Page 58 - Redditch People

Redditch People

two Eadie front drivers and six safeties). Smith was a former designer at Rudge
responsible for Perry parts and fittings; Eadie was manufacturer of Perry parts and fittings).

The company was registered on 24 February 1893 (No. 170,951). An office with
showroom was opened at 166 Edmund Street, Birmingham, Warwickshire, and they were
later, from December 1893, at 94 Snow Hill, Birmingham. The badge was a shield with a
smaller shield inset containing a field gun facing left. It seems that initially the company
sold machines made by the Eadie Manufacturing Co and moved into the former works of
Townsend, George & Co. at Givry Works, Hunt End, Redditch, Worcestershire from 1896.
There was a London showroom at 6c Sloane Street and a Dublin showroom at 73 Grafton
Street.

During this time the company name changed several times: Enfield Manufacturing Co. Ltd
(wound up on 8 January 1897), Enfield Cycle Co. Ltd, New Enfield Cycle Co. Ltd and then
reverted to Enfield Cycle Co. Ltd. In 1892 Eadie won a contract to supply rifle parts to the
Royal Small Arms factory at Enfield and to celebrate this a new bicycle design was named
the ‘Enfield’ from October that year. In 1893 ‘Royal’ was added (from the Royal Small
Arms name) making the model name ‘Royal Enfield’. At the 1893 Stanley Show the firm
showed a front-driver and a tandem but the latter received some criticism. For the 1894
Stanley Show there were 19 safeties on display, plus two tandems. A main feature of their
lady’s machine for 1895 was the frame which was adopted as a distinctive marketing
feature at the instigation of Albert Eadie.

Albert Eadie lived at Rigby Hall. The hall was built as a Nail-makers Mansion in 1838

Page: 58 © RLHS 2015