E. D. Abbott Ltd

E D Abbott Limited
Company type	Private
Industry	Coachbuilding, Aircraft manufacturing
Founded	1929
Founder	Edward Dixon Abbott
Defunct	1972
Headquarters	Farnham, England, United Kingdom
Products	Car bodies, coachwork, sailplanes, radar antennas

Abbott of Farnham, operated by E D Abbott Limited, was a British coachbuilding enterprise situated in Farnham, Surrey. The company functioned under this title from 1929 until its dissolution in 1972. A substantial portion of its production was carried out as subcontracted work for automobile manufacturers.

Origin

Edward Dixon Abbott (born 1898) initially served in the design division at Wolseley Motors before moving to the coachbuilding firm Page and Hunt, which had been established in 1920. Abbott advanced to become their London Sales Manager and, following the collapse of Page and Hunt in 1929, he assumed control of their Farnham facility, founding his own business.

In the early years, the company sustained itself with orders for commercial vehicles during the Depression era, alongside manufacturing car bodies. Beginning in 1931, Abbott regularly participated in the London Motor Show, showcasing bodies fitted to Austin 7, Daimler, and Talbot vehicles.

Sailplanes

Abbott was responsible for creating the Farnham Sailplane and in 1931 established a subsidiary named Abbott-Baynes Sailplanes Ltd dedicated to producing sailplanes, while sales continued to be managed through the parent company.

Lagonda

In 1934, Abbott obtained a significant contract from Lagonda to provide all bodywork for the new compact Rapier model and also crafted coachwork for Frazer-Nash on imported BMW chassis.

During the Second World War, the firm contributed by manufacturing experimental radar antennas for the Royal Aircraft Establishment.

Postwar

After the war, Abbott resumed its coachbuilding activities with series production of coupés for Sunbeam-Talbot and Healey, as well as custom bodies for Jowett, Bentley, and Lanchester.

Major contracts from Ford for estate variants of the Consul and Zephyr models provided financial stability through the late 1950s into the early 1960s. Eventually, Ford brought estate production in-house as volumes justified large-scale manufacturing.

Facing diminishing demand throughout the 1960s due to industry changes moving away from specialist coachbuilders, Abbott ceased operations in 1972.

External links

References

Walker, Nick. A-Z of British Coachbuilders, Bay View Books, 1997.