Tenbury Baths Company Limited (Garage).
Despite the name of Tenbury Baths Co. Ltd, this item of paperwork relates to a garage and Morris cars sales agency that they operated at Station Hill, Kidderminster. This item dates to the late 1920s, 27th November 1928 to be precise, and refers to settlement of an account by customer H.G. Ivens of High Street, Kidderminster.
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The letterheading advises that the garage was the sole agent for Morris cars in the district, so must have been a reasonably-large operation. The Managing Director is recorded as being F.D.H. Burcher, and the location is given as Station Hill in the town (presumably the road leading up to the present railway station, as used by the Severn Valley Railway for steam trips to/from Bridgnorth).
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There are few references to the Tenbury Baths Company Limited online. Apparently they ran a business titled "Fenn Green Garage", situated on Oxford Street, which was at one time an agency for Wolseley cars and also sold motor spirit (petrol) from a roadside pump. Grace's Guide also lists a company of this name located on Oxford Street, in the early 1950s. There is also a reference online to another garage run by this company, at 9c Comberton Hill, which is the main road that leads up the station in Kidderminster. Was "Station Hill", the name shown on this paperwork, a general name for the area, with Comberton Hill being the actual road name that it was situated on? Hopefully someone will be able to confirm this theory. Does anyone know more about the Tenbury Baths Co. Ltd garages? At the time of this letter, they were members of The Motor Trade Association.
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The November 1928 letterhead also features the logo for the RAC (Royal Automobile Club). A quick check of my 1928/1929 RAC Handbook doesn't show the garage as being affiliated with the RAC, so presumably they had only recently signed-up as motor trade members. The company does though receive a mention in the 1939/1940 Handbook, although as with Grace's Guide only the Oxford Street address is given, trading as "Burcher, Garage" (after the Managing Director's surname). The same establishment can be found in the 1954 RAC Handbook, now trading as "T.B.C. Ltd., Kidderminster". By 1959 it was trading as "TBC Ltd", and is listed as being agents for MG, Morris, Riley and Wolseley cars - ie members of the Nuffield Organisation, by then part of the British Motor Corporation (BMC).
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The recipient of this correspondence in 1928, H.G. Ivens, was a solicitor in the town.
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More period items relating to old vehicles, and the garages that sold and worked upon them, can be found in the Motoring Collectables section of oldclassiccar.co.uk
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