Normanby Local History Group - Article - Vehicle Licencing & Registration in Normanby

Vehicle Licencing & Registration in Normanby Area: A Brief History
by Kester Marsh

Introduction

   This article is based on the work done by Kester Marsh, one of our group’s longstanding and valued members, for a display at the 2017 exhibition held by our group.
   As Kester said in his display it was a work-in-progress with further research intended to provide yet more information.   So publication of this Article on our website was delayed in anticipation of further additions.   Sadly Kester passsed away recently (February 2022) so it was decided to publish the Article now as a record of Kester’s work on this subject.
   Some extra (hopefully relevant) images have been added to this Article and some sub-headings have been changed.

[Click on any of the small images in this article to show a larger display]

Early Days - Steam Power

   Prior to the appearance of the first railways in Britain, there was a brief development and interest in steam powered road going vehicles.
In 1834, a Mr Hancock started a steam coach called the "Era", carrying up to 14 passengers from Paddington to Regents Park and the City at 6d a head.
In the following year, a Mr Church built an omnibus (see photo) capable of carrying 40 passengers for the London & Birmingham Steam Carriage Company.
However, the success of the railway movement drove all such traffic off the roads.
   A Parliamentary Commission of Enquiry in 1836 reported "strongly in favour of steam carriages on roads", but subsequent Acts of Parliament tended to have a discouraging and restrictive effect.
   The Locomotive Act, 1861 limited the weight of steam engines to 12 tons and imposed a speed limit of 10 mph.
   The Locomotive Act, 1865 set a speed limit of 4 mph in the country and 2 mph in towns. The 1865 Act also provided for the famous "man with a red flag".   Walking 60 yards ahead of each vehicle, a man with a red flag or lantern enforced a walking pace, and warned horse riders and horse drawn traffic of the approach of a self propelled machine.
   Highways and Locomotives (Amendment) Act, 1878 made the red flag optional under local regulations, and reduced the distance of warning to a more manageable 20 yards.

The Arrival of the Modern Motor Car

   The Locomotives on Highways Act, 1896 was the first improvement in the motoring laws that encouraged motor vehicles of under 3 tons as it exempted them from the requirements of the 1878 Act and the maximum speed limit was raised to 14 mph.   Lights also became compulsory along with the requirement for "an instrument capable of giving audible and sufficient warning".
   Regulations passed soon afterwards included:-
   - keeping to the left when passing on-coming carriages, horses and cattle
   - keeping to the right when overtaking
   - stopping the vehicle at the request of any police constable or person     "in charge of a restive horse".

   By the turn of the 20th century, interest in the motor car was increasing, along with widespread dissatisfaction with the poor state of the roads.   Soon the number of vehicles in use had reached 5,000, creating ever more hazards for other road users and it was difficult to identify the offenders of the few regulations that did exist.

   The Motor Car Act, 1903 introduced measures to help identify vehicles and their drivers. All motor vehicles were to be registered, and to display registration marks in a prominent position on the vehicle.   All drivers were to be licensed annually.
   County Councils and County Borough Councils were made Registration and Licensing Authorities - the vehicle registration fee was twenty shillings and the drivers licence fee was five shillings.
   The Bill also raised the general speed limit to 20 mph, with a lower 10 mph fixed by the Local Government Boards.   As offenders and vehicles could now be identified more easily, heavy fines for speeding, reckless driving and driving unlicensed vehicles were introduced.
   From 1st January 1904 it was compulsory for all drivers to have a driving licence.   The qualifying age for driving a car was 17 and 14 for a motor cycle, NO Driving Test required.   The act also stated that paid chauffeurs should pay the same 15 shilling tax per annum as any other male employee.

   The growing popularity of motor vehicles continued to take its toll on the road network which clearly needed greater investment.
   The Finance Act 1908 passed responsibility for collecting the revenue from Excise Licensing from the Commissioners for the Inland Revenue to the County and County Borough Councils.   A 3d tax was also levied on a gallon of petrol.
   The Development and Road Improvement Funds Act, 1909 provided for grants to local authorities for approved highway works.
   The Finance (1909-10) Act 1910 based vehicle taxation on the horsepower of the vehicle (and so it remained until 1949), and stated that the revenue would be used for road improvements only.

