Sanderson & Holmes, Derby ??
Discussion
Sanderson & Holmes started out as coachbuilders in the 19th century without the Sanderson part. They were on London Rd, Derby, just outside what is now the inner ring road, pretty close to the hospital.
They appear in the 1896 telephone directory with the same number as they had in 1927 - Derby 8. They were what is now referred to as "early adopters".
My Daimler 20/70 has bodywork by Sanderson & Holmes, in a style known as "Doctor's Coupe". The quality of work is amazing. Construction is of aluminium over an ash frame. Wherever two pieces of wood were joined, the joint was reinforced by a custom-made bracket screwed into place.
I had to spend an enormous length of time rubbing down the gaps between the doors and the frames, just to make room for the new paint. No rubber seals, just an extremely good fit, better than you would expect to find on good furniture.
The company, I'm told, became Rolls Royce & Bentley dealers, but in 1927 they were supplying cars of all marques. Their account books are held in the Derbyshire Record Office. They show my chassis being purchased from Daimler for £479, and sold to the customer for £550 plus bodywork. Unfortunately the coachbuilding department only has monthly totals in the ledgers, so I am uncertain of the exact amount, but I expect the on-the-road price to have been about £950. At official inflation figures, that's over £40,000 of today's money. You had to be well off to buy a Daimler. The same week saw the sale of a brand new factory-bodied Lagonda, which cost its new owner £500. Our CHASSIS cost more than that, and it was next to the bottom in the Daimler range.
I believe the company closed its doors in about 1970.
They appear in the 1896 telephone directory with the same number as they had in 1927 - Derby 8. They were what is now referred to as "early adopters".
My Daimler 20/70 has bodywork by Sanderson & Holmes, in a style known as "Doctor's Coupe". The quality of work is amazing. Construction is of aluminium over an ash frame. Wherever two pieces of wood were joined, the joint was reinforced by a custom-made bracket screwed into place.
I had to spend an enormous length of time rubbing down the gaps between the doors and the frames, just to make room for the new paint. No rubber seals, just an extremely good fit, better than you would expect to find on good furniture.
The company, I'm told, became Rolls Royce & Bentley dealers, but in 1927 they were supplying cars of all marques. Their account books are held in the Derbyshire Record Office. They show my chassis being purchased from Daimler for £479, and sold to the customer for £550 plus bodywork. Unfortunately the coachbuilding department only has monthly totals in the ledgers, so I am uncertain of the exact amount, but I expect the on-the-road price to have been about £950. At official inflation figures, that's over £40,000 of today's money. You had to be well off to buy a Daimler. The same week saw the sale of a brand new factory-bodied Lagonda, which cost its new owner £500. Our CHASSIS cost more than that, and it was next to the bottom in the Daimler range.
I believe the company closed its doors in about 1970.
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