The coming of the railways ended much of the
isolation of the Yorkshire Dales during the mid-19th
Century, but it was not until the first horse buses
arrived, fifty years later, that numerous outlying
villages became readily accessible. One such community
was Cowling, in South Craven, which is situated on the
road between Cross Hills and Colne. One hundred years
ago, this now busy thoroughfare was little more than an
ill-drained cart track, frequented only by the
occasional horse and wary pedestrians.
During the 1880s the village postman was a Mr Ezra
Laycock. Every day he walked to the mail delivery limit
in Cross Hills and returned the three miles up the
valley, carrying all the letters and parcels for
delivery in Cowling. Like most Yorkshiremen of his day,
Ezra Laycock was a very shrewd, broad-spoken man, who
rarely missed an opportunity to better himself. In 1890,
after much persuasion, he purchased his father-in-law's
business as village coal merchant.The regular visits to
Kildwick Railway Station had always made carriage of
general merchandise for the villagers a profitable
side-line, so on the acquisition of the horse and cart,
Ezra combined his three jobs in one; Kildwick and Cross
Hills being adjoining villages.
For some years, a number of Cowling's inhabitants,
compelled to find employment outside the village, had
either to walk, or share the horse and trap, which one
of them owned, to reach the station. Ezra had always
given lifts to any villager he had encountered
struggling to or from Kildwick and so it was mooted that
the horse and trap, which stood idle at the station all
day, awaiting the return of its occupants, be placed at
his disposal. Ezra readily accepted the offer and the
business expanded, diversifying into marriage and
funeral transport at the same time. In 1895, sufficient
passenger traffic was carried to warrant the purchase of
a waggonette, whilst in recognition of the volume of
business generated in Cowling, the Midland Railway
Company appointed Ezra Laycock as their parcel agent in
the village. Over the ensuing decade, the business
continued to grow until, at one time, the stables housed
twelve horses and several gigs and waggonettes, one of
which seated over 20 passengers. In the morning and
evening, even this capacity was insufficient and boys
going to or from Glusburn School had to ride on the
tail-board, or be "whipped behind" as it was known.
However, Ezra had been so successful that he attracted
competitors, who, debarred from carrying parcels for the
railway under the agency scheme, started vying for
passengers between Cowling and Kildwick. True to
character, Ezra was prepared to use any means to combat
the newcomers, but despite buying faster and faster
horses to speed his passengers to their destinations,
his custom waned and he was forced to sell most of his
waggonettes.
Whilst running a group of businessmen to Kildwick
Station to catch the Bradford train, Ezra first heard of
the motor buses that aLondon operator was experimenting
with. Believing this to be the answer to his rivals, he
went into partnership with a mechanically-minded man
from Skipton - a Mr Stephenson. Early in 1905, Ezra and
his eldest son, Rennie, who was only 15, embarked on a
remarkableexpedition by Edwardian standards, travelling
to London in search of a motor bus. The two walked the
streets of London for three days, seeing nothing more
modern than hosts of double-deck horse-drawn buses.
Following a tip that there were some motorised vehicles
in Brighton, they bought a half-day excursion ticket to
that Sussex resort. As they returned to the railway
station, exhausted and disappointed after a fruitless
search, they caught a glimpse of a motor bus passing the
end of the street. The two Yorkshiremen could only stay
a few moments longer, but what they had seen had
convinced Ezra that the solution to his problems was at
hand.
Thus, Laycock and Stephenson of Cowling contacted Messrs
Milnes-Daimler and Co., to place an order for one
single-deck vehicle. The origins of the supplier were
difficult to trace because many manufacturers embodied
Daimler in their title, it being as synonymous with the
internal combustion engine as Hoover is with
vacuum-cleaners today. This particular company was
formed as a result of an agreement in November 1902
between G. F. Milnes and Co., of Hadley, Shropshire, a
famous manufacturer of trams, horse-buses and railway
rolling stock and the Daimler Motoren-Gesellschaft, in
Germany, to construct motor vehicles for the United
Kingdom. It was in no way related to the famous Daimler
Co. in Coventry, which is now a subsidiary of British
Leyland.
A privileged party of eighteen, including Mr & Mrs
Laycock and Mr & Mrs W. Stephenson, travelled to London
where the body was being built for the vehicle. Three
days after their arrival the bus was completed and the
eighteen hardy travellers embarked on what was to become
the longest journey made by motorbus in England up to
that date. The story is told by Mr Frank Driver who, on
the golden anniversary of the occasion, was interviewed
by the Yorkshire Evening Post, whose management has
generously permitted me to re-produce the conversation:-
"I was a weaving overlooker in Cowling at the time and a
comedian and a nigger minstrel at local concerts. Ezra
asked me along so I could do a bit of entertaining for
the party during the nights we were in lodgings.
"We stayed at Lavender Hill, London, and each morning
went along to watch the bus being finished. When it was
ready we had a test of hill-climbing at Brighton,
because Ezra knew that what was good enough for flat
country might not be any good for our hills at home.
"We watched the bus go up the hill alright and Ezra said
to me, `That'll do for me Frank. We'll have t'bus'.
"It was the first time I'd been to Brighton so I asked
him if we were going to stay a bit and have a look
around. Ezra said, `We're not, lad. Business is
business. Let's get back to Cowling'.
"We started on the Thursday afternoon at five o'clock
and stayed the night at Hitchin, 35 miles away in
Hertfordshire. Next day we went up the Great North Road
and at every place we passed through, the folks were
lining the streets, shouting and waving. They had never
seen a motor bus before.
"We only had one spot of trouble. That was at Doncaster,
where the bush on one wheel got a bit hot and a
policeman came and said it was making a bit of a stink.
But he'd never seen a motorbus before, either, so he
didn't know what to do about it.
"We stayed the night at Doncaster and we went on to
Bradford, where we registered the bus. Then it was off
home to Cowling. They gave us a grand welcome that
Saturday afternoon. The whole village turned out."
The arrival at Kildwick coincided with the departure of
a horse-drawn service, so in order to afford his regular
clientele their first motorised ride to Cowling, the two
vehicles exchanged loads. The horses raced ahead,
warning the village of the impending home coming of
Ezra's bus. As it turned into the stables, the entire
population of 1,000 were there, shouting, cheering and
waving, welcoming their new bus in a manner befitting
Royalty.
By modern standards the "Monster", as it became known,
was extremely primitive, containing numerous technical
defects, but fortunately, most of these could be
rectified fairly quickly when the vehicle broke down.
The body was constructed entirely of wood and afforded
no protection from the elements to the driver and little
to the passengers, but as the horse buses offered
similar were no complaints. The vehicle stood 2ft l0ins
from the ground with solid tyres on wheels of 32ins
diameter at the front and 42ins diameter at the rear.
Overall length was 19ft llins and the width only 6ft
6ins. The engine is quoted as being of 30 hp - usually
fitted to double-deckers, with a 20 hp unit being
standard in the single-deck. Obviously, Ezra had taken
the Pennines into consideration! There were no sparking
plugs in the engine, as a method employing low tension
ignition, utilising a spark in the cylinders to explode
the petrol vapour, was used. The petrol was carried at
the rear of the chassis, some exhaust gas being diverted
to the tank to create enough pressure to raise the fuel
to the carburettor. There were three levers for changing
gear and final drive was achieved by means of a cast
iron circular rack, bolted to the rear wheels. All in
all, the "Monster" was something of a mechanical wonder
for 1905.
