Description and History of Site:-
Double fronted stone-built property set back from York Place, with a central entrance. In a 20th century addition are large display windows on either side. The main block is 3 storeys high, showing its origins as a mid-Victorian house. The forecourt was probably originally a garden. To the rear were workshops, subsequently replaced by a large brick-built workshop and stores. 19 York Place was originally a residential property at the end of a terrace of substantial houses, built c1860, By c1875 it had been converted into a carriage manufactory and is shown as such on the 1891 OS map. It was probably occupied by McDowell & Co by the mid-1870s. At a later date Samuel Croft & Co, of Harrogate and Ripon moved there, remaining until 1897. In late 1897 John Fowler & Sons, coachbuilders, moved into the property. By c1906 as well as building carriages they had begun building motor bodies. By 1910 they were described in trade directories as "coachbuilders, & motor engineers & body builders. The first coachwork to be built on a Rolls-Royce was on a Silver Ghost chassis in 1907. A further 8 Rolls-Royces followed up to 1926 with one Bentley in 1924. It is very likely that they also built bodies on other makes.
In 1922 John Fowler & Sons were taken over by George Harrison & Co Ltd but they continues trading under their own name, described in trade directories as coachbuilders & motor engineers & body builders well into the 1930s. They also sold various makes of cars and commercial vehicles. In c1938 Fowlers were taken over by Ellis (Harrogate) motor body builders, subsequently trading as Ellis (Harrogate) Ltd, (Fowler's garage) motor car agents.
By 1950 Ellis were taken over by Roland Winn Ltd, motor car agents, Vauxhall & Bedford main dealers and the Fowler name disappeared. Winn's were still at 19 York Place in 1973/4; they were not recorded in the 1975 directory, the last published.
By c.1990 the property was occupied by Kwik-Fit, who were still there in 2016. Remarkably, 19 York Place has been occupied by road vehicle related businesses for over 140 years.

Further Reading and References:-
Kelly's trade directories for Harrogate
Walker, N. A-Z of British coachbuilders 1919-1960 and the development of styles & techniques. Revised ed. Herridge & Sons, 2007

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Key Words :- coachbuilders, carriages cars sales repairs motor engineers

Viewing the Site :- May be viewed from the road / pavement

Address :- 19 York Place, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG1 1HL
Grid Ref :- SE 30483 54793
Co-ordinates :- Lat 53.988291 , Long -1.536595
Local Authority :- Harrogate Borough Council
Pre 1974 County :- Yorkshire - West Riding
Site Status :- Site extant - Protected status unknown
Site Condition :- Site in alternative industrial use
Site Dates :- c1860 -
Record Date :- 18 November 2016

Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © Robert Vickers