Page 35 - Bentley Mark VI & R-Type

OPPOSITE, TOP: The James Young
Ltd works and ground floor showroom
soon after World War II. During the
War the building had been seriously
damaged in an air raid, and it may
be noted that the pre-war arch-bar
windows in the first floor gable ends
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had been replaced with plainer
windows. In the showroom, there is a
pre-war Rolls-Royce 20/25 and a pre-
war Alvis drophead coupé with, on
the right, a Bentley Mark VI.
OPPOSITE, LOWER: This charming
artist’s impression is looking at the
building from the opposite end, with
James Young Bentley Mark VI cars in
the foreground.
UPPER: The coachbuilding floor at
James Young, with mostly Bentley
Mark VI coachwork in various stages
of construction. In the foreground is
a design number C.10AM ‘saloon
coupé, while the earlier razor-edged
designs are also evident.
LOWER: James Young craftsmen
working on mostly Bentley Mark VI
coachwork, with a design number
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C.16 sedanca coupé nearest the
camera.
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Rolls-Royce & Bentley Builders © DALTON WATSON FINE BOOKS
James Young Ltd became a member of the Society of British Motor
Manufacturers in 1922 and began exhibiting its products at the annual
Motor Show in 1925. In 1937, the firm was acquired by Jack Barclay Ltd
and as a fitting tribute to the success of the new partnership, James
Young exhibits won the premier award and a silver cup in the coachwork
competition at the 1938 Earls Court Motor Show.
Over the years, James Young was responsible for innovations that later
became integral features of quantity-produced cars. As long ago as 1925,
at their first official appearance at a London Motor Show, a James Young-
bodied car introduced a new method of roof construction which, in order
© DALTON WATSON FINE BOO
to reduce drumming, employed light wire in place of wood or metal.
The other many distinctive design features initiated and developed at
Bromley have included the Allweather head, the Beatonson Rol Visor and
the Parallel Action Door. The latter feature was designed in 1935 by G.H.
Wenham, who was then Works Director (he was killed by a land mine
during the War). Mr Wenham was sitting at a table in the Champs Elysees
in Paris when he saw a pedestrian knocked down by the sudden opening
of a car door. He there and then drew up plans for a parallel opening door
which was subsequently patented and used by James Young on a small
number of Phantom III and Bentley 4¼-Litre cars. Possibly the expectation
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