Certainly the locals had little but praise for the bus
for, despite dire prophecies of lack of support and
ceaseless mechanical failure, from equestrian-minded
rivals, Ezra's bus was in such heavy demand by private
hire parties that it was over a month before it made its
first advertised stage service run. It was even loaned
to the Local Authority at Yeadon for a week, for use on
the very hilly access roads to the village. The seven
days were too short for the curious villagers, the bus
coming through with shining colours! One journey on the
Feast Sunday of July 1905 was to Nelson, where the
police had to clear a route through the dense crowds
which had gathered. Wherever it travelled, crowds
hurried to catch a glimpse of it, children and even dogs
being held aloft to gain a better view, such was the
attraction of Ezra's bus.
By September, the novelty had worn thin and the Milnes-Daimler
reverted to toiling its way between Kildwick and Cowling
as intended, with occasional journeys over the county
border to Laneshaw Bridge, the tramway terminus for
Colne. The uniqueness also vanished quickly as, in the
Autumn of 1905, the Silsden Motor Bus Company Ltd. took
delivery of a motor vehicle, heralded by the Silsden
Brass Band, which played it up the road to the village.
In 1906, they were joined by Mr C. Chapman of
Grassington, who began the replacement of his
horse-drawn mail buses between Skipton and Upper
Wharfedale by motor vehicles. However, neither Chapman's
nor the Silsden Motor Bus Co. survived into the thirties
as the former was taken over by the rapidly expanding
West Yorkshire Road Car Co. Ltd., and the latter went
bankrupt.
Thus, the gamble by Laycock and Stephenson had
succeeded. The "Monster" was not without flaw,
clutch-slip being the most common ailment and frequently
the passengers were delayed thirty minutes as the driver
knelt under his vehicle putting fuller's earth, or sand,
into the offending clutch. However, even this was
insufficient to deter willing customers and the business
entered a new era of prosperity and security.
The Summer of 1905 must have been unusually hot, as a
second body was built for the Milnes-Daimler, the first
being deemed too enclosed, but as it was entirely open,
both front and rear, it is hard to see why. The second
body, constructed by Laycock and Stephenson, broke new
ground by including 25 forward facing seats, gently
inclined from front to rear, as opposed to the 18 inward
facing seats fitted previously. The passengers enjoyed
clear views on all sides, only the rear being enclosed.
However, during inclement weather, protection was
afforded by the canvas roof and drop-roll side curtains.
A similar design was being used by Leyland for their
first motor buses. Later developments in 1907 were the
provision of a windscreen and the abandonment of braking
on the surface of the tyres - as in horse vehicle
practice - in favour of brake shoes acting against the
inner rims of the rear wheels. From photographic
evidence it appears that the first body was retained for
Winter use, to be replaced by the second m Summer. This
was common practice in those days, when haulage firms
built charabanc bodies to fit to their lorries in
Summer. Numerous bus companies, both large and small,
originated in this manner.
On 17th February 1906, a second Milnes-Daimler was
delivered, which dwarfed even the first "Monster".
Seating 49, three passengers were carried on a bench
next to the driver, five sat in a smoking compartment
immediately behind (a similar arrangement was the open
rear platform on the first body of the single decker),
16 in the remainder of the lower saloon and 25 on the
wholly-exposed upper deck. A local wag claimed that more
people alighted from the vehicle on one occasion than
could fit into the first Keighley cinema. As
Traffic Regulations were few in those days, the bus
worked to overcapacity and apparently did so in safety.
Again Ezra was pioneering, as this was claimed to be
amongst the first half-dozen motorised double-deckers
ever built.
This second vehicle was more difficult to obtain, as the
three largest London companies were buying every
motorbus produced for the British market. At the end of
1905 there were only twenty such vehicles in London, but
in 1908, when the London General Omnibus Co. merged with
its two largest rivals, there were 1,066. Ezra was now
able to employ a driver and conductor to man his first
two vehicles, which worked between Kildwick and Cowling
for over 14 years.
Although motor coach tours did not begin on any scale
until after the First World War, Laycock and Stephenson
did much pioneering work. Each St Ledger Day, the fully
laden double-deck bus made a pilgrimage to Doncaster,
quite a momentous journey in those days. In vindicating
its preference for horse-drawn waggonettes, an issue of
the "Ilkley Gazette" in May 1907, referred to a Sunday
outing to Knaresborough and Harrogate by 30 Barnoldswick
men in a Laycock and Stephenson motor bus, which broke
down at midnight on reaching Ilkley. The driver took two
hours, vainly trying to remedy the defect, but it was
not until the local mechanic had been roused and his
ingenuity brought to bear that the vehicle returned to
life. This accomplished, the irate but tired passengers
could do little but mur-mur at the prospect of staying
the rest of the night in Ilkley.
Two ex-London taxis were acquired by the business to
replace the remaining gigs, followed, probably in early
1908, by a magnificent motor brougham. Resplendent in
its all-white livery, in contrast to the normal dark
green, it was a 25 or 30 hp Maudslay 30-seater. Its
first assignment was to convey the wedding party of
Ezra's eldestdaughter - conforming to his belief that
every development of the business should coincide with a
unique family occasion. The new vehicle also relieved
Ezra of his self-imposed task of bringing the doctor
from Cross Hills to Cowling. Regardless of weather and
time, he could be relied upon, sometimes having to give
assistance with maternity cases. On one occasion, when
the only horse in the stables was lame, he ran the
distance to summon aid.
The pre-war fleet was completed sometime in 1910, when a
second 50-seat open-top double-decker was bought from
the London General Omnibus Company. Little is known
about this bus, but it was pressed into service on the
Cowling-Kildwick route with the earlier double-decker.
This was the solution to all load fluctuations and,
although they would be hard-pressed to overtake the
horse-drawn waggonettes which they replaced, their
passenger potential seemed inexorable. The
double-deckers became known to their schoolboy
passengers as "Tinker" and "Slasher" and their crews
were local heroes. The fares the conductor collected
were 3d to Cross Hills (down) and 4d from Cross Hills
(up). Hence the distance to Cowling has always been
known.
After 1912 many changes came over the business. Mr
Stephenson left and his place taken by Ezra's two sons,
John and Rennie. However, on the outbreak of the First
World War they joined the Army Transport Corps, the
experience from which undoubtedly enabled them to
survive the fierce competition of the twenties. Prior to
1914, the morning bus for workers from Cowling set off
to repeated honkingsof the huge bulb horn until every
one of the regular passengers was aboard, but with the
disappearance of much of the local workforce to the
trenches, that particular aspect of the service ceased,
never to be resumed. Coach tours also came to an
untimely halt and the charabanc and the ex-LGOC
double-decker were requisitioned by the War Department.
However, the years of stagnation during the War did not
affect Ezra's lust for pioneering. Anticipating a quick
resurgence of motor excursions, he purchased a
magnificent Maudslay luxury coach. The 32 seats were
fully upholstered, whilst in bad weather the canvas roof
was unrolled and the passengers stayed warm and dry in
the enclosed saloon. Again, the inauguration proved
memorable. Fullyladen, the coach departed to Carsethorne,
near Dumfries in Scotland, to visit Ezra's brother. It
returned in triumph, the occupants full of stories of
their adventures and weighed down by fresh salmon taken
from the waters of the Solway Firth. Custom on the stage
service also quickly revived and two Commers, one a
chain-driven double-decker and the other a 32-seat
single-decker, with bevel-drive, were bought. Contrary
to photographic evidence, tax records suggest that the
former was delivered as a 30-seat single-decker and
altered to double deck in April 1923. It could be that
these records are incorrect, or that two bodies were
used and the double-deck version only recorded in 1923.
