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A History of the
Marque
Class Act
Hobbs of Barbican not only made some of the
classiest frames and components (even if some of the latter
could be a little delicate) during their distinguished
history but, along with Rattray's "Flying Scot" , could lay
claim to having the best name as well !
 The
company is believed to have been started by Albert Hobbs in
the Barbican in the centre of London in 1930 but the
earliest bike so far unearthed dates back to 1933. Hobbs was
among a raft of firms that took advantage of the bike boom
in the late 1920s and early 1930s but quickly distinguished
themselves by the quality of their machines and the elegant
and beautifully filed lugs they often used.
The "Barbican" in the Hobbs name comes from the Latin
Barbecana meaning an outwork. Gradually the meaning
changed, along with the pronunciation, to identify a
fortified outpost or gateway.
In London, this Barbican was situated on the northern edge
of what was Roman Londinium, a town of approximately 325
acres. The original Barbican of this period was probably
sited somewhere between the northern side of the Church of
St Giles Cripplegate and the YMCA hostel on Fann Street.
St Giles is associated with the Cripplegate entrance to the
City of London but the word, Cripplegate, is a
corruption of the Saxon word Crepel which means a covered
way, in this case leading from the City Wall out to the
Barbican. (The church of St Giles Cripplegate is thought to
have had its origins at the end of the 11th century but was
burned down around the middle of the 16th Century. The
present building is one of the few churches to have survived
the Great Fire of London in 1666.)
The original Hobbs of Barbican workshop was situated at 34
Barbican, EC2. In those pre-war days, this was a street and
not part of the modern Barbican Centre. No. 34 was on the
north side of Barbican and just west of the junction with
Golden Lane. It is now the western part of Beech Street,
EC2.
A firm called J. Hobbs and Son, dealers in trunk and bag
fittings, were based at that address in the 1930s. Hobbs of
Barbican were first mentioned in the trade directory of 1936
alongside J. Hobbs and Son. The bike makers continued to be
listed up to and including 1941.
During the 1939-45 war the City of London and the Barbican
area suffered appalling damage and loss of life. This area
was home to many small businesses and was devastated during
the Blitz. It is believed to be around this time that Albert
Hobbs moved his operation to the Sterling Works at Dagenham
with production up and running soon after the end of
hostilities.
The former Barbican site was redeveloped and is now a mix of
housing and commercial units. The Barbican Centre was part
of the post-war restoration and covers the site of many
small streets and the warehouses and workshops that formerly
stood there
Outgunned
The Dagenham factory also housed the manufacturers
of the Sterling machine gun but it was another gun, the
Owen, that eventually forced the closure of Hobbs'
framebuilding operation in the mid-1950s when the bike
company's space was taken over for increased production of
the weapon.
Hobbs continued in business as a retailer and wholesaler but
one of the great English names was effectively lost. Hobbs
used very few pictures of their frames in their brochures so
it can be difficult with a frame that has lost its original
transfers and paintwork to identify the model concerned.
 There
was certainly quite a line-up over the 25 years or so of the
marque's existence. In common with many framebuilders, the
model range was in a fairly constant state of flux. The
line-up changed regularly and attempting to catalogue the
frames in ascending order of quality or price is little more
than a snapshot of a given period. The most famous and
highly sought after was the Blue Riband launched as part of
a prototype range in 1948/49. These frames were built to
order with the company's best framebuilders deployed in
their construction. Handbuilt beauties, they were amongst
the finest produced in post-war Britain. Hobbs' brochures
reveal details of other models such as the Continental,
Raceweight and Criterium with lugged and fillet-brazed
(lugless) versions of most on offer.
Lytaloy
 In
addition to the frames, Hobbs also marketed a limited range
of cycle components under the Lytaloy brand. Although these
carried the Hobbs of Barbican name, many are thought to have
been made for the company by sub-contractors. Finely
finished and obviously well-engineered, they were amongst
the more expensive bike parts around. The pedals and brakes
were well regarded but the alloy chainset, although a light
and classy bit of kit, is considered to be prone to
breaking. Other Lytaloy products included the headset which
was specified by many other bike makers, too, brakes,
mudguards and a light bracket. Many Hobbs bikes left the
factory equipped with Lytaloy parts but the company also had
a high opinion of BSA products and was happy to accommodate
the plans of new owners.
The marque flared briefly again in the late 1960s/early
1970s when Hobbs commissioned another builder to produce a
number of Blue Riband models with Prugnat spearpoint lugs
but production was short-lived and rumours at the time
suggested the company was simply trying to use up its stock
of transfers!
Bruce Robbins
Angus
Scotland
Copyright©
1999-2002 B.Robbins Last Updated 20 October
2002
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