The "Jagrose" Car Tent.
In the inter-war years, most holidaymakers stayed in the UK for their annual break, and camping was a very popular choice. Those with a larger automobile, or of a more delicate disposition, may have opted to tow a comfortable caravan, but to die-hard campers, only a tent would do. However if you were a motor enthusiast and a camper, perhaps the thought of leaving your cherished four-wheeler outside in all weathers while on holiday was too much to bear, especially if the car usually lived in a garage at home. And if you had a rather leak-prone tourer, somewhere dry to park up was more of a necessity than a luxury. Fortunately, help was at hand, thanks to the Jagrose Car Tent, on offer at James Grose's establishment in Great Portland Street, London. For just 70/6, you could walk away with a car tent made from white cotton duck, or for 85/6 a tent in green duck. Now your little car could hide away from the elements, tucked away safely while your baked beans sizzled away on the meths-fuelled stove next door.
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However there do seem to be one or two flaws with this idea, not least being the dimensions of the Car Tent. The overall length of the tent was 9ft, with an overall width of just 10ft. With the latter split into living accomodation, and the car port, it left a very narrow space in which to park the car. So whereas the illustration shows a car of, say, Morris 8 or Ford Model Y size, ensconced beneath the cover, in reality it would have been more use for storing a motorcycle, or at a push the smallest of cycle-cars . I wonder how many Jagrose Car Tents actually sold? For comparison, James Grose could supply a standard 7ft x 5ft ridge tent for 17/6, so I suspect most people would have opted for that instead, and, if necessary, thrown a cover over the car to keep the rain out.
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