London General Omnibus Company was the biggest bus operator in the world.

These developments were not going un-noticed in Wycombe. After the success of the horse-drawn omnibus service between West Wycombe and Loudwater and the technological advances that were taking place, businessmen in Wycombe began to consider improved means of mass transport for the town and its environs.

By the turn of the 20th century Wycombe had its own electric light and power, and the Directors of the local Electric Light Company o considered installing an ‘electric tramway’, again along the valley between West Wycombe and Loudwater. Although this does not seem to have progressed further than the ‘pipedream’ stage, it did, as the Bucks Free Press reported ‘show that the fact that such a project was being entertained may be taken as one more proof that Wycombe means to be thoroughly up to date on matters of municipal convenience’.

The Livery & Posting Company

The new owners of Llewellyn Weston’s Wycombe Omnibus Service were the Hunt brothers, who were the sons of Mr Charles H Hunt, a prominent Wycombe businessman. He built up a very successful building company in the town and was mayor of Wycombe in 1892/93.. After he died in 1899 his two sons took over the running of the company. Among the buildings constructed when the company was under their management were the Town Hall in Queen Victoria Road, the new Royal Grammar School near the summit of Amersham Hill, and the Railway Station. The business was also diversified, becoming funeral carriage proprietors and auctioneers as well as builders.

In 1902, to further diversify their business, the Hunt brothers paid Mr Weston the sum of £2,850, comprising £1,850 for the stock and £1,000 for the goodwill of his Wycombe Omnibus Service. Under the terms of the Agreement Weston agreed not to compete with the omnibus service within a twenty miles radius of High Wycombe.

On December 31,1904, the Hunt brothers agreed to amalgamate their omnibus business with that of the posting business of Mr Harry Browning, who since 1901 had been the proprietor of the Red Lion Hotel in the High St. Then on January 3, 1905, a new company called the Livery & Posting Company, Ltd (LPC) was formed for this integrated business. The directors of LPC were the two Hunt brothers and Harry Browning, the registered office was No. 24, High Street, High Wycombe, and the stables were at the Red Lion Hotel Yard. The directors appointed Mr W Weekes as Manager of the company’s operations, who was said to have ‘many years’ experience in every branch’.

In December 1905 LPC commenced an action in the Chancery Division of the High Court in London against Llewelyn Weston for breaches of the original agreement, and damages in consequence of these breaches. After several days the proceedings were settled ‘out of court’, with Weston agreeing an Injunction, damages of £350, and the payment of all costs.

The first motor bus in Wycombe

Before there was a regular and sustainable motor bus service in Wycombe, there were two short-lived services introduced by entities based elsewhere. These did have the effect of introducing motor buses to a fairly sceptical public in the town, so some of the initial resistance was overcome.

The first of these ‘outsiders’ was Joseph Putnam who hailed from Park Street in Thame. He was planning to use the same route as the existing horse-drawn service, West Wycombe to Loudwater, but seems to have started on March 25, 1907 only between Wycombe High Street and Wycombe Marsh, using a second-hand Daimler omnibus. Just over a week later, on April 4, at a meeting of the Wycombe Public Works committee, it was reported that complaints about the motor bus had been received from the owners and occupiers of property in the High Street, who requested that the it should not be permitted.

The Head Constable of Chepping Wycombe had therefore recommended that its licence be revoked, with which the committee concurred. Those against the motor bus said that it was extremely noisy, especially in reverse gear when the bus had to back into Corporation Street to turn around! There some residents who were in favour, mostly from Wycombe Marsh, who said that ‘Wycombe needs a modern motor bus service to replace the horse-drawn Noah’s Ark on wheels now running’. However, it seems that the motor bus being used by Putnam was not much of an improvement, being of an old out-of-date construction, probably having been used in London.

Putnam stated that he would endeavour to minimise the noise of the bus, and planned to obtain two newer vehicles in the near future. It was agreed if these met with Head Constable’s approval they wo0uld be licensed at the next meeting. Until then the noisy bus would be allowed to continue to operate. No further information about this has been found, so it can be assumed that this service ended within a month or two..

The second motor bus service in High Wycombe began in March/April 1908. The route was from the White Hart hotel in Beaconsfield through to the Black Boy pub in West Wycombe. It was operated by a Giles Hayward and Herbert Hill, as driver and conductor, using a second-hand double decker Mines Daimler 36 seater vehicle. Hayward had previously worked for the Great Western Railway on their motor omnibus service between Slough and Beaconsfield. Hayward and Hill’s service operated through the summer of 1908, the last reference to it being in October.

Motor bus service from the LPC

It was now not until February 16, 1912, that mention was made in the BFP to a local motor bus service. A short note in the newspeper announced that “a new motor bus will supersede the horsed vehicles which daily run from Wycombe to West Wycombe and Loudwater”. Then in the March 22 edition it was reported in the BFP that the Public Works committee of the Town Council had approved an application from the Livery and Posting company for a licence to operate a motor bus. This was a 40 h.p. De Dion double decker vehicle.

At the same meeting the committee also approved an application from George Charles Ravening of Crendon Street for a licence to act as a driver of the omnibus. Ravening was a Yorkshireman, who first came south to London to work as a ‘motor omnibus fitter’, then moving to Wycombe. He was only here for a few years before moving to Hammersmith, to work as a ‘motor driver in private service’, presumably a chauffeur.

It seems that the new motor omnibus service was an instant success, because in June 1913 the LPC acquired a second De Dion motor bus, and announced considerable extensions to their service. A morning service was added (it had been afternoons only), and services would operate on Sundays.

It can be assumed that for the first year or so of operation the LPC were still running horse-drawn buses on the Loudwater to West Wycombe route in conjunction with the motor bus, but these ceased when the second vehicle was obtained. But even with two buses, interruptions to the service were not unknown; for example it was announced on December 5, 1913 that “Owing to repairs, the bus will not run today or Saturday”!

Towards the end of 1914 the Hunts moved the headquarters of LPC to the South Bucks Auction Mart in Crendon St, opposite the railway station. WW1 had already started, meaning some of the motor bus staff were called up for military service. This resulted in just one bus operating as usual, the second one only seeing service when staff were available. This was usually for excursions and specific events. Shortness of petrol became an increasing problem and the LPC motor bus service finally ended in January 1918. The company continued as taxi proprietors until 1925, when it was wound up.

Acknowledgement

I am grateful to Peter Wilks for his advice in the preparation of this article.