These new vehicles replaced the original Milnes-Daimlers
which had each run 300,000 miles by 1920. Despite
becoming uneconomical, because of newly-introduced
petrol taxes, this make of vehicle was probably the most
reliable and efficient of the Edwardian era and served
all its operators well.
The private hire side of the business expanded rapidly
and new Leyland and Ford charabancs were assisted by
secondhand Lancia, Talbot, Daimler and Bean vehicles,
whilst a Belsize maintained the Laycock presence in
taxis. However, competition once again became fierce as
many officers returning from the War bought small, fast
American buses to win passengers from established
operators. Huge numbers of surplus army lorries were
being sold and many were
rebodied and pressed into service as buses. The
now-nationalised Ribble Motor Services started
operations with 12 such reconditioned vehicles in the
Preston area in 1919. Reflecting these trends, Laycock
and Sons bought a small-capacity bus in 1924, for use on
a new Cowling-Skipton service, which was withdrawn three
years later. This vehicle, a Reo, manufactured in the
USA, was particularly popular with the British "pirate"
operators, being sold under such names as Speedwagon,
Sprinter, Major, Pullman and Gold Crown, titles which
their performance ably matched.
By 1925, Ezra decided that the fleet had become
sufficiently large to warrant the use of fleet numbers.
It is thought that he counted the number of motor
vehicles previously owned and thus numbered his next
vehicle, a Morris taxi, No. 16. However, the author's
research indicates that he had already operated 18
buses, charabancs and taxis. Several years later, when
queried on this point, John Laycock drew up his list of
Laycock's fleet to that date, omitting the ex-LGOCdouble-decker
and the two Maudslay's. Why, remains a mystery.
A Standard taxi, numbered 17 in 1925, brought the number
of purchasessince the War to 14. It is interesting to
note in these days of standardisation that they were
supplied by 13 different manufacturers and even the two
Commers differed significantly!
Until 1926, one of the most worrying aspects of the
business for Ezra was the fact that licensing agreements
prevented his vehicles from operating into Colne and
Keighley. Beyond Laneshaw Bridge, Colne Corporation
trams connected with his services and Keighley
Corporation trollybuses provided the other link at Cross
Hills. However, during the General Strike, in May 1926,
the workers of those two bodies supported their Union's
call for action. It is not known whether Ezra took the
initiative to extend his route into the two towns, but
police protection was given and a promise made that he
could continue the service on a permanent basis on
return to normal conditions. Thus, his buses ran the
gauntlet for the duration of the strike and were a prime
target for the abuse and stones thrown by the strikers.
However, at the termination of the strike, the agreement
between the parties was so altered by the municipalities
that if Laycock's took advantage of the route
extensions, every other operator's application for a
licence between Colne and Keighley would be granted.
Ezra knew that circumstances were such that his business
would not be able to survive the competition which would
ensue, and made an embittered plea for a return to the
original agreement. Local MPs took up his case and the
dispute became the subject of a lengthy debate in
Parliamentary circles with questions raised in the House
of Commons, but all to no avail.
Competition for routes at this time became keener than
ever. Local authorities began operating motor and
trollybuses to support their waning tram networks and
large company monopolies were growing, swallowing
innumerable tiny operators, which were often unsound,
both financially and mechanically. In order to bring
some sanity into the situation, the Ministry of
Transport was created which, whilst doing much to
control the dangerous competition for the benefit of
companies and passengers alike, could not help but
complicate matters with "red tape". Laycocks quickly
realised that their only chance of success was expansion
into more rural areas where the powerful national and
municipal operators had less interest.
In October 1925, Laycocks had taken delivery of a
Maudslay single-deck bus number 18 and subsequently
placed an order for two more for use on the proposed
route extension, during the General Strike. Because of
their quicker deliveries Maudslay of Alcester,
Worcestershire, were chosen by Ezra in preference to
Leyland who built vehicles with similar mechanical
refinements. Thus in June 1926, numbers 19 and 20 were
delivered, with bodies removed from vehicles owned by
Wright Bros. of Burnley. All three were of the ML4/26
variety with a wheel base of 15ft 2ins and were
propelled by a 4.06 litre Maudslay petrol engine,
mounted together with the gear box at a backward tilt to
enable direct transmission to the rear axle. These buses
were noted for their speed, so it was fortunate that
four wheel brakes were provided. The 26-seat bodies each
had a character of its own, number 18 in particular was
unusual in that it tapered both fore and aft, gaining
the nickname of the "Coffin"; whilst number 19 stood so
high off the ground that three black rocker panels
similar to those on the trams were fitted to prevent
children and animals from crawling underneath. In
January 1927, two more Maudslays were delivered,
followed by a sixth in October of the same year.
On the 25th July 1927, Ezra embarked on a policy of
expansion, accepting an offer from Colne Corporation of
the Colne-Keighley route. Colne Corporation, operating
Guys and Leylands and the West Yorkshire Road Car
Company, operating Tilling-Stevens, had already
commenced operation on the lst of April and the three
ran the route on a joint rather than a competitive
basis. As a result, the Laneshaw Bridge-Kildwick service
was withdrawn.
During 1926 and 1927, Laycocks bombarded Colne
Corporation with route applications, all of which were
refused, with the exception of one from Colne to Cowling
via Earby, Skipton and Kildwick. This application was
made on 9th May 1927, with the permission of Earby U.D.C.,
and not having received a reply, Ezra Laycock and Sons
commenced the service on 25th July, the same date as
they began the Colne-Keighley route. The following day
the request was refused, but the service continued
whilst an appeal - which proved successful - was made to
the Ministry of Transport. This route ran in direct
competition with Corporation buses which had started
operation between Colne and Earby on the 27th January
1923. Early in 1927, Ribble Motor Services Ltd reached
Skipton, with the acquisition of Castle Motors and
followed this, on lst September in the same year, with a
Skipton-Colne route, despite opposition from Earby U.D.C.
Laycocks subsequently suffered combined opposition
through an agreement between Ribble Motor Services and
Colne Corporation to eliminate competition. They were
unfortunate in that whereas most large operators did not
absorb many independents until the early 1930s, Ribble
pursued a very aggressive take-over policy from an early
date. The problems of such operators as Laycocks were
further compounded in 1928, when railways were permitted
to take financial interests in bus companies, the
largest of which now availed themselves of the capital
with which to expand.
Because of the length of time that has passed since the
ensuing disputes between Laycocks and Colne Corporation,
many official records have been destroyed and the
accounts and independent reports which do remain differ
substantially on several points. However, it is clear
that despite abandoning the Skipton-Cowling section late
in 1927, Laycocks' buses were still severely impeded by
Colne Corporation. Vehicles were prohibited from picking
up passengers in Colne who hadn't previously booked and
the terminus had to be altered three times. Between the
7th and 25th of January 1928, theroute had to terminate
at the borough boundary and when an acceptable stop was
located in Colne, Police Sergeant Smith, of the Colne
Constabulary, threatened to prosecute Laycocks under a
bye-law which, after consultation with Mr Nutter, the
then Town Clerk, ap-parently did not exist! Difficulties
were also encountered with Ribble, between Thornton and
Skipton, but after a brief withdrawal the service was
reinstated on 13th February 1928. Despite its troubled
history, during their first 16 months operation of the
route, Laycocks' buses carried 401,488 fare-paying
passengers, excluding the weekly pass holders, which
usually numbered around 100.
