Category: Transport: Road

The Steam Lorries Of W. & E. Evemy & Co.

The June 1985 Newsletter of the Wessex Stationary Engine Club included a report of the Club’s May 1985 Monthly Meeting written by Herb Gane. The report included the following notes about a slide show on the steam lorries of W. & E. Evemy:

“After coke and crisps all round, the meeting was salvaged [the outdoor event was dampened by heavy rain] by our Chairman, Robin Lambert, who gave a very interesting talk illustrated with slides about the Steam Lorries of W. & E. Evemy & Co. Evemy’s were a large general haulage and quarry business who had about sixty lorries ranging from Foden steam lorries to petrol and diesel vehicles of the late forties. They were used mainly for timber, coal, and stone haulage from their own quarries, their operating base being at Chantry, near Frome.”

“Unfortunately, in 1936 a law was passed prohibiting vehicles over 12 tonnes gross weight. As some of the lovely old Fodens weighed up to 11 tonnes unladen it was no longer profitable to run them with a load as small as one tonne. They were sold as scrap for as little as £11 per vehicle. In 1949 Evemy’s were absorbed into British Road Services due to Nationalisation of the industry. Our thanks to Rob for letting us see these lovely slides taken from the personal photos of the Evemy family.”

West Street Garage, Warminster

Tuesday 15th May 1984

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WEST STREET GARAGE
Warminster. Tel. 217290.

1979 T, Volvo 264 DL, Metallic blue, black leather trim, sunroof, tinted glass, etc. 18,000 miles. 1 owner. £3295.

1982 X, Cortina 1.6 GL Saloon, Atlantic blue, 1 owner. £3495.

1980 W, Talbot Solara 1.6 GL saloon, metallic red. £2395.

1980 V, Capri 2.0 Ghia. Corsican blue, all usual Ghia refinements. £3295.

1979 T, Cortina 1.6L, two tone silver and blue, very smart. £1,895.

1978 T, Cortina 1.6L, powder blue, black trim, good value at £1,495.

1978 T, Datsun Izoy hatchback, metallic green, sporty, yet economical. £1,595.

1978 S, Morris Marina 1.3 Super, beige, super condition, only £1,295.

1977 S, Capri 1.3 L hatchback, Sahara beige, sports wheels, etc. £1,495.

1977 S, Peugeot 104SL, 1100cc, 5 door hatchback, economical motoring at £1,395.

1975 P, Avenger 1600DL saloon, white, blue trim, very clean. £695.

1975 N, Mini 1275 GT, Applejack, black trim, lady owner, only £995.

1974 M, Capri 3000GL, bronze cobra, alloy wheels, sunroof, only £595.

1972 K, Capri 2000GT, metallic green, sports wheels, very original. £595.

1962 Mini 1000, green, good reliable car for only £295.

Will To Take The High Road

Warminster Lunatic Fringe

A press report by Danny Howell, published in March 1984:

The fund-raising campaign to finance the installation and running costs of a decompression chamber at the Beckford Centre to provide experimental treatment for multiple sclerosis victims is to receive backing from a marathon moped ride planned for the late summer.

Will Bonner, a young West Street man, intends riding his three-year-old Honda to John O’Groats and back at a steady 22 miles an hour, so expecting to complete the 1,400 mile journey in 11 August days.

Mr. Bonner, whose sister Marie raised £140 for Dr. Barnardo’s with a sponsored horse ride, last April, is a member of the Warminster fund-raising group called The Lunatic Fringe, who have chosen the Beckford project, organised by the Mid-West Friends of Action Research into Multiple Sclerosis (A.R.M.S.), as their major good cause for the year.

A.R.M.S. have so far raised £12,000 towards the £20,000 needed to buy the decompression equipment, and, already on order, the chamber is expected to be installed at the end of June.

All the same, a great deal of money is still needed to meet running costs and the salaries of qualified staff.

Lunatic Fringe chairman Mr. Danny Howell said this week: “It seemed a natural progression that sooner or later we would do something for one of the many groups now using the Beckford Centre.”

“We have already begun fund-raising for the project by running a lottery, and the draw will be made at an Easter disco at Princecroft School. Other events include discos, concerts, competitions and sponsored sports.

Past beneficiaries of Lunatic Fringe enterprise include the Marie Curie Cancer Foundation, the Gateway Club, and Warminster Physically Handicapped and Able-Bodied Club.

Sophisticated Improvements To John Wall’s Esso Garage At East Street, Warminster

Friday 5th November 1982

A cash investment of between £160,000 and £200,000 has turned Mr. John’s Wall’s garage at East Street, Warminster, into what is probably the most sophisticated petrol station in the district, complete with microchip pump technology and the latest line in forecourt merchandising – an Esso shop.

Gone are the workshops and the Ford car sales franchise, replaced by an enormous canopy and an arrangement of fuel pumps designed to accommodate as many customers as possible with the least fuss.

The link between Mr. Wall and Esso began in 1956 when he moved what had originally been his father’s business from the site of the old Corn Exchange in Warminster Market Place to East Street.

William Thomas Wall had started his garage business at the end of the First World War, selling cans of petrol from a base opposite the present Linpac factory at Weymouth Street, Warminster.

W.T. Wall moved to the Corn Exchange site in the Market Place, in 1923, securing an asset whose value was proved some 40 years later. John Wall took over the business when his father died in 1947, and in the 1960s he sold the Market Place site to the supermarket chain Tesco.

Esso’s latest policy, evidently the result of a form of Americanisation, was explained not so long ago by company affairs director Mr. Nigel Groundwater at a conference in Trowbridge. He said that the garage at East Street, Warminster, is among 75 filling stations a year being converted as part of a major modernisation programme; each scheme involving the complete demolition of existing buildings, the installation of bigger storage tanks for fuel, and the introduction of a modular shop.

Thus, Mr. Wall has been given a package deal in which canopy style, pump system, shop size and range of merchandise all come standard. Even the trees behind Mr. Wall’s office, and the ground-cover plants for the parterres were included.

All of this may give the impression that Mr. Wall too has become part of the Esso retail system – a misapprehension that he is anxious to correct. The relationship between Esso and himself will continue to be one of landlord and tenant.

John Wall is well-known for his long involvement with local political life, not only as Chairman of Wiltshire County Council’s Libraries & Museums Committee, but also as a member of Warminster Urban District Council from 1951 to 1972. He was elected to Wiltshire County Council after the 1972 retirement of the late Jack Harraway.

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