Barker and Company, Coachbuilders, 1710-1938

Barkers was founded by an officer of the Royal guard in London, they began building in 1710 and supplied the British Royal family with many coaches. After almost 200 years they started to build bodies for cars, famously getting approval from C S Rolls in 1905.

Barkers had showrooms at 66-69 South Audley Street in Mayfair and in 1926 had a factory at Olaf Sreet, Shepherd's Bush. They were associated with Rolls-Royce from the very beginning, being C. S. Rolls & Co. preferred coachbuilder. Rolls-Royce experimental cars generally moved away from Barkers to Park Ward in the early 1930s largely because any needs for greater strength in a Barker body seemed to be solved by making it heavier.

Hoopers took over Barker & Co. at liquidation in 1938 and built another factory at Elveden Road, Willesden, not far from the Park Royal works, for Barker coachwork, but only completed 9 bodies before the outbreak of WWII. This factory continued after WWII mainly building Daimler Barker Special Sports cars until Hoopers' closure.