The History of Windovers'

CLR 397 our 20-25 was built by Windovers, below is a brief history of the coach builder.

Windovers were established in Huntingdon in 1796 and were the originators and patentees of a great number of designs and improvements in coach building before the motor car. Once the motoring era became established in the early 20th Century it was realised that Huntingdon was too far from the source of clients and chassis in London, and as a result a factory was acquired in the early twenties at Colindale in near London.

In this factory were built the bodies for mounting on Rolls-Royce chassis, many going to India as Windovers had a large clientele among Indian Princes.

During the 1939-45 War they concentrated on aircraft component manufacture, after which they turned their attention back to motor coach body construction and one of their coaches was selected by the Council of Industrial Design to be exhibited in the ransport Pavilion at the Festival of Britain, 1951.

Coach building on Rolls-Royce chassis continued after the war until 1956 when the company was taken over by Henley’s Ltd., and all the coach building, private and commercial ended.

CLR 397 Features in the book “The History of Windovers” written by Jane Windover.