Patmore Bros Limited, Loughton Essex - Triumph Car dealers 19a

Another in my series of articles about Triumph car dealers this article is about Patmore Bros Limited in Loughton, Essex, UK.  The business was later Lambs (Loughton) Ltd.

A brief history of Patmore Bros Limited

I found this in the local paper website for Loughton, at the http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/

Mr Patmore, originally from Wickford, started as a cyclist apprentice but in the early 1900s moved into selling and repairing cars which were just beginning to become popular among the middle classes.

With his brother Tom, he set up his Loughton shop in 1910, at Station Road on the old address of Dumble's Cycle Stores.

He sold his first car, a Unic taxi, to a Mr W. Irons, a local cab proprietor, and soon claimed the distinction of supplying Loughton with its first fire engine and ambulance.

Patmore Bros shop in the 1920's

Sadly, Tom died of influenza in 1919, but the business began to thrive, and, in 1931, it moved to bigger premises in Loughton High Road.

During the Second World War, the company worked at converting normal motor vehicles into emergency vehicles Ted Patmore went on to buy two garages in Valley Hill, and another on the Debden Estate, and at his business peak employed around 80 people.

After his wife Daisy died in 1953, Mr Patmore lived with Ms Saunders and her father Jim who helped him manage the business as he grew older.

She said: “Basically my grandpa was a craftsman and started off by making parts for cars before they were produced en mass. I remember him as a warm, generous man.”

Mr Patmore remained actively involved in his companies until his death in 1966. His business was taken on by Lambs in 1969, and is now Marks & Spencers.

Google street view of Marks & Spencers on Loughton High Road

Triumph dealers in Loughton

In 1955, 1959, 1965 and 1968 dealer directories:
Brown's Garage (Loughton) Ltd., Brown's Corner, High Road

Browns of  Loughton, Essex advert from Autocar 18 Oct 1957

Patmore Bros. Ltd., 161 High Road, Loughton.

Then in March 1972, March 1974 and April 1979:
Lambs (Loughton) Ltd 161 High Road, Loughton from the same premises which had previously been operated by another Triumph dealer Patmore Bros Limited.

Lambs (Loughton) Ltd, address stamp on Triumph 2500S brochure

Plea for information

If you have any more information or recollections about this garage, photos of window stickers, dealer badges or sill plates etc please let me know.  I can be contacted via the comments to this post or on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/stephen.weblin

Further information and sources

Link to my blog post about Lambs Ltd the Triumph car dealer.

Link to the other articles in this series.

Link to my Triumph Car Dealers Flickr gallery of images I have found on Flickr.

You can download a copy of the Triumph Sales and Service Directory 1968-69 which started me off on the search for info about Triumph car dealers.

I have a collection of Standard Triumph car dealer directories: http://vitessesteve.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/triumph-car-dealer-directories.html

Picture credits:The old black and white images are from the collection of MsJennie Saunders, the granddaughter of Ted Patmore; Browns of  Loughton, Essex advert from Autocar 18 Oct 1957 scanned from my collection.