Irish born Frederick York Wolseley went to Sydney, Australia aged 17 in 1887 and founded the Wolseley Sheep Shearing Machine Company Ltd. in Sydney on 25th October 1887. While in Australia he worked at many jobs including being a station owner with a large number of sheep. He returned to Britain in 1889 after suffering manufacturing shortcomings from his sub-contractors. He set up at 58 Broad Street in Birmingham. Wolseley resigned in 1894.
Herbert Austin, who had been manager of an engineering company in Australia, had suggested improvements to the shearing machines and returned to England in 1893 as a Wolseley employee. He was employed as an engineering inspector. Austin arranged the move in 1895 to larger premises at Sydney Works, Alma Street, Aston, Birmingham. In around 1896 Austin travelled to France to look at their motor industry. He liked the Léon-Bollée three-wheel voiturette and was soon building his own version, called the "Autocar Number One". It was advertised at £110 but only one was made. His second car was completed in 1897.
A new company was formed in 1901; The Wolseley Tool & Motor Car Company Ltd. under the auspices of Vickers Sons & Maxim Ltd. and a new factory at Adderley Park, Birmingham was acquired to build Wolseley cars. In their first year Wolseley built 323 cars at the Birmingham factory while further cars were produced at the Crayford site. The Birmingham factory had been constructed in 1897 for Starley Brothers & Westwood Ltd. who were in the cycle trade. Austin applied for his first patents from these works in May 1901 for a handbrake mechanism and a pre-selector gearbox. Austin also patented a central steering motor body in January 1902.
Austin helped Sir Hiram Maxim (Inventor of the machine-gun) build a giant steam plane during the 1890's and Maxim's associates, Vickers, Sons & Maxim bought Wolseleys car division during 1901.
Plans were submitted to enlarge the works in February 1902 and further expansion occurred in most of the following years. Herbert Austin resigned in 1905 to start the Austin Motor Company Ltd. in Longbridge. Design now came under Siddeley influence and cars were marketed as Wolseley-Siddeleys.
After Austin left the company Alfred Remington made the patent applications. Remington was a draughtsman with The Wolseley Sheep Shearing Machine Company in 1900 and by 1902 was its Chief Draughtsman. Born in 1877 Remington designed the first submarine to use an internal combustion engine. He left Wolseley in 1920 due to ill health and died in 1922.
By 1909 Wolseley were building engines for rail cars, aircraft and marine uses. During the years 1909 and 1910 they expanded into the adjacent premises, Britannia Works, which had previously been used by Brown, Marshalls & Company Ltd. who had built railway carriages and were also waggon builders. (NB: double "G" is the correct spelling).
The next true Wolseley range appeared in 1910 when Siddeley left to join Deasy. This series of four and six-cylinder cars were manufactured up to the outbreak of The Great War.
By 1912 Wolseley had arrangements with Lloyds for customer insurance, this cover included two months use on the Continent. A school of motoring was also run where "owners or their servants may go through a complete course of tuition, both in driving and theory".
In 1913 Wolseley built and demonstrated the Gyrocar which ran on ony two wheels and was balanced by a gyroscope. A Russian count, Dr. Peter Schilovski, had designed the car and persuaded Wolseley to built it. Although it worked well, it's 12-16 hp engine was underpowered for a vehicle which weighed nearly three tons. The outbreak of war prevented any further trials and after the war it was buried. In 1938 it was recovered and, after restoration, displayed in the companys museum. It was finally cut up and destroyed after the Second World war.
The Stellite car was designed by Wolseley but built by the Electric & Ordnance Accessories Company Ltd. Birmingham, another Vickers company.
In 1913 Wolseley was the largest British manufacturer with 4000 employees building 3000 cars at Adderley Park.
Commercial vehicles were offered from 1901 to 1913 and through the war years but not after the war.
After the war a second plant was taken over at Drews Lane, Ward End, Birmingham, this factory had originally been built by a Vickers subsidiary in 1913. The post war period was a good time for Wolseley with 12,000 cars built in 1921. Sales brochures of that time boasted that the depression had not affected demand.
The larger cars continued in production along with a greater emphasis on smaller models. As much as possible was made in house and included castings and upholstery fittings, however this added to Wolseley's debt problems. Development continued until February 1927 when, due to bankruptcy Sir William Morris, Lord Nuffield, acquired Wolseley from Vickers for £730,000 of his own money. Some existing Wolseley models were kept but, over the following ten years, Morris and MG components were increasingly used and by 1938 all models were using Morris engines.
Morris Motors gained a lot of expertise as a result of the takeover and by 1933 Morris Commercial Cars were established at Adderley Park while Wolseley production continued at the Ward Lane premises and were known as Wolseley Motors (1927) Ltd. Leonard Lord was moved from Morris's Coventry based Engine Branch to work under the Managing Director William Cannell (previously with Morris Commercial).
During the war Wolseley had built Hispano-Suiza overhead camshaft V-8 aero engines under the Wolseley Viper name and post war, this expensive configuration was used in the cars.
Lord had taken charge at Wolseley and by July 1933 had moved to run Morris Motors. Oliver Boden took over at Wolseley having previously run Morris Commercial. He was to later run Morris when Lord left Morris after a row with Lord Nuffield. In 1935 Lord convinced William Morris (Lord Nuffield from 1934) to sell Wolseley and MG to Morris Motors. (William Morris privately owned these companies). Miles Thomas took over as deputy chairman in August 1936.
Car production ceased in 1940 and the Ward End factories made shells, Bren carriers, mines and Horsa gliders despite serious bomb damage sustained in 1941.
After the death of Oliver Boden in March 1940, Miles Thomas took over at Morris and formed the Nuffield Organisation. Charles Mullens now took over at Wolseley.
Car production resumed on the 6th September 1945 when an 8 hp model was introduced and in 1947 a short lived limousine based on the pre-war 25 hp car. The range was simplified in 1948 to just two models (4/50 and 6/80) and remained that way until 1954. It was during this period that Wolseley Police cars became so well established.
Thomas's replacement as vice-chairman at the Nuffield Organisation in 1947 was Reginald Hanks who instigated the transfer of car production to Cowley from the 1st January 1949. The Birmingham factory was renamed the Tractors and Transmission branch and is now the premises for the van manufacturer Leyland DAF Vans (LDV).
The creation of the British Motor Corporation (BMC) in 1952 meant that the name Wolseley was now used for luxury versions of standard BMC models. 1961 saw the Wolseley Hornet, which was a Mini with an extended boot and Wolseley grill and fittings. The last use of the Wolseley name was in 1975 on the Leyland 18/22 that was renamed the Princess for 1976.
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