To cope with these additional passengers, two Maudslay
ML3/35s were delivered early in 1928. These two
32-seaters were notable in that they were the first
forward control vehicles bought by Laycocks, i.e. the
driver was seated over the front axle, to the left of
the engine. Further 1928 acquisitions were three Dennis
Gs, two of which had been supplied new to Premier, of
Earby, and the third ordered by them. The take-over of
Premier, on the 25th March 1928, brought the
Barnoldswick-Skipton routes under Laycocks' control.
However, it was a move with a large element of risk
attached, as anybody could have started operation on the
run without attracting the attention of the licensing
authorities. Two routes were operated, each at an hourly
frequency, one via West Marton and the other, more
direct, through Thornton. In addition, a return trip up
Tubber Hill was made during the gap between services, at
the Barnoldswick end of the route, whilst when returning
to, or coming from the garage, buses traversed the
unmade road to Earby.
At the completion of a successful 1928, marred only by
the continued opposition of Colne Corporation, Laycock
and Sons ran 15 vehicles - two 32-seat Maudslays, six
26-seat Maudslays, one 26-seat Maudslay all-weather
coach, three 20-seat Dennis's, one 20-seat Albion, one
6-seat Austin and a 4-seat Morris car, the total Road
Fund Tax paid being £779.
During 1929, two more Maudslays were delivered. No. 31,
an ML3/35, was delivered in March and was unusual in
that its 32-seat Barton and Danson body had two doors,
one at the front and one situated at the back behind the
rear axle. This experiment was not repeated, despite the
advantage of shorter stops, as too many passengers were
able to evade fare payment. The second, No. 32, was to
all accounts a beautiful machine. It carried 26-seat,
all-weather coachwork by London Lorries fitted to an
ML6/30 chassis. The 6-cylinder engine had a capacity of
7.4 litres, enabling it to be the fastest coach in the
fleet. Until its withdrawal in 1934, it was known to all
the drivers as the "flyer" and was said to be able to
catch pigeons on the wing.
Late in 1929 the road between Salterforth and
Barnoldswick was metalled and a new bridge built across
the canal. Taking advantage of this facility, Ezra
Laycock and Sons instituted an
Earby-Klondyke-Salterforth-Barnoldswick-Coates service
on Christmas Eve 1929. A Barnoldswick-Salterforth-Colne
service was also introduced, but this was withdrawn in
favour of an extension of the Earby route to Colne soon
after, because of competition from the Ribble route
between Colne and Barnoldswick via Standing Stone Gate
and the poor road surface between Salterforth and
Kelbrook.
During 1930, two Commers joined the Laycock fleet. Their
20 seat Barnaby bodies were fitted to lorry chassis,
which lacked spring suspension at the rear, thus giving
an unusually hard ride, even for 1930. On one occasion,
John Laycock was driving an evening bus from Skipton
when he noticed a gentleman in a bowler hat bouncing up
and down on the rear seat as the Commer negotiated the
poor road surface of Marton Lane. As the Southfield
hump-back bridge over the canal was approached, he
accelerated. The man was thrown out of his seat and hit
his head on the roof, forcing his hat down over his
eyes. On arrival at Barnoldswick, John was still
laughing to himself as his passenger struggled to remove
the firmly-lodged hat! The Commer displaced the two
ex-Premier Dennis Gs which, by March 1932, were
operating with A. F. England of Luton, appropriately,
trading as Union Jack. In 1933 Union Jack's routes were
taken over by Luton Corporation, with whom the Dennis Gs
operated until 1938, when they returned to Union Jack,
which was by then operating as a dealer.
During the early days of the routes to Earby,
competition was not confined to Ribble and Colne
Corporation. Ezra realised that the local population had
to learn to use the motor bus, as opposed to the trains
operated by the L.M.S. between Skipton and Colne and on
the Earby-Barnoldswick branch line. Amongst his most
ingenious publicity ideas was to equip all his
distinctive dark green buses with green lights on the
roof. A sustained advertising campaign was launched in
his time and fare tables, encouraging people to "Travel
on the bus with the green light". However, the L.M.S.
objected, on the grounds that locomotive drivers in
Earby Station could mistake the green lights on the
buses, in the adjacent road, for green signals at night.
In order to avoid allegations of disregard for safety,
the offending lights were removed. Subsequently, a
Maudslay was fitted with a blind which not only included
the destination but the title "E. Laycock and Sons".
This too was unsuccessful, as the overall effect was
deemed too cramped.
By 1930, the British Electric Traction Co., which
controlled Ribble and Thomas Tilling, and British
Automobile Traction Co., which controlled West
Yorkshire, had divided the country into areas, where it
was agreed that one company could run a subsidiary
without competition from the other. One boundary passed
through Skipton and the Ribble service to Embsay
violated the agreement, so it was to be expected that
when Ribble extended to Bolton Abbey, West Yorkshire
would operate a service in competition. The resulting
friction rendered Winter operations so uneconomical that
both routes were withdrawn and Laycocks stepped into the
breach by providing a service.
Prior to 1930, the regulations governing the operation
of the bus industry were contained in an array of 19th
century legislation for the control of horse-drawn
vehicles, the most important being the1832 Stage
Carriage Act and the Town Police Clauses Acts of 1847
and 1889. They contained many anomalies such as being
applicable only to vehicles plying for hire on the
streets, thus exempting all services which used private
land as termini. More important so far as Laycocks were
concerned, the Town Police Clauses Acts were both
permissive and flexible, and being administered by Local
Authorities, resulted in licences being sought in each
town of operation. Municipalitieswith their own
transport undertakings, such as Colne, were particularly
hostile to independents, whilst frequently in county
districts, authorities did not issue licences, thus
placing existing operators in constant peril from
competition on their rural routes. However, the Road
Traffic Act passed in 1930 created a new ordered
framework by establishing thirteen Traffic Areas which
were later abridged to twelve. The Traffic Commissioners
were responsible through their Vehicle Examiners for
issuing Certificates of Fitness for Passenger Service
Vehicles and were empowered, through hearings at their
courts, which were organised on lines broadly similar to
Courts of justice, with a system of appeals to the
Minister of Transport, to licence routes for stage and
express carriage services, excursions and tours, and to
approve timetables and fares. (the company formed after
an agreement between Keighley Corporation and West
Yorkshire, which replaced the Municipal bus fleet in
Keighley) of one sixth of the Colne-Keighley route, to
give them an equal share of the service with B.C.N., the
latter providing two thirds of the buses, following the
purchase of the Laycock third. This was effected on the
22nd April 1934, when a new timetable was introduced.
Thus, in December 1933, John and Rennie Laycock regained
three stage service licences. Of these, the Skipton-Bolton
Abbey route passed to S. & F. Motor Service and the
Skipton-Barnoldswick via Thornton service was withdrawn
as the sale of the Skipton-Earby licence prevented
Laycocks from carrying passengers to Thornton. The
third, the Skipton-Barnoldswick via East Marton and West
Marton route was, after due consideration by the
brothers, continued and therefore, after a break of
slightly over a month when the firm had technically
ceased to exist, the Laycock business recommenced
operations.
