JA Prestwich Industries Ltd

JA Prestwich Industries Ltd, was a British engineering company named after founder John Alfred Prestwich, produced cinematographic equipment, internal combustion engines (for which the company was generally abbreviated to "J.A.P"), and other examples of precision engineering.

History

J.A. Prestwich, an engineer, founded the company in 1895, when he was in his early twenties, initially behind his father's house. By 1911 he had moved to a new plant at Northumberland Park, Tottenham. Prestwich came to be known as much for his creation of cinematography projectors as his engines. He worked with S.Z. de Ferranti and later the cinema pioneer William Friese-Greene.

The engines were used in many famous motorcycle marques and other devices, such as early aeroplanes [http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/on-line/flight/flight/jap.asp] , chainsaws, cultivators such as those produced by Howard Rotovators [ [http://www.donaldantiquerototillers.com/British.html British ] ] and light rail maintenance trucks [ [http://www.cybermotorcycle.com/euro/brands/jap.htm JAP Motorcycles ] ] The motorcycle engines were associated with racing success and were still used in speedway bikes well into the 1960s. During World War II Prestwich produced around 240,000 industrial petrol engines in support of the war effort, together with millions of aircraft parts, fuses, etc.Jim Lewis 1999, "J.A.Prestwich-Tottenham's Prolific Inventor", Ch 18 of "London's Lea Valley", Phillimore, ISBN 1-86077-100-9]

After 1945 production was taken over by Villiers Ltd.Fact|date=October 2007 and the company was completely absorbed by the Villiers Engineering Company in 1964 [ [http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/Museum/Engineering/Villiers/Villiers5.htm The Villiers Engineering Company ] ] just as Villiers itself was to be taken over by Manganese Bronze Bearings.

The company's engineering works in Northumberland Park closed in 1963.

Products

Aircraft engines

Early aircraft were light and basic, and need a reliable and lightweight engine to power them - JAP motorcycle engines were ideal. A JAP engine was used in A V Roe's 1909 triplane, regarded as the first all-British aircraft, and for a while Prestwich and Roe had a partnership. JA Prestwich at first would deliver the same engine to the aircraft manufacturer, allowing them to make local modifications - mainly larger venturi tubes for the carburettor, to allow for greater air intake at altitude. [ [http://www.auav.org/atwf/engines.htm Aircraft Engines - Make, Model and Manufacturers Summary ] ] But in the late 1920s/early 1930s JA Prestwich produced various heavier engines under license including those for the UK market for Aeronco. [ [http://home.adelphia.net/~aeroengine/Aeronco.html Aeronco ] ]

Cinema

Cinematographic equipment including cameras, printers, mutoscopes, cutting and perforating machines, and projectors (eg the Bioscope projectors for the Warwick Trading Company and Charles Urban) were produced by the company in the early part of the 20th century. [ [http://www.victorian-cinema.net/prestwich.htm Who's Who of Victorian Cinema ] ]

Motorcar engines

In light of JAP's development of high powered but light engines for speedway, some low volume pre-war car manufacturers, including the Morgan Motor Company and Reliant, used JAP engines to power their vehicles. [ [http://morgan3w.de/engines/engine.htm Morgan, the World's Leading 3-Wheeler: Engine Page ] ]

This use of the JAP extended into motor racing after the Second World War, with most were used in specialist UK lightweight formulas, or more extensively in Formula 3 racing after developments by John Cooper. [ [http://www.forix.com/8w/gb55.html 8W - When? - 1955 British GP ] ]

In its later life, JA Prestwich also produced components for other vehicle manufacturers, including the cylinder head for the Lotus Cortina and the early versions of Ford based Lotus Elan engine version of Ford's popular car. [ [http://www.pixelmatic.com.au/cortina/articles/lccltst.htm 'Ford Cortina-Lotus' ] ]

Motorcycles

From 1904 to 1908 complete motorcycles were produced [ [http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/compendium/J.htm The Complete Motorcycle Compendium - J ] ] from the development of the first Overhead Valve motorcycle engine to be produced in the UK. [ [http://www.ingenious.org.uk/See/Transport/Roadtransport/?target=SeeMedium&ObjectID=%7B6BD58689-6C9E-DB75-9AC8-0D93DF6C9737%7D&viewby=images Ingenious ] ]

After that the factory concentrated on supplying its engines to other manufacturers, including Brough Superior, [ [http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/sub_coll_leno/1302861.html?page=2&c=y Half The Wheels, Twice The Fun - Popular Mechanics ] ] Triumph Motorcycles [ [http://www.ianchadwick.com/motorcycles/triumph/time01.html Triumph Motorcycles Timeline: The Early Years, 1883-1918 ] ] and HRD Motorcycles, the forerunner of Vincent Motorcycles. [ [http://www.myvincent.co.uk/hrd.php My Vincent HRD Website - History ] ] JAP exported significant numbers of engines to foreign motorcycle manufacturers including Dresch [ [http://t2frx3.online.fr/dresch.htm History of Dresch motorcycles] ] and Terrot in France, and Ardie, [ [http://www.meisterdinger.de/ardie/index.htm List of Ardie motorcycles] ] Hecker [ [http://www.meisterdinger.de/hecker/index.htm List of Hecker motorcycles] ] and Tornax [ [http://www.tornax-ig.de/ Tornax owners' club] ] in Germany.

Latterly, JAP engines (under Villiers control) were used in motorcycle racing, and most commonly speedway or dirt track [ [http://nla.gov.au/nla.cs-pa-HTTP%253A%252F%252FLIBAPP.SL.NSW.GOV.AU%252FCGI-BIN%252FSPYDUS%252FENQ%252FPM%252FFULL1%253F8407%252CI England Test dirt-track motorcyclist, Jack Wotton, on his JAP (JA Prestwich) engined bike ] ]

tationary Engines

J.A. Preswich also made stationary engines under the JAP name for a variety of uses. They ranged in size from the smallest 1a type engine to the much larger type 6 engine, and were used on such things as rotovators, generating sets, milking sets, water pumps, hay elevators and other agricultural machines. They were usually 4-stroke and were usually reliable, and examples can still be seen at vintage rallies around the country.

References

External links

* [http://www.cybermotorcycle.com/euro/brands/jap.htm A brief history of JA Prestwich/JAP]
* [http://www.victorian-cinema.net/prestwich.htm Who's who in Victorian cinema]
* [http://www.500race.org/Marques/JAP.htm JAP Speedway engines - a history]
* [http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/wiki/J._A._Prestwich_Industries Company history]