Wheels of steel
Blacksmith Ryan Atkin has been working on a commission to celebrate the first all-British motor car. Caroline Bingham visited him recently at his Lincoln forge.
Stephens is not a name readily recognised today as a motor manufacturing brand but nearly 130 years ago engineer Richard Stephens built a prototype of his model A car in his small factory at Clevedon, near Bristol. He was inspired to become a manufacturer and lead the first company to design and make a car in the UK after spending time in America and seeing the work of Henry Ford and Ransom Olds, founder of the Oldsmobile car company.
Ryan Atkin, whose forge is located at The Guildhall on Lincoln’s High Street, was commissioned by West Country businessman Mark Reber to create a life-sized, steel replica of the first Stephens which will be installed as a permanent memorial to this pioneering motor company on the Six Ways roundabout in Clevedon.
“Mark is a car enthusiast who is the organiser of the Clevedon Cars and Coffee event,” said Ryan.
“He wanted to create a lasting reminder of this area’s and Richard Stephens’ contribution to the history of motor car manufacturing in the UK.”
The first Stephens was built in 1897 and of the twelve which were built before the company folded in 1916, two still exist and take part in the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run.
Richard Stephens employed five local people and used locally sourced materials to build the cars, so was a real Renaissance man as far as Mark Reber is concerned.
“The cars were advanced in design for their time and could reach speeds of up to 45 miles per hour,” Ryan continued. “I went down to West Sussex to where one of the remaining cars is housed. As I have built the statue from scratch to the exact scale, I needed to obtain measurements and appreciate the interior detail of the car.”
Ryan began work on the fabrication in September, faithfully recreating the innovative-for-the-time Stephens suspension system and giving the illusion of soft, buttoned upholstery from the mild steel seating.
“Mark wanted me to add as much detail as possible, so the steering levers work the front wheels, although there will not be a recreation of the engine. The statue can be transported in pieces, so it is heading to Hull for the next galvanising stage and was scheduled to be delivered down to Clevedon just prior to Christmas.”
The basic model was later adapted to build the first motorised taxi for an operator in Bath and a nine-seater bus, used by Stephens in the early 1900s to run excursions to Cheddar for a return journey fare of £1.
Ryan has continued with his more usual blacksmithing, in between creating the Stephens replica, which includes everything from domestic ironwork to conservation work and sculptures. Ryan also teaches blacksmithing skills at his Lincoln forge and at Chain Bridge Forge in Spalding.
More details can be found at facebook.com/traditionalblacksmith or tel: 07568 744643.
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