The Skipton-Halton East-Bolton Abbey route, as already
mentioned, passed to Stephenson and Fotherby trading as
S. & F. Motor Service. Mr A. G. Stephenson was the son
of W. Stephenson, Ezra Laycock's partner between 1905
and 1912, and together with Mr Fotherby and an
ex-employee, Mr Ken Brigg, operated two Maudslay ML4s,
which were originally Laycock numbers 20 and 22. These
were replaced by more ex-Laycock buses: YG17 and YG19
which had previously been B.C.N. numbers 64 and 66. The
former passed to a Mr L. Hutchinson of Skipton in 1938
and was out of service from 1939 until Mr Stephenson
rebought it in 1947, when it was rebodied for coaching
as the Skipton-Bolton Abbey service had lapsed during
the war, being resumed by Ribble in 1946, notionally
operating jointly with West Yorkshire. YG19 was
downseated from 32 to 26 and was replaced in 1938 by
YG18, the third of the batch which was scrapped after
only six months with S. & F. The route taken by the
service required the driver to turn his vehicle round in
Halton East, as there is only one road to the village on
which buses can operate. On one occasion, a Bolton
Abbey-bound bus, having turned round in the village,
returned down the road to Skipton. The driver was
unaware of his error until a passenger asked if they
were going a long way round to get to Bolton Abbey!
The buses owned by Ezra Laycock and Sons were not the
only casualties of the take-over, however, as a small
haulage fleet and a private hire car were also sold. The
last horses at Cowling were retired, having been
retained for use at funerals. The three garages at North
Ends, Cowling; Firth Street, Skipton; and Bank Street,
Barnoldswick, were disposed of, the latter having
superseded the Premier Garage in Earby, became an
ambulance depot. They were replaced by a new building in
West Close Road, Barnoldswick, which served the business
until it was sold for a second and final time in 1972.
Ezra Laycock had always been renowned for employing good
men on his buses but, on the sale, they too had to go
their separate ways.
Men like Eric Chew, Percy Goad, Ernest Dawson, Herbert
Smith, Frank Wiseman, Arthur Overend, the Berry
brothers, George Lancaster and his brother, and Ernie
Bannister, who married Ezra's daughter, worked all hours
of the day for 15s. a week. Ezra would play cards in the
hut at Cowling, waiting for a job and when a bus broke
down, he would give the driver an ounce of tobacco to
repair it. He appointed Walter Snowden as inspector
after finding too much money was being pilfered. In
typical fashion, he called all his staff together and
pronounced: "There's four wheels to a bus and before it
was three wheels for Ezra and one wheel for ye buggers,
but now it's one wheel for Ezra and three wheels for ye
buggers, so I'm making Walter Snowden Inspector to watch
after ye all". None of the drivers and conductors ever
wore a uniform other than a cap, in stark contrast to
the strict regulations of the corporation and company
crews of the time. With the exception of the joint
service between Colne and Keighley, which was worked by
the ML3s, all Laycocks' routes were one-man operated, to
keep costs to the minimum.
Unable to reconcile himself to the fact that buses in
colours other than his own were operating on his Cowling
road, Ezra retired. He moved to the shores of Morecambe
Bay where, alert and observant to the last, he died,
late in 1933. This book is a tribute to his unceasing
service to the South Craven area. He possessed great
foresight and the determination to put his pioneering
ideas into practice. In his later years, he was
frequently known to reflect with a very wry chuckle on
the lost freedom of the days when he had to pit his wits
against another man's to survive. Through the green
buses to which he devoted so much effort, his name will
be remembered for many years to come.
From 1933, Ezra Laycock and Sons, the title under which
John and Rennie traded, assumed a role similar to any
small independent concern operating a rural stage
carriage service. To travel on a Laycocksbus between the
cotton town of Barnoldswick and the busy market town of
Skipton during the 'thirties was akin to joining a happy
family, where everyone knew everyone else on first-name
terms. The route itself has always been compared to the
Yorkshire equivalent of the Grand National Course at
Aintree. The canal was crossed by hump-back bridges no
less than four times within two miles of leaving
Barnoldswick, at Coates, Greenberfield (twice) and South
Field, because in those days the road to Skipton
followed Coates Lane to Greenberfield and Greenberfield
Lane thence to Ghyll Brow. Allied to these obstacles
were several blind right angle bends and the tortuous
Marton Lane, with its poor road surface. Fortunately,
the drivers were so familiar with its potholes that even
at night time passengers were given as smooth a ride as
possible. Even so, tributes were frequently made to the
drivers' skill at negotiating the numerous obstacles
with their unwieldy vehicles.
In 1934 the first of many Bedfords was delivered and
numbered 39. Bedford had commenced construction of buses
in 1931, at the Vauxhall works in Luton, with a chassis
designed for a 14-seat body, later superseded by a
vehicle carrying 20 passengers. However, this number was
insufficient for Laycocks' needs and their new bus was
based on an adapted lorry chassis, designated the WTL.
The 26-seat body was built at Hendon by Duple, a firm
whose history has been closely linked with that of
Bedford. Ever since the late 1930s the Bedford-Duple
combination coach has been the most popular cheap
light-weight vehicle on the market and, as such, few
independent operators can claim never to have operated
one. Indeed, in 1939, 70% of all small buses and coaches
coming into service in the UK were built by Bedford.
The following year, 1935, a new Bedford chassis appeared
in the fleet. This was the WTB, which was specifically a
26-seat passenger service vehicle (P.S.V.) chassis.
Number 40, as it became, and number 41, delivered in
1936, were powered by 27 hp Bedford petrol engines, but
subsequent vehicles had 28 hp units. The 26-seat
coach-work on 41 was built by Barnaby, as were the
bodies on 42 and 43, which were delivered in 1937 and
1939, respectively. The latter was a WTB2 which
incorporated a new Bedford radiator which was fitted to
most of their buses and coaches until 1950 and which is
illustrated in the photograph of Bedford OB number 48.
Both sons drove the vehicles, cementing the family
spirit which existed in the business. Rennie was always
a very quiet, friendly man whilst his brother had a very
extrovert character. They usually employed three or four
drivers who would work throughout the day, driving to
and from Skipton. Buses left the Conservative Club, in
Barnoldswick, at 45 minutes past every hour during the
week and at 20-minute intervals on Saturdays, with
departures at 20 and 40 minutes past and on the hour.
The journey took 34 minutes, so that during the
turn-round period in Barnoldswick, vehicles had time to
make a trip to Coates Estate, when enough new houses had
been built there, to justify the re-introduction of the
service. The school bus to Skipton left Barnoldswick at
8.15 am. On the return journey, it would stop to pick up
Mr N. Wild at his home in Aireview Terrace, Skipton, so
that he did not have to catch the earlier 8.45 bus to
reach his work in Barnoldswick. The three-month ticket
cost £2 12s., but on one occasion, when Mr Wild spent
the money, John Laycock loaned it to him!
The other drivers during this time were Ted Cooke, Billy
Simpson and Jack Conley, who were later joined by Abe
Piper, Joe Lucas, Ray Stapleton and Harold Tomlinson.
They would always stop to deliver parcels, or wait for
regular customers whom they knew usually caught a
particular bus. Frequently, a packed bus would have to
wait whilst the driver left his cab to deliver a
message, or helped an elderly person, but no-one ever
minded as those were leisurely times. However, on
occasions, these practices could lead to missed rail
connections at Skipton Station. Mrs M. Sharp recalled
for me how, when returning to Chesterfield after
visiting her grand-parents at Bracewell, the Laycock bus
to Skipton halted at nearly every bus stop to pick up
ladies going to a meeting. As each boarded, the driver
enquired, "Are you going t'Happy How?" The time of the
train departure drew near and, in a state of panic, her
father, Mr Metcalfe, struggled to the front of the
crowded bus to explain the situation to the driver. With
no time to spare the train was caught, in spite of the
"Happy How"!!