Registration Formats

   The first registration marks were made up of one letter with one number, the very first (A1) being issued by London County Council in 1903.   Later formats were comprised of two letters and four numbers.   It is interesting to note that Motor Cars and Motor Cycles had separate registers and therefore duplicate number plates were issued.
   In this area Middlesbrough was originally allocated DC and the North Riding (Northallerton) AJ. Later with the rapid growth in numbers XG (Middlesbrough), VN (North Riding), EF (Hartlepool) and HN (Darlington) were added.
      The Roads Act, 1920 required Councils to register all vehicles at the time of licensing and to allocate a separate number to each vehicle.   The number was to be displayed in a prescribed manner.
   People were also required to notify the local Council when they bought a vehicle.
   There were also licensing provisions for manufacturers and traders – a General Licence was the forerunner of the present trade plate system.
   Hackney carriages were required to be fitted with a distinctive sign, and to indicate how many persons the vehicle could seat.
   By now it was apparent that there were legal difficulties with the term "owner" and it was decided that the name and address of the person "keeping" the vehicle should appear on the logbook.

Records of Locally Registered Vehicles

The records of locally registered vehicles are held at Teesside Archives. These examples show how they were amended over time.
(Click on images for larger display)

These lists of locally registered vehicles were compiled from records that are still available at the Teesside Archives.
(Click on images for larger display)

Some AJ registration records are still available at Northallerton on microfilm but unfortunately they are not at all complete and will be subject of investigation at a later date.

Registration Marks of Some Vehicles of Local Interest

DC1 - issued to George Scoby Smith for both Motor car and Motor cycle and retained when vehicles were later replaced.
Motor Cycle AJ 7781 - was used by Jack Calvert to transport film reels between his Paragon Cinema in Grangetown and "Maud Allens" shop at Eston. Last record of the number was at Northallerton on 30 April 1936 but no record of the type of machine.
AJ 12 - information of the car at Pit Top required from Northallerton.
Entries in the record books became more spaced out as staff realised that vehicles were being sold on or replaced.
DC 122 - was registered to successive Eston Mine Managers residing at Eston House ie "company car".
DC 149 - owner Illtud Williams was Manager of Bolcow & Vaughans Linthorpe Works.
DC 731 - Ben Leggett’s family lived in Lambton Street, Normanby.

[Click on any of the small images in this article to show a larger display]

Follow Up

Kester Marsh’s 2017 exhibition display was described by him
as "a work-in-progress".
So if you have any relevant additions then please do send them to us !

Do you have any stories or memories relevant to this Article ?
Can you tell us anything about the motor cycle AJ1454
or its riders in the photo above in the article ?

Contact us (with Subject as Vehicle Licencing in Normanby)
to make your contributions and offers of photos.

Follow Up from Joan Outhwaite - 2 April 2022

   I have the following changes/additions to Kester’s Article and some images.
   In the Register of Motor Cars Lists there is a question mark next to Alfred Michael Wensor, his surname was Winser.
   Illtud Williams forename should read ILLTYD.   Illtyd Williams was a Director of Bolkow Vaughans and at one time he leased Normanby Hall.   If you need more on him Google his name, it will take you to "Graces Guide" where he is mentioned.

   The extract shown left of an article about George Scoby Smith and his motor car was from "Remember When" a Gazette publication.    It provides extra information about George Scoby Smith as does this transcript of extracts from the Bolkow Vaughan minutes, etc.

I don’t think the Paragon Cinema in Grangetown belonged to Jack Calvert - but he did own the picture house in Eston which was named "The Picture Hall". In the book by Eston Residents Association there is mentioned "...[Calvert] worked in partnership with the Paragon picture house in Grangetown". Maybe Kester had interpreted this as meaning both cinemas were owned by Calvert.

Follow Up from Julie Gofton (nee Marsh) Kester’s younger sister - 4 July 2024

   Many thanks for publishing some of Kes’s research on your site.
   His visits to the Archives, analysing/translating the old vehicle records to digitise them gave him purpose and pleasure throughout Covid and later when ill health kept him housebound....
           ....and he succeeded !!      These earliest records in the archives are now accessible to all online.

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