Edward Whites.

In May 1939 Mr. Edward White died at his home "Ashleigh" in Horncastle Road.
Mr. White, who was 76, entered his father's business when it consisted of just a blacksmith's shop and a wheelwright's and from such small beginnings he had seen it grow to a well known motor engineering business.
When he entered the business the internal combustion engine was, of course, unheard of and horses were the transport of the day. There were no frost nails for horses' shoes then, (a nail with a sharp head driven into a horse's shoe to keep him from slipping) and in the winter they were frequently kept busy "turning up" which consisted of removing the horses' shoes, turning up the ends so that they would bite into the ground, and replacing the shoes on the animal's feet.
His father was an accomplished iron worker and, in addition to making his own horse-shoes, made a number of pieces of fancy iron-work. These included two pieces for inclusion in the Communial rail of Boston Parish Church, a pair of gates measuring 18ft. by 8ft. for a country house and a panel for one of the gates of Fydell House.

 

White and Son, High Street.

His father allowed him to sell bicycles as a sideline (which were then in their infancy) and in 1881 he built an ordinary (Penny Farthing) bicycle on which he cycled to Sutton Docks. Three or four years after entering the business, he took it over from his father, and carried on with the cycle trade. They then began to build their own bicycles, and had their own enamelling and plating plant.

Mr. White also built the first motorcycle in Boston, he saw a similar machine at the Cycle Show at the Agricultural Hall. It was a Singer machine, with the engine in the back wheel, and Mr. White purchased the necessary components and built a machine in Boston.

The firm had their first car on show in 1898/99.

 

White's motor garage, Bargate End, can just be seen near the left hand side of Bargate bridge.

Odds and ends

This picture of Bostons former SD Gully Emptier was sent to me by Robin Smith and he tells me that it was driven for 29 years by Bert Scoot of Argyle Street, who in all that time was its only driver, Bert named it "Lizzie". Many older Bostonians will remember Bert as one side of his face was totally covered with a red stain birth mark. Although no longer in its Boston "Corporation Green" colour the Gully emptier still has the same reg JL 4881. It had tiller steering and as a kid it always used to fascinate Robin how he could steer it without a steering wheel. Lizzie had a top speed of 20 mph and had done over 200,000 miles when it was sold to a collector.

Below you’ll see a drawing of Richard Hammond on his own bicycle.
Richard Hammond was born in Boston, and later moved to Gainsborough with his parents, his father being an established Coach Builder.
It was in the early 1860s that Hammond worked on his designs for his first bicycle and by January 1868 he had a machine on the roads of Lincolnshire !
Despite much local derision when he trialled the machine Hammond persisted and refined the design into a type II version, lighter and more refined than the first.
He set out to demonstrate the capability of his bike by riding the 50 miles from Gainsborough to Boston which was no mean feat on wooden wheels shod with iron bands.
So did he build the first ever bicycle in England - can a Bostonian lay claim to that crown ?
During his own lifetime Richard Hammond himself laid claim to being the maker of the first pedal and crank bicycle in England.
In any case he is a Bostonian who deserves to be remembered.

Gary Halliday sent me the picture below of a sign that was found under some floorboards on a demolition site in Boston.