Description and History of Site:-
Rippon Bros coach-building works, built 1909 - early 1911. On a site bounded by Viaduct Street and Fountain Street. Four storeys and a basement. Showrooms on ground floor and 1st floor, workshops on 2nd and 3rd floors. The site and the whole of Fountain Street was replaced by a supermarket in 1978-9, Tesco from 1987. William Rippon and Charles Marsom moved from Wakefield to Huddersfield to establish Rippon & Marsom, coachbuilders, in 1870. Huddersfield was by then becoming a prosperous town with an increasingly wealthy middle-class. They started in premises at Crystal Buildings, St John's Road/Green Street, where they were soon producing carriages and advertising for workers as sales increased. Charles Marsom left the business in 1879; 3 of William's 5 sons, William Edward, Joseph and George, had recently joined. In 1882 William also left, leaving his sons run the company, which in due course was renamed Rippon Brothers. Business prospered as they supplied carriages to many of the wealthy textile and engineering industrialists of the West Riding and beyond. They won several contracts to supply vehicles to Huddersfield Corporation and modified a number of their steam tram cars in the 1880s. In 1885, they completed 631 jobs (new vehicles, repairs, repainting); in 1893 1222 jobs were completed. In the 1880s/90s they extended Crystal Buildings, naming it the “West Riding Carriage Works”. By 1905 they had started building motor bodies and had become agents to sell motor cars. Renault chassis became most numerous - 316 sales by 1913. They bodied their first Rolls-Royce in 1906. In 1908 they began planning a new purpose-built 4-storey works and showroom on the corner of Viaduct Street / Fountain Street to which they moved in 1911. By at least 1910 the production of motor bodies had overtaken carriages as customers switched to buying cars. They opened showrooms and servicing facilities in Bradford in 1897 and Leeds in 1903; Sheffield had to wait until 1954.
After WW1 the business continued to grow. As well as coachbuilding they also sold cars bodied by other coachbuilders and car manufacturers. In 1920 they were appointed as the West Riding distributors for Delage and Rolls-Royce. Rolls-Royce cars, together with Bentley, became the mainstay for coachbuilt chassis. Some clients became serial purchasers - between 1907 and 1961 members of the Waddilove family bought 44 cars from Rippon, 12 of which were bodied by Rippon. In 1936 a complete Rippon bodied Rolls-Royce cost between £1553 and £2312, depending on the type of chassis.
Colonel Reginald Rippon, Joseph's son, joined the partnership in 1922, becoming managing director in 1930. He brought new ideas to body styling and was a good salesman. He promoted their cars at successive motor shows and entered their cars in rallies and exhibitions where they frequently won awards, gaining publicity in the general and motoring press.
Coachbuilding ceased on the outbreak of WW2, during which they reconditioned Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, repaired aircraft petrol tanks and built ambulance bodies. Coachbuilding resumed in 1948, though at a greatly reduced level. Between 1948 and 1952 they bodied five Bentleys and five Rolls-Royces, primarily to exhibit at the annual Olympia Motor Show. Ending in 1952, Rippon's coachbuilding work lasted longer than any of the other provincial coachbuilders. Between 1906 and 1952 Rippon built 462 bodies on Rolls-Royce and Bentley chassis, the largest number being 37 in 1934. They built an estimated 1200 - 1300 bodies on other chassis, making a total of 1630 - 1760.
Rippon continued selling and servicing various car makes, particularly Rolls-Royce and Bentley, being the most successful regional dealer for a number of years.
Following the death of Reg Rippon in 1969, as planned, Rippon Bros were taken over by the family-run firm, Appleyard of Leeds in 1970 to become Appleyard Rippon, later based at Roseville Road. This closed in 1997.
The Rippon works and showrooms at Viaduct Street were demolished in 1978, being replaced by a supermarket.
In Leeds, the Albion Street premises were demolished in 1962, having been replaced by the purpose-built Rippon House on Westgate, which opened in April 1962, closing in 1971. The Bradford branch at North Parade closed in 1959. Following the use of temporary premises, a new branch was opened at 226-228 Manningham Lane in 1962. This closed in 1971. In Sheffield, Rippon bought an existing company and premises in Ellin Street in 1954. This was sold to Kennings in 1970.

Further Reading and References:-
Wood, J. Rippon Bros: a coachbuilder of renown. Hinchliffe and Sleigh, Dobroyd Mills, Jackson Bridge, Huddersfield 2012.

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Key Words :- coachbuilders carriages cars coachbuilding

Viewing the Site :- Buildings have been demolished and the site redeveloped

Address :- Viaduct Street, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, HD1 5AA
Grid Ref :- SE 14413 17056
Co-ordinates :- Lat 53.649811 , Long -1.783428
Local Authority :- Kirklees Council
Pre 1974 County :- Yorkshire - West Riding
Site Status :- Site demolished or no longer extant
Site Condition :- Site redeveloped to industrial / commercial use
Site Dates :- 1911 - June 1978
Record Date :- 10 July 2014

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