The oldest member of the Laycock staff, Ted Cooke, was a
great talker. Regardless of weather conditions, he would
always turn round as he was driving to chat with his
passengers, even if it was someone he had never seen
before. He was always having his leg pulled about this,
but was never known to have had an accident. The two
buses on the Skipton-Barnoldswick service passed each
other at East Marton, but on one foggy night the bus to
Skipton met Ted at Broughton. Ted had been talking again
and upon reaching Niffney Corner, instead of following
the main road on its sharp left hand bend, had driven
his vehicle on to the swing bridge over the canal, which
leads to the farm.
Falling trees presented another problem where the road
to Skipton passes the park of Broughton Hall. On one
windy Monday morning, a tree fell at the Broughton Bull,
blocking the road in both directions. A queue rapidly
formed, stopping the 9.45 to Skipton and several lorries
travelling to the auction market. Whilst the bemused
drivers pondered the situation, tragedy struck, as
another tree was blown down, killing the driver of a
cattle truck in his cab. Ironically, the cows escaped
unscathed, with the exception of one with a broken horn.
Some years later, the driver of the Skipton bus received
fore warning of a fallen tree from a car owner who had
turned back at the obstacle. After learning that it was
down between the two lodges of Broughton Hall, the
driver took his vehicle through the grounds.
However, the only exit was over a narrow wooden bridge.
All the passengers disembarked and walked across, to
await the bus, which crossed with only an inch to spare
on either side.
The stage service was not the only side to the business,
as the two Laycock brothers were always prepared to
undertake private hire work when someone called, either
at the garage or at their homes, with a job. During
Wake's Weeks they were rushed off their feet, providing
excursions for the people of Barnoldswick. John Laycoek
was a very keen fan of Burnley Football Club and every
Saturday, when there was a home fixture, drove a
coach-load of supporters to Turf Moor to watch the
match. Pendle Hill today is renowned for the witches on
Halloween, but during the 1930s it was a favourite haunt
for the people of the cotton towns on Good Friday. Every
year the Barley Omnibus Company, unable to cope with the
crowds, hired two buses from Laycocks. Ezra Laycock and
Sons never organised coach tours of their own, but
vehicles and their drivers were often hired out to
Premier Tours, of Preston. One such venture, in 1937,
took John Laycock to Torquay, together with a Barley
Omnibus Co. vehicle, driven by Ray Stapleton, who later
joined Laycocks as a driver.
The Second World War caused an immediate curtailment of
excursionsand tours but, unlike the First World War, no
vehicles were requisitioned and the firm was allowed to
keep its drivers. Sufficient fuel was allocated to the
business to maintain the timetable and operate workers'
specials. However, the Saturday service was reduced to a
40-minute frequency, the buses leaving Barnoldswick and
Skipton at 9.00, 9.40, 10.20 am, etc. Interior lighting
was reduced and headlights on the vehicles were masked
so that an foggy nights, passengers sometimes had to
walk in front of the bus as guides, but in time, the
drivers grew to know the route so well that they could
even avoid all the pot holes when driving, almost
literally blindfold. During the very severe Winter of
1940, one of the buses became stranded in deep snow,
near South Field Bridge. When John Laycock returned the
following day, it was nowhere to be seen. Indeed, it
remained completely buried in the snow for a full week
before it could be dug out! Thus, compared with other
operators, Laycocks fared well in the War, avoiding cuts
in services through bombing and fuel shortages, which
caused some companies to convert buses to trailer gas
units.
Restrictions on vehicle production did affect them,
however. From 1939 to 1942 no motor buses were produced
in Britain for the home market, but in the latter year
the Ministry of Supply eased its restrictions. 447
chassis which had been built in 1939, or 1940, were
"unfrozen" and sent to the body builders. Guy, Daimler,
Karrier, Bedford and later Bristol were allowed to build
buses for allocation to the areas of greatest need. The
bodies were of an austere design, with square wooden
construction, devoid of any superfluous panelling. These
"utility" vehicles, as they were known, had spartan
interiors with wooden bench seats and little or no
lighting. The standard livery was grey (to economise in
paint and labour in the paint shop) relieved only by
black roofs to avoid being spotted by enemy aircraft.
In November 1942, Laycocks took delivery of No. 44. It
was a Bedford OWB with a Roe body, seating 32. This was
essentially a WTB, with a wheel base lengthened to 14ft
6ins and the 1938-designed 28 hp engine. No. 44 was
allocated to serve the cotton mills, but by the time No.
45 was delivered, in 1944, Rolls-Royce Ltd. had
establishedits shadow factory for development of jet
engines in Barnoldswick and extra transport was needed
to carry the workers, who were recruited from a wide
area. The new OWB had a Duple body, iden-tical to that
built by Roe on the first vehicle.
The wooden slat seats on 44 and 45 were extremely strong
and were never known to break. There were only two
lights in the interior, whilst the diminutive headlights
gave the absolute minimum of light. They were known to
the drivers as the buses with "the elastic sides".
Certainly the absence of panelling inside gave a very
spacious look to their 7ft 6ins width. During the War,
the police always turned a blind eye to the numbers
carried on the workers' services, as did all the local
Vehicle Examiners, who knew the Laycocks well. Ray
Stapleton often drove one of the Rolls-Royce special
services, which were operated by two vehicles. However,
one evening, the second bus broke down and all the Rolls
employees somehow had to reach Skipton. Ray cleverly
organised them and when 32 people were seated, another
32 had to sit on their knees. This completed, the
remainder stood two abreast in the aisle. Unfortunately,
a Traffic Commissioners' Vehicle Examiner from another
area happened to be in Skipton when the vehicle arrived
and meticulously counted 70 people disembark from the
32-seater! A few days later, a letter was received at
the Laycocks' garage, stating that this gross
overcrowding had been noted and would they please
refrain from this practice in future. Thus, an incident
which, under normal conditions, couldhave led to the
Laycock fleet being compulsorily taken off the road, was
"overlooked" in the comradeship of wartime.
Unlike the majority of operators, Laycocks did not rush
to buy new buses immediately hostilities ended. Their
first post-war purchase was delivered in January 1948.
Numbered 46, it was a Bedford OB, fitted with luxurious
Barnaby 27-seat coachwork. This new chassis appeared in
1939, when 73 were built, before production stopped and
the OWB replaced it. The ubiquitous OB reappeared in
1945 as a cheap, reliable 29-seater, with the well-tried
28 hp petrol engine. By the time production ceased, in
1950, 12,693 further examples had been built, making it
one of the most popular buses of all time.
Most OBs had Duple bodies, as did Laycocks' number 47,
which they bought when a year old, from Kia Ora, of
Morecambe, in 1949. The next bus marked a new departure,
as it was fitted with a Perkins P6 diesel, or
compression ignition (c.i.) engine. This unit had six
cylinders, which developed 83 bhp at 2,400 rpm. Although
noisier and slower, with much more vibration than a
petrol engine, the diesel is far more economical to
operate three of the WTBs in later life, when the
coaches were relegated to bus duties. A second diesel-engined
Bedford OB was delivered in 1951. After the war,
Certificates of Fitness were refused to all Bedford OWBs
which were not reduced in capacity from 32. As a result,
both Laycocks' 44 and 45 were downseated to 31, with
number 44 later becoming a 30-seater. These vehicles
rapidly deteriorated in condition, their ungainly,
square war-time lines detracting from the general
appearance of the fleet. Number 45 was sold to W. Tetley
of Leeds in January 1950, who in turn sold it to the
R.A.S.C. in March 1951. They exported it to Egypt where
it saw "action" in the 1956 Suez Crisis. 44 was also
withdrawn in January 1950, but was deemed suitable for
reconstruction. The Hull coach builders of Barnaby
reequipped this vehicle with a Perkins P6 diesel engine
and a 31-seat fully-fronted body, modifying the chassis
to forward control by moving the driving position next
to the engine at the same time. The resulting "new" bus
was numbered 50 and registered LWT769 on its return to
service in June 1952.
