s heron head badge type private company limited by shares industry bicycles fate management buyout predecessor woodhead and angois 1885 later woodhead angois and ellis founded december 1888 registered as a limited liability company in january 1889 founders frank bowden richard woodhead and paul angois headquarters nottingham united kingdom website raleigh.co.uk the raleigh bicycle company is a bicycle manufacturer based in nottingham england . founded by woodhead and angois in 1885 who used raleigh as their brand name it is one of the oldest bicycle companies in the world . after being acquired by frank bowden it became the raleigh cycle company in december 1888 which was registered as a limited liability company in january 1889 . by 1913 it was the biggest bicycle manufacturing company in the world . from 1921 to 1935 raleigh also produced motorcycles and three wheel cars leading to the formation of the reliant company . the raleigh division of bicycles is currently owned by the dutch corporation accell . contents 1 history 1.1 early years 1.2 motor vehicles 1.3 post war u.s. export market 1.4 raleigh rsw 1.5 expansion and mergers 1.6 the raleigh chopper 1.7 reorganization and new ownership 2 sport 3 archives 4 historic models 5 in media 6 references 7 further reading 8 external links history edit early years edit the history of raleigh bicycles started in 1885 when richard morriss woodhead from sherwood forest and paul eugene louis angois a french citizen set up a small bicycle workshop in raleigh street nottingham england . in the spring of that year they started advertising in the local press . the nottinghamshire guardian of 15 may 1885 printed what was possibly the first woodhead and angois classified advertisement . raleigh advert from 1940 . nearly two years later the 11 april 1887 issue of the nottingham evening post contained a display advertisement for the raleigh safety model under the new banner woodhead angois and ellis . russell street cycle works . william ellis had recently joined the partnership and provided much needed financial investment . like woodhead and angois ellis s background was in the lace industry . he was a lace gasser a service provider involved in the bleaching and treating of lace with premises in nearby clare street and glasshouse street . thanks to ellis the bicycle works had now expanded round the corner from raleigh street into former lace works on the adjoining road russell street . by 1888 the company was making about three cycles a week and employed around half a dozen men . 1 it was one of 15 bicycle manufacturers based in nottingham at that time . 2 frank bowden a recent convert to cycling who on medical advice had toured extensively on a tricycle first saw a raleigh bicycle in a shop window in queen victoria street london about the time that william ellis s investment in the cycle workshop was beginning to take effect . 3 bowden described how this led to him visiting the raleigh works in the early part of 1887 while looking for a good specimen of the then new safety bicycle i came across a raleigh in london . its patent changeable gear and other special features struck me as superior to all the others i had seen and i purchased one upon which i toured extensively through france italy and england during 1887 and 1888 . in the autumn of the latter year happening to pass through nottingham and with the idea of if possible getting a still more up to date machine i called upon messrs. woodhead and angois the originators and makers of the raleigh 1 it is clear from frank bowden s own account that although he bought a raleigh safety in 1887 he did not visit the raleigh workshop until autumn 1888 . that visit led to bowden replacing ellis as the partnership s principal investor though bowden did not become the outright owner of the firm . he concluded that the company had a profitable future if it promoted its innovative features increased its output cut its overhead costs and tailored its products to the individual tastes and preferences of its customers . he bought out william ellis s share in the firm and was allotted 5 000 1 shares while woodhead and angois between them held another 5 000 shares . 4 in frank bowden s own lifetime raleigh publicity material stated that the firm was founded in 1888 5 which was when bowden as he himself confirmed first bought into the enterprise . thus raleigh s 30th anniversary was celebrated in 1918 . 6 the 1888 foundation date is confirmed by bowden s great grandson gregory houston bowden who states that frank bowden began to negotiate with woodhead and angois and in december 1888 founded the raleigh cycle company . 7 the december 1888 foundation date is also confirmed by nottinghamshire archives . 8 in recent years the raleigh company has cited 1887 as a foundation date but whilst this pre dates bowden s involvement the raleigh brand name was created by woodhead and angois and the enterprise can as demonstrated above be traced back to 1885 . raleigh usa head badge . the company established by bowden in december 1888 was still privately owned with unlimited public liability . in january 1889 it became the first of a series of limited liability companies with raleigh in its name . it had a nominal capital of 20 000 half of which was provided by frank bowden . paul angois was appointed director responsible for product design richard woodhead was made director responsible for factory management and frank bowden became chairman and managing director . some shares were made available to small investors and local businessmen but take up was minimal and bowden ended up buying most of the public shares . he subsequently supplied virtually all the capital needed to expand the firm . 