Belsize Motors Limited

Marshall and Company was formed in 1896; its first car was thought to have been made by 1897. The company started naming its cars “Belsize” in 1901 after the Belsize Works that it occupied in Clayton, near Manchester. In 1903 Marshall and Company, expanding rapidly, needed more capital. It raised money through the public issue of shares and changed its name to the “Belsize Motor and Engineering Company”. Issuing more shares in 1906, it dropped the “Engineering” and became the “Belsize Motor Company”.

By 1914 the company had 1,500 employees and claimed to specialise in 'motor cars and motor taxi cabs,' as well as commercial vehicles. After the First World War the company at first manufactured just one model, the 15 hp of 2,798 cc. In 1921 the company started selling a second model, the Belsize-Bradshaw. The car had a 9 hp 1,294 cc V-twin engine made by Dorman that was partly air and partly oil cooled. Unfortunately for Belsize, the car was seen to be unreliable and production was stopped in 1924. Despite being the Belsize-Bradshaw being replaced with a more modern, dependable design the company had been in receivership since 1923 and closed down in 1925.