In 1946, the Saturday timetable reverted to its pre-war
20-minute frequency but, in common with all other
transport undertakings, the bitter Winter of 1947 caused
much disruption on the Skipton-Barnoldswickservice. For
two months, Marton Lane was almost continuously
impassable and buses had to run through Thornton. One
day, after a particularly severe blizzard, the Colne-Cross
Hills road was blocked and traffic had to travel via
Skipton. The last bus through from Barnoldswick left at
1.45 pm and didn't arrive back from Skipton until 7.45
pm - 6 hours to travel 24 miles! The bus, with chains
attached to its wheels, had little difficulty, but the
passage was hampered by heavy lorries in distress. In
particular, a waggon and trailer, which stuck at the
Tempest Arms, Elslack, proved immovable, causing long
delays whilst a way round was cleared.
During the War, John and Rennie's two sons entered the
firm. Roy Laycock was a joiner by trade, whilst Donald,
Rennie's son, was an engineer. The early post-war period
was a time of rapid expansion in the bus industry,
culminating in the record year of 1949, when more buses
and coaches were built and passengers carried than ever
before and probably ever will be again. However, Ezra
Laycock and Sons remained fairly static in size and
activity. When John suggested expansion, there was a
difference of opinion with his brother, eventually
resulting in Rennie and Donald leaving the business. In
January 1952, the firm became a limited company, trading
as Ezra Laycock Ltd., with its registered office in West
Close Road, Barnoldswick, the directors being John and
Roy Laycock and Harry Holdsworth, one of the drivers.
May 13th, 1955 was an important date for the firm of
Ezra Laycock Ltd, as it marked the Golden Anniversary of
the arrival of the original Milnes-Daimler: the "First
bus in Yorkshire". Many local newspapers carried
articles on the event, an excerpt from one being
included in this book. In one interview, when asked the
question "What would be, today, the equivalent of your
father's first adoption of motor transport?" John
Laycock replied, "We should of course have on order for
delivery on the morning of our Golden jubilee, a multi-seater
helicopter, but we prefer a life more tranquil than this
might involve".
In 1954, Laycocks' took delivery of the first of two AEC
Mono-coaches. These machines had their AEC AH410 diesel
engines positioned under the floor, at the centre of the
bus, and were equipped with five-speed syncromesh
gearboxes. Unlike the majority of buses, where the
chassis and body are separate and often built by
different manufacturers, the Monocoach was one integral
unit similar to a motor car, or the latest Leyland
National buses of today. The 30-feet long body seated 44
passengers, 12 more than in any previous Laycock
single-deck vehicle, and was built by Park Royal
Vehicles, a company with a long history of close
co-operation with AEC.
Despite the popularity of AEC vehicles,, the Monocoach
did not sell well outside Scotland, where the
state-owned Bus Group bought 189 new and two second-hand
from -a small independent concern: Thus, Laycock numbers
51 and 52, which came in 1956, were probably the only
Monocoaches bought new by an English independent.
The reason for this lack of appeal was probably the
popularity of AEC's other single-deck chassis at that
time, the Reliance. Although heavier and a little more
expensive than its stablemate, the Reliance offered the
more powerful AH470 engine and an unlimited choice of
bodywork to be fitted, making it popular with operators
who have always had favourite coach builders. Ezra
Laycock No. 53, delivered in March 1959, was a Reliance
with a 43-seater body, built by Charles H. Roe of Leeds,
which was later altered to carry 45 seats. During the
same year, a secondhand AEC Regal III was bought from
Cowgill (Dales Bus Service) of Lothersdale.
This short-lived Regal was superseded in 1960 by
another, also from a local source - Wild Bros. of
Barnoldswick. This amazing coach had originated as Bath
Tramways number 2219, in 1937, and had passed to Wild
via Berresford of Cheddleton on withdrawal in 1951. They
despatched their acquisition to the coachworks of Yeates,
in Loughborough, who lengthened the chassis to 30 feet
and fitted a new AEC diesel engine and 37-seat body. In
this form LWX888 (its new registration) carried the
chassis number of WSY/06622310/189 - possibly the
longest ever used on a bus.
1960 also saw the return of Bedfords to the fleet, in
the form of 56 and 57. These were SBls, with 41-seat
Duple coach bodies. This chassis, which replaced the OB,
was introduced in 1950 and by 1965, when it went into
limited production (as it still is today), had sold over
14,000 chassis - a United Kingdom record. In an effort
to give the firm of Ezra Laycock a new image, number 56
was painted in a light blue livery and 57 dark blue, but
as neither was successful, the dark green livery lived
on.
The next major date in the Company's life was August
1961, when J. T. Hey, trading as Silver Star Motor
Services, was taken over, withthe Skipton-Carleton stage
service and a workers' special between Carleton and a
mill in Broughton Road, Skipton. The three Bedfords
which Silver Star owned were operated by Laycocks for
two weeks before being sold. All were OBs, JWW933 being
bought new by Mr Hey, whilst the diesel-engined GOU721
came from Hants and Sussex Motor Service. None was
numbered by Laycocks, during their short stay. Silver
Star also operated a Skipton-Bradley route which, on
acquisition, Laycocks allowed to lapse until
Keighley-West Yorkshire diverted their route 8 (Skipton-Silsden)
through the village. It is interesting to note that a
blind, including the Bradley destination removed from
one of the Bedfords, was carried by Bristol No. 84, as
late as 1972. The return journeys on the new route were
fitted into the waiting time of buses at Skipton on the
Barnoldswick service, with one vehicle spending the
night behind a public house in Carleton.
Replacements for the ex-Silver Star buses were quickly
sought and arrived in the form of two AEC Regals from
Trent, a Leyland from Ribble and a Tilling-Steven. The
Leyland was already 26 years old when purchased, having
started life as a service bus. In 1950 it was rebodied
as a coach and given a Leyland E181 engine, a unit which
had been designed for use in Second World War tanks.
Many similar vehicles were sold to independent operators
around 1960, one of which, belonging to Progress of
Chorley, lasted until 1973, when it was estimated to
have run three million miles in its 38 years service.
However, neither Laycocks' number 60, nor 61, the
Tilling, lasted long, the latter being sold after the
engine blew up. A Ford Thames demonstrator, 8608EV, was
also hired for a few weeks in 1961 for use on the
Carleton service.
Numbers 62 and 63 were AEC Reliances, with Duple
Britannia 41-seat coachwork. These smart vehicles were
the last to be bought new by Laycocks until 1972,
demonstrating the catastrophic effect the private car
was having on the bus industry. In order to pay for the
new AECs, the two Bedford SBls and an AEC Monocoach had
to be sold. Two more secondhand AECs were acquired in
1962. The first, numbered 66, was a Regal III chassis
which, following the advent of underfloor-engined
vehicles, had ceased to be built for the home market
between 1954 and the appearance of this machine in 1959.
Number 67, though five years older, was of the more
advanced Reliance model, but the body, built to coach
standards, proved un-suitable for stage service and it
was exchanged in December 1962 for a new number 67. The
Ford demonstrator hired in 1961 had obviously created a
good impression, as 1456PT was a Thames Trader with a
Willowbrook service body, rather rare on a chassis
marketed primarily as a coach. Both 66 and the second 67
passed for further service when sold by Laycocks, the
Regal now working in Ireland.