9 when frank bowden got involved with the enterprise the works comprised three small workshops and a greenhouse . as woodhead angois and ellis the firm had expanded round the corner from raleigh street into russell street where also stood clarke s five storey former lace factory . to enable further expansion of the business bowden financed the renting of this property and installation of new machinery . 10 under bowden s guidance raleigh expanded rapidly . by 1891 the company occupied not only clarke s factory but also woodroffe s factory and russell street mills . 11 in november 1892 raleigh signed a tenancy agreement for rooms in butler s factory on the other side of russell street . 12 shortly after this the company also occupied forest road mill . 13 forest road junctions with russell street at the opposite end from raleigh street . bowden created a business which by 1913 was the biggest bicycle manufacturing company in the world occupying seven and a half acres in purpose built premises completed in 1897 at faraday road lenton nottingham . 14 it subsequently became very much bigger . sir frank bowden died in 1921 and his son sir harold bowden 2nd baronet took over as chairman and chief executive guiding the company through the next 17 years of expansion . 15 16 humber cycles there was a resurgence in domestic and export demand for pedal bicycles and by february 1932 raleigh had acquired all the humber limited trade marks . manufacture was transferred to raleigh s nottingham works . 17 raleigh made humbers differed from raleighs only in chainwheels fork crowns and some brakework . 5 during the second world war the raleigh factory in nottingham was used for the production of fuzes . bicycle production was reduced to approximately 5 % of its peacetime capacity . 16 in 1939 raleigh opened a bicycle factory at 6 hanover quay dublin ireland and commenced bicycle production there . the raleigh ireland business expanded and moved to 8 11 hanover quay dublin in 1943 . the plant produced complete bicycles and sturmey archer hubs and remained in production until 1976 when the factory burned down . models produced there latterly were the chopper and triumph 20 . the head badges changed in the late 1960s possibly after the passing of the trade descriptions act in the uk . dublin made machines no longer had nottingham england on the heron or triumph head badge the panel being left blank instead . irish raleigh heron badge motor vehicles edit in 1899 raleigh started to build motorcycles and in 1903 introduced the raleighette a belt driven three wheel motorcycle with the driver in the back and a wicker seat for the passenger between the two front wheels . financial losses meant production lasted only until 1908 . in 1930 the company acquired the rights to the ivy karryall a motorcycle fitted with a cabin for cargo and a hood for the driver . raleigh s version was called the light delivery van and had a chain drive . a two passenger version was followed by raleigh s first three wheel car the safety seven . it was a four seat convertible with shaft drive and a maximum of 55 mph 89 km h . a saloon version was planned but raleigh shut its motor department to concentrate on bicycles again . chief designer t. l. williams took the equipment and remaining parts and moved to tamworth where his company produced three wheelers for 65 years . the leftover parts from raleigh carried an r so williams chose a matching name reliant . 1970 raleigh sports in the usa . raleigh also made mopeds in the late 1950s and 1960s as the bicycle market declined . the most popular of which was the rm6 runabout . this model featured unsprung front forks and a cycle type calliper front brake which made it a very affordable mode of transport . because of its success production continued until february 1971 ; 17 months after raleigh had stopped manufacturing all other mopeds . post war u.s. export market edit after world war ii raleigh became known for its lightweight sports roadster bicycles often using sturmey archer three and five speed transmissions . these cycles were considerably lighter and quicker than either the old heavy english utility roadster or the american balloon tire cruiser bikes . in 1946 raleigh and other english bicycle manufacturers accounted for 95 % of the bicycles imported into the united states . 18 raleigh s sports roadster or british racer bicycles were exported around the world including the united states . the company continued to increase imports to the united states until 1955 when a rate increase in foreign bicycle tariffs caused a shift in imports in favour of bicycles from west germany and the netherlands . however this proved only a temporary setback and by 1964 raleigh was again a major selling brand in the us bicycle market . 19 raleigh rsw edit in 1965 raleigh introduced the rsw 16 its long awaited competitor to the hugely successful moulton bicycle . the new raleigh shared several important features with the moulton including small wheels an open frame and built in luggage carrying capacity . late 1960s raleigh rsw . the rsw was raleigh s competitor to the fully suspended moulton bicycle . however the rsw lacked the moulton s suspension which compensated for the bumpy ride that comes with small wheels . 20 instead raleigh fitted the rsw with balloon tyres which effectively smoothed the ride but at the cost of increased rolling resistance . nevertheless the rsw was pleasant to ride and raleigh s extensive retail network ensured its success . the success of the rsw took sales away from the moulton and put the maker into financial difficulties . raleigh then bought out moulton and produced both bikes until 1974 . raleigh also produced a sister model to the rsw the twenty which was more successful and