Brough Superior

[DAVIDW 1,683]

The hoard of classic Broughs made £750,000 at auction !

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-36129038

[siddha 825]

Incredible to think what is lying about in old forgotten barns, sheds and garages.

[Cliff Ton 10,468]

Next time you see a few bits of rusty metal lying in a ditch or stream, take a closer look at the maker's name.

[letsavagoo 963]

It will be great to see a rare and beautiful Brough SS 100 motorcycle at Newark's civil war centre but I can't recall, was it the Royalists or Parliamentarians that had the motorcycles.

[Cliff Ton 10,468]

The Brough Superior building through the old railway bridge, with the entrance to the station on the left.

[philmayfield 6,141]

I well remember going up that path to the left on the way home from Mellish to catch the train to Daybrook Station. A four minute journey! As for the George Brough factory on Haydn Road I was instrumental in the demolition of that one and even the modern warehouse I replaced it with has now been demolished for houses.

[TBI 2,351]

The other day I had a good look at the SS100 that's currently on show at the Newark Civil War Museum. A barn find from Sao Poalo, the restoration is absolutely superb. 

[Cliff Ton 10,468]

£115,000 for one of Mr Brough's machines.

 

https://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/brough+superior/680+ohv/ac7f5811-ac8d-6851-8304-46369ca8cba3

[PeverilPeril 3,284]

C1964 I called on Brough Eng in my position as a special steel rep. They were not building motor bikes and just doing general engineering and a bit run down. My reports said 'no potential'.

[MRS B 522]

I can remember my brothers talking about Brough. One of them did his engineering apprenticeship and quals at BSA in Birmingham and then went on to have his own garage Route 66 in Stoke. Sadly he is no longer with us but always was greased up with oil. He was once on his way to a wedding and stopped en route to help someone who had broken down. You can guess what state he turned up at the wedding like, bless him.

[Cliff Ton 10,468]

An estimate of £240,000 for a Brough bike. You could buy almost all of Bulwell for that.

 

https://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/brough+superior/ss100/de46bf85-e9b5-64e9-be9d-1007efeea487

[Jill Sparrow 10,307]

My father used to make exhausts for Brough Superior. Stainless steel, believe.

[philmayfield 6,141]

My company used to own George Brough's Haydn Rd. factory which I subsequently demolished to build an modern warehouse. We did have a visit from the Brough owner's club prior to demolition. There are houses on the site now. It was opposite Quorn Rd. and the Meridian games field. 

[IAN FINN 808]

My dad worked at Brough Superior i think it was in Basford he told me that Lawrence of Arabia brought a Brough motorcycle.

[philmayfield 6,141]

I’ve seen a photograph somewhere of Lawrence of Arabia collecting his Brough from the the Haydn Rd factory. The only artefact left after the demolition was the petrol pump which we gave to the Industrial Museum at Wollaton Park

[The Pianoman 1,535]

T E Lawrence had a number of Broughs apparently.

[Jill Sparrow 10,307]

6 hours ago, IAN FINN said:

My dad worked at Brough Superior i think it was in Basford he told me that Lawrence of Arabia brought a Brough motorcycle.

I believe T E died whilst riding a Brough Superior.

[Stuart.C 491]

This is Lawrence collecting one of his 7 Broughs,

 

[philmayfield 6,141]

That's the one I recall.

[philmayfield 6,141]

The previous owners of the Brough works and the adjoining and much larger factory were Cooper Brothers, hosiery manufacturers. My old firm bought the whole site in around 1968.

[Stuart.C 491]

Not a very good picture, from 1949,
Brough factory under the blue indicator Cooper Bros to the right against the railway.

Don't know if Brough were still there at this time or whether they'd moved to Vernon Road.

 

[philmayfield 6,141]

That picture incorporates the whole of our factory site. We subsequently bought the adjoining railway site to the right and built another factory on that. We sold the company in 1997.

[DJ360 6,730]

I only ever recall being conscious of the factory on Vernon Rd. It was easily seen due to the company name painted on the roof. I never 'clocked' the Haydn Rd works, but unsurprising as I rarely needed to go along that section between Hucknall Rd and Nottm Rd.

 

Did they ever 'co-exist' or was one a replacement for the other?

 

My Mum worked at one or the other during WW2, though I don't think she lasted long due to being unable to cope with night shifts. She'd be 16 in 1939. I think she said it was 'munitions' work. What she described sounds like 'Turret', or 'Capstan' Lathe work.

 

For the uninitiated, and according to my fairly scant knowledge, both Capstan and Turret lathes are used for 'batch' or 'mass' production of components. They need to be set up by a skilled person, but once set up, can be used by a semi skilled operative, to perform several actions on one piece of material (usually metal) which are in effect 'mechanically programmed' into the machine.. to produce a component.

[DJ360 6,730]

P.S. It seems to me that both Brough and Vincent motorcycles suffered from the general increase in car ownership. Basically, if you could afford a 'premium' bike like a Brough or Vincent, then you could probably afford a second hand car. As such, the wealthier population switched from 'premium bikes', to cars and bike users generally became younger 'enthusiasts', rather than just users from 'necessity'.

I think it might also be the case that as beautifully engineered as the Broughs and Vincents were.. they didn't keep up technologically and couldn't compete with the sales of the likes of Triumph, Norton, BSA and AJS, whose success on the race track promoted sales to the 'Boy Racers'

[philmayfield 6,141]

I think it probably co existed with the site on Vernon Rd. There was another factory on Greasley St. I believe Spitfire engines were built at the Haydn Rd. site during the war. As I recollect it occupied around 4000 sq. ft.

Looking at the aerial view we also owned the semi detached houses to the left of the picture fronting Haydn Rd. The houses in the centre were demolished and turned into a parking area. I only found out subsequently we should have applied for planning permission to do that! 

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