Rolls-Royce will be celebrating the 110th anniversary of the meeting between its two founders this very weekend, on Sunday, May 4 to be precise. On that day 110 years ago, Charles Rolls and Henry Royce first met and agreed to form the company that would bear their names. Even though the company was established on March 15, 1906, the date of the first meeting between the two founders holds a special place in company lore, and celebrations are set to take place at the Goodwood Motor Circuit in West Sussex, and at The Midland Hotel in Manchester, U.K.
Charles Stewart Rolls was born into an aristocratic family, and early in life took an interest in motor cars which were an emerging technology at the time, one that some believed was a technological phase that would quickly pass or one that would never fully replace the horse. Rolls had enthusiasm for all emerging forms of transportation, and raced everything from bicycles to motorcycles to early motor cars, also showing an interest in balloons and early fixed-wing airplanes. Rolls was also a businessman, and his hobbies were funded by the London-based car sales and service depot, C.S. Rolls and Co., that he owned. The cars he sold weren't of his own manufacture, but rather imported from the continent, where dozens of small companies, as in England itself, were being formed by skilled engineers and entrepreneurs.
Charles Stewart Rolls was born into an aristocratic family, and early in life took an interest in motor cars which were an emerging technology at the time, one that some believed was a technological phase that would quickly pass or one that would never fully replace the horse. Rolls had enthusiasm for all emerging forms of transportation, and raced everything from bicycles to motorcycles to early motor cars, also showing an interest in balloons and early fixed-wing airplanes. Rolls was also a businessman, and his hobbies were funded by the London-based car sales and service depot, C.S. Rolls and Co., that he owned. The cars he sold weren't of his own manufacture, but rather imported from the continent, where dozens of small companies, as in England itself, were being formed by skilled engineers and entrepreneurs.
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| Charles Stewart Rolls |
Sir Henry Royce's life followed a slightly different path. Before be became a telegraph boy at the post office, delivering correspondence around London, Royce supported his family and four siblings by delivering newspapers. An apprenticeship at the Great Northern Railway Works gave him an opportunity to work with machines, and resulted in a job with the Electric Light and Power Company in London. Royce later started his own engineering business in Manchester, an industrial hub of the era, which gave him the opportunity to develop his own automobile, the 10-hp Royce motor car.
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| Henry Royce |
Even though the two men came from different backgrounds, what they shared was a desire to produce motor cars that were better than those being offered by the myriad manufacturers of the time. The two met at The Midland Hotel on May 4, 1904, upon the suggestion of their respective business partners, which gave Royce the opportunity to show Rolls his 10-hp car. Rolls came away impressed, agreeing to sell all the cars that Royce could build, and after their meeting reportedly said, "I have met the greatest engineer in the world." The two agreed to form the company that would be known as Rolls-Royce motor cars.
To celebrate the company's founding, Rolls-Royce is returning to The Midland Hotel where the company will display several early heritage Rolls-Royce cars in an event hosted by the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts Club. Meanwhile, Goodwood will host three new Rolls-Royce cars: the Wraith, the Phantom Coupé, and the Ghost, which will be displayed at the "Supercar Sunday" breakfast club meeting at the historic circuit.
To celebrate the company's founding, Rolls-Royce is returning to The Midland Hotel where the company will display several early heritage Rolls-Royce cars in an event hosted by the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts Club. Meanwhile, Goodwood will host three new Rolls-Royce cars: the Wraith, the Phantom Coupé, and the Ghost, which will be displayed at the "Supercar Sunday" breakfast club meeting at the historic circuit.
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