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James Starley has fondly been remembered as the father of the British bicycle. However, along side the many inventions he made, like one of the first popular everyday bicycles, was his lesser know inventions such as his sewing machines. James has a story almost as grand as Isaac Singer. Born in April 1831 in Albourne, Sussex, England, Just down the road from me. The son of a farmer, James as a young boy had big dreams and a bright star to follow. People will blind you with dates and figures, let me tell you a little about the man. He left home as a teenager, like Dick Whittington, to find his fortune on the streets of London. You have to remember that the Industrial Revolution was in full swing and a Sussex farm was no place for a budding inventor! It turned out to be a long trip for although he only lived 40 miles or so away it took 15 years and many adventures before he finally stepped over Old Father Thames into the heart of London. Can you imagine the first few nights away from home. Away from his family and friends sleeping where he could. A young boy all alone whose only comfort was his own belief in himself and his abilities. In the great city,after several jobs, he found work at one of pioneering sewing machine concerns of Newton Wilson. Eventually stifled and with his star still burning bright he made his escape to start his own company. Taking several workers from Newton’s with him he headed north to Coventry where he knew he would find the skilled labour he needed. James now had a wife and the first of three children to support. Coventry was a centre of highly skilled clock and watch manufacturing and suffering from a depression in manufacturing. Starley and his partner Josiah Turner were just what they needed bright and forward thinking men with an inventive genius. At first, while setting up his own company, he became foreman of the Coventry Sewing Machine Company. Before long he had not only perfected his sewing machines but invented so many bicycle parts that the sewing machine company at Holborn Viaduct was renamed from The Coventry Sewing Machine Company to The Coventry Machinists Co. This allowed him to incorporate sewing machines, bicycles and other inventions. Within a very short time shop windows were full of more bicycles than sewing machines. However, it was not James Starley who invented the first modern looking bicycle but his nephew John Kemp Starley.
John Starley had the brainwave of a chain drive geared to the rear wheel instead of the front-wheel drive of James' penny farthing. That new bicycle first appeared, as a Rover, in 1885, 4 years after James' death. J K Starley went on to produce the Rover which became synonymous with the famous car company that recently folded (the name is now owned by Ford).
J K Starley not to be confused with J Starley! Now back to our story as we have skipped ahead a bit. In 1868 while James was busy earning a living making sewing machines he found a growing business repairing the boneshaker bicycles of the era. More and more bicycles came to his business for repair and it became obvious to the inventor that he could make and supply a better bike than what was on the market. He began building his own bicycles, namely the Penny Farthing called the Ariel and a tricycle. His novel development of differential gearing for his tricycles was a huge improvement when cornering. At his works, for a short period, bicycles went hand in hand with sewing machines. This is when Smith & Starley produced the amazing Queen of Hearts one of the rarest sewing machines in the world today.
Said to be Princess Alexandra and her daughter on the bed of his best machine, the Queen of Hearts. The 1870’s saw James in his prime. Inventions boomed, as did his workforce. Sewing machines took a back seat to his bicycle business.
The small range of sewing machines he had produced were as unique as the man himself. They were The Europa, European, Little Europa, Little Dorrit and the amazing Queen of Hearts. So few of these machines remain that they are the most sought after of all collectible machines.
His machines were advertised as everlasting and won medals in Britain, Austria, France and elsewhere. They were reliable and light but above all beautiful to look at. The castings alone were works of art. Influenced no doubt by his connections with France where his main bicycle market was.
James' nephew, John Starley, went on to found the Rover Car Company and even Hillman, Singer and Swallow Cars were started by associates who worked with James. He seemed to encourage inventive genius in others.
At the Coventry Transport Museum, there is a fine collection of Starley Bicycles, vehicles and other machines on view and a monument to him stands in Coventry City. The Coventry Transport Museum has a wealth of information on James Starley and is a great way to spend a day if you are in the area. Also it is free entry! James Starley, although only 51, died a wealthy and respected man in the early summer of 1881. His children carried on with the bicycle business. His inventions are still in use today from the differential gearing, used in almost every moving vehicle, to hollow bicycle tubing and adjustable, alternating, spoked wheels. Not bad for the little farm boy from Sussex who had a dream and followed his star. Below you are looking at a beautiful work of art, the Starley Queen of Hearts. James Starley would be proud of his everlasting machine.
Starley became famous for his inventions and fondly became known as the Father of the British Bicycle. Brilliant but hey that ain't nothing to do with sewing machines so now we must leave our great inventor for others to continue his story! Do let me know if you have found this helpful it takes a huge amount of research, time and effort to write these pages and I love to hear peoples thoughts on them:alexsussex@aol.com The End
Fancy a funny and true story: Ena & the one-armed machinist |
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