100 YEARS OF THE JOWETT CAR CLUB
18 April 2023
One hundred years ago, petrol was 1s 8 1/2d per gallon, a 1lb box of chocolates was 4/- and a car coat in the finest leather was £5 10s. Meanwhile, £220 would have gained you ‘The Jowett Car’ in two-seater form – The most powerful, economical, and comfortable Car for its size that it is possible to find. A four-seater cost another £25, a self-starter was £15 extra, and both versions were ideal for a hilly county. In that same year, to quote the fascinating website.
“The Jowett Car Club is the oldest one make car club in the world having been formed in 1923! Jowett Car Clubs sprang up in Bradford and the South of England in 1923. There were also a number of Jowett social clubs throughout the country, primarily to take part in hill climbs and time trials. The only one to survive the war was the Southern Jowett Car Club and the word ‘Southern’ was omitted in 1964; hence our claim to be the oldest one make car club in the world. The Club became a limited company in 2007.”
The Bradford firm made its first cars in 1906; a total of 48 vehicles left their works ten years later. Jowett established a new factory in 1920, and in the following year, the marque became nationally recognised. There was a road test in The Autocar and for the first time, a display at the London Motor Show. One famous advertising campaign boasted Jowetts were “Cheaper than walking.”
The creation of various Jowett clubs throughout the UK during the 1920s is a testament to the marque’s popularity. Unfortunately, not all of their events went to plan; in 1924, one William George Baker of the Southern Jowett Light Car Club was fined 40 shillings for travelling at 27 mph during a reliability trial.
By contrast, the event held by the Portsmouth and District Jowett Car Club two years later seemed more trouble-free, the Hampshire Telegraph reporting of “a carnival dance and whist drive at Kimbells Cafe. Osborne Road, on Wednesday, about 120 being present.”
1954 saw the demise of the famous concern, but the Club maintained its legacy. In 1968 they had more than 600 members. Today the organisation has a network of enthusiasts worldwide, continuing the legacy of those owners of a century earlier. In the words of one Bournemouth dealership – “Get a Jowett and forget your troubles.”