Coventry's first car maker

Does anyone know who the first car maker was in Cov? I seem to remember being told they were located in Parkside where the old Rolls Royce used to be.

Wasn't it Daimler by the Canal Basin? There's part of the building still left. I'm sure there's some information on a plaque there, and it was the first car factory in the UK. It wasn't actually the German company, but a UK company that bought the rights to use the name. I believe it got sold on a few times before ending up as part of Jaguar.

Yes Here it is

Here's an article in "Warwickshire Life"

The date of the first Daimler is often given as 1896, as at this date they had started importing cars. The factory though was not completed until 1897 and their first car left the factory in January that year, but even that had a Panhard engine. Simms and the Daimler engine Humber however had produced a series of cars supposedly at their Coventry works in 1896 - Thomas Humber - though this was a cycle factory, not a dedicated car factory

Thanks to all. Didn't realise there were so many car makers around. I remember my dad saying (it's just come to me seeing the list) that the Beeston Motor Co were in Parkside. He worked in the motor trade all his life from 1922 when he was 14. He says he worked in a factory that made the engine for Malcolm Campbell's Bluebird as his first job when he left school. I think it was in Raglan Street.

Garrard & Blumfield (or Blumfield & Garrard) had produced electric cars at Coventry in 1894. T.W. Blumfield later worked for Humber and was involved with development of the first UK motor cycle for them in 1896.

I very good book that covers this subject is "The Marques of Coventry" by Brian Long. A history of the city's motor industry.

The book "Coventry's Motorcar Heritage" by Damien Kimberley is available on Google Books and parts can be viewed online.

Not a Coventry topic but interesting video of early car manufacture and driving (Germany): Motor cars 1890's

That's an interesting post Argon. A reminder that the motor industry is far & wide. Thank you.

It does seem likely the first car made in the city was electric. There is a review of it in Autocar that appeared in their issue number 2 of November 1895. They called it the carriage of the future which in retrospect is an astonishing prediction, though at that date they could only compare it to the bicycle. Autocar back issue