Page 10 - HeritageEbooklet
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Photo: Derbyshire Local Studies Libraries and picturethepast.org.uk
Above: The Rolls-Royce factory on Nightingale Road in 1913. The factory soon
expanded to take in some of the vacant land seen here on the east side of the road. A
grander main entrance (the ‘Marble Hall’) was added to the Commercial Block in 1938.
The Spirit of Ecstasy
As car ornaments became
increasingly fashionable,
Rolls-Royce decided to
commission a mascot that
would suit the dignity and
grace of their cars.
The design was sculpted
by Charles Robinson
Sykes and is thought to
be modelled on Eleanor
Velasco Thornton. Claude
Johnson described it as
conveying “the spirit of
ecstasy, who has selected
road travel as her supreme
delight. She is expressing
her keen enjoyment, with
her arms outstretched and
her sight fixed upon the
distance.”
© Cactus Images
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