Egertons
The early morning suns floods onto the back wall of Yates' public
house.
The view is from the top of Northgate Street, opposite the former
Halberd pub.
Egertons, the motor engineers and vehicle dealers have a long history
in
the town and have occupied several locations that we know of. This
somewhat
enigmatic sign promises something 100 yards away, without saying quite
where.
Presumably Egertons (Ipswich) Ltd, their sign sposored by British
Petroleum,
knew that passers-by would find them if they'd got that far. The
premises
referred to once stood on the site further down Crown Street on the
right,
past the Cricketers pub (with its green spire in the photograph) on the
site of the current Crown Pools. Other premises owned by the company
over
the years include a notable presence as Mann Egertons on Major's
Corner, partially demolished to make way for the Odeon Cinema; the
remainder
facing Woodbridge Road had been used as a furniture shop and car
dealership
but is now demolished to make more parking space between the cinema and
the Regent. They also traded in
agricultural machinery from Princes
Street, near the Greyfriars roundabout and had a lawnmower dealership
on
one of the newer industrial estates. However, until the lettering
(bottom
of this page) was noticed, we never knew that they were in Northgate
Street.
-
It is noticeable from the close-up (and presumably
before the rooftop fire
escape was installed) that a much earlier and larger lettered name
'Egertons.'
- complete with full stop - was painted onto a dark ground. A tribute
to
the signwriter' ability to work with letterforms and character-spacing
in
a lofty location.
To find the source of the Egertons company name, we need to start with
William Botwood's carriage making works in Woodbridge Road (between
Kirby Street and Milton Street) established in 1870. In 1882 showrooms
were opened in St Matthews Street. Botwood died in 1896 and the
business was caried on by two sons, Samuel Ernest and William Thomas,
who a few years later were joined by a pioneering motorist, Reginald
Egerton. Until 1910 the motor car manufacturers Botwood & Egerton
ran alongside the carriage-making firm until Egerton left to set up his
own business in Northgate (Street) next to the Great White Horse Hotel
(see photographs at the foot of this page). The Botwood company became
Botwoods Ltd and in the 1920s the Botwood shares were acquired by
Mann, Egerton & Co. of Norwich who had by then expanded to the town
end of Woodbridge Road/Majors Corner. [Malster in the Reading List]
Below: part of a 1930s view of that Egertons wall - a wall which
appears to have been extended
upwards since that time; the early drop-shadow lettering on the Halberd
to the left
is also of interest (stables behind are visible, as well as The Odd
Fellows
Hall):
P.J. McGinty & Sons - an Irish theme pub now
occupies this old coaching
inn, so it is both surprising and refreshing that the original 'HALBERD
INN' (much better name) lettering which stands in relief between first
and
second storeys facing the mouth of Old Foundry Road has been left. Not
only
that, but the (apparently misleading) pub name has been nicely picked
out
in racing car green. See also Manning's
for
similar lettering.
The photograph below is taken from St Mary le Tower
churchyard - a very
important site for gatherings and meetings of Portmen and townspeople
for
centuries - of the rear of the building now occupied by the Chicago
Rock
Cafe (fronting Northgate Street). The church butresses and porch with
lamp are
visible to the right. The building has an attractive frontage and was
for
a time home to a girls school among other things and for many years the
stationers' shop Mortem. The vestiges of the lettering 'EGERTON'S'
(this
time with a posessive apostrophe, we think) are visible in the
close-up,
below, in faint outline only in the centre. This is the site of
Reginald Egerton's first motor car works. A period photograph of the
front
of the building appears on our Introduction
page.
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Copyright throughout this site belongs to Borin Van Loon, 2003.