Double-deckers had not been operated by Ezra Laycock
since the middle 1920s, so the arrival of number 70, in
1964, caused considerable interest. School children
living in Barnoldswick had always used
the railway to reach Skipton, but it was decided to hire
a bus because of the impending closure of Barnoldswick
Station. Thus, the 54-seat Leyland PDl, HCD903 was
bought from Southdown Motor Services,who had run it
since new in 1947. This bus was stabled for the night in
the paint shop, the main garage being too low to
accommodate it. On arrival in Skipton, it spent the day
parked in the centre of the bus station, between setting
down and picking up at Ermysteds and the High School.
At the commencement of the next school year, in
September 1965, two AEC Regent III double-deckers were
purchased from Western S.M.T., who had bought them new
in 1950. Their early demise was probably because they
were non-standard in that Scottish fleet where Leyland,
Bristol, Daimler and Guy machines predominated. These
vehicles, although of low-bridge construction (i.e. the
upper deck gangway was sunken at the side, allowing an
overall height of 13ft 6ins - 9ins lower than a
conventional vehicle) still proved too high to be
accommodated in the main garage and, as a result, when
not in Skipton were usually to be found parked outside
the paint shop, which could only accommodate one
vehicle.
The double-deckers were operated without conductors, so
that the school children were unsupervised. A favourite
prank of theirs was to hang off the back of the open
platform at the rear, causing great concern to motorists
behind the bus. Realising that the situation could not
be tolerated, three new double-deckers, with platform
doors, were bought. These were numbered 74-76, having
originated with Ribble, as its 2494, 2485 and 2509
respectively. This batch, built in 1947, had comprised
38 buses, all fitted with Brush 53-seat bodies.
Subsequently, 16 were sold and the remainder rebodied in
1955 by H. V. Burlingham, in Blackpool, to similar
capacities and converted to 8ft wide, their E181 engines
being replaced by 0.600 units, four years later.
From 1966 to 1968, three secondhand AEC Reliances were
purchased. The first, number 77, was burnt out a year
after it arrived. Although thoughts were given to
reconstruction, they never came to fruition and it was
replaced by 78. This machine carried a smart Plaxton
Highway body which wasn't displayed to its best
advantage by the application of the Laycock livery. In
later years, it was re-seated to carry 45, as a service
bus. Number 79, however, was very ungainly in appearance
and only stayed a year before being re-sold.
In 1968, sufficient school children were carried to
warrant the purchase of a fourth double-decker. Again
this was an ex-Ribble Leyland, but being more modern,
lacked the complicated history of the other three.
However, despite the income this side of the business
generated, the coach fleet of AECs was becoming rather
elderly in appearance and newer vehicles were needed.
Against the advice of his mechanic, Mr Laycock bought a
1966 Ford, with Plaxton 45-seat coachwork. This vehicle,
which became number 81, frequently worked on the
Rolls-Royce service, in conjunction with a normal bus.
The bus always ran to Skipton direct, whilst the coach
operated via Barnoldswick, but despite the simplicity of
the system, there was quite often some confusion. The
Ford was also hired to Wild Bros. from time to time, for
use on the contract to Johnson and Johnson at Gargrave.
The low height, designed to avoid such calamities, did
not prevent number 75 from colliding with a bridge in
Nelson, during 1969. Because of its age, the decision
was taken to scrap it and a replacement was bought. This
materialised as a 1958 AEC Regent V, which was 30 feet
in length, accommodating 65 passengers in considerable
com-fort, as this type usually seats eight more.
Laycocks fitted platform doors, though it ran in the
attractive red, black and cream colours of its former
owner, City of Oxford Motor Services, for some time
afterwards. When it was repainted, the number was
missing, a point brought to Mr Laycock's attention by a
keen-eyed enthusiast.
Experimenting with different manufacturers continued
with the arrival of No. 84, a 1955 Bristol LS5, from
West Yorkshire Road Car Co. This was an integral
vehicle, produced for the nationalised British Transport
Holdings, which had bought out the Tilling Group in
1947. The body was an Eastern Coach Works 41-seater, to
dual purpose standards, i.e. coach seating in a bus
frame. The Gardner 5LW engine, whilst being slow, was
one of the finest diesel units in the world. This design
was first announced in 1928 and the six-cylinder 6LW is
still being produced today. The 5LW produces 85 bhp at
1,700 rpm from its 7 litres capacity and, well
maintained, can achieve 15 miles to the gallon. This
performance was in marked contrast to that achieved by
the AEC Reliances, which were encountering increasing
gasket trouble, a fault common in their AH470 engines.
Following the success of number 84, two more LS5Gs were
acquired, this time from the Bristol Omnibus Company's
subsidiary, Bath Tramways. They operated for several
weeks in their former owner's green livery, with the
existing advertisements and without blinds, which caused
much confusion. Ezra Laycock had used advertisements as
a useful source of revenue for several years, many local
businesses taking advantage of the space on the backs of
buses to publicise their goods and services.
Early in 1971, two Bedfords were bought from Shirley, of
Meriden, having originated with Gardiner, of Spennymoor,
Co. Durham. These 1968 coaches seated 53 passengers in
their 36 feet long bodies. This was six feet longer than
any previous Laycock vehicle and ten feet longer than
the permitted maximum length when the West Close Road
Depot was built. Fortunately, the foresight of the
builders was repaid as the new coaches fitted neatly
into the garage. They were never painted in true Laycock
livery, the darker green being so smart that it was
considered adopting it as standard, but this plan never
came to fruition. Another interesting point about these
vehicles was their three axles and small wheels. This
gave the VAL70, as they were designated, added stability
and safety. Amongst the AEC Reliances which were
replaced was number 58, which had also hailed from
Gardiners, 11 years before. This coach was sold to a
Bradford firm, for use on the Bradford-Pakistan Express.
Apparently it performed well, though as happens to most
old coaches which traverse the Khyber Pass in each
direction, returned home to the scrap heap.
Three more Bristol LSSGs were bought and numbered 89, 94
and 95 (the latter being the highest-numbered Laycock
bus) replacing the remaining AEC Reliances. Leyland
double-deck No. 76 was also withdrawn after its engine
had blown up. The gap in the numbering was left for four
new coaches and, in due course, three new Bedford YRQs
were delivered, their Plaxton 45-seat bodies including
such extras as forced-air ventilation and specially wide
doors. This feature enabled the vehicles to qualify for
a 50,/10 ; grant from the Government, with the added
condition that half the work undertaken by them in the
first five years of operation must be on stage service
carriage. This concession has helped numerous small
firms, some of which have bought their first new
vehicles since the early 1930s. In April 1972, a
magnificent 53-seat Leyland Leopard coach was delivered,
which also qualified for a 50;; reduction of the £13,500
cost. This bus, number 93, proved to be the last vehicle
to be bought. It is unusual that in an area dominated by
Leyland buses and coaches, this was only the second
vehicle to be bought new from that manufacturer. This
coach, together with the three new Bedfords replaced the
two VAL70s and the Ford and entered service on the
Barnoldswick-Skipton route. This was now possible, as
construction of a new road from Coates to Ghyll Brow, in
1958, alleviated the necessity of negotiating the
narrow, tortuous roads around Greenberfield.
During the Summer of 1972, it was announced that the
company of Ezra Laycock Ltd. had been sold to Pennine
Motor Services of Gargrave, the exact time of the
transfer being fixed as midnight on the llth of August.
As this date approached, the garage in Barnoldswick was
visited by numerous enthusiasts, anxious for a last
photograph or a last ride. On the Wednesday of the final
week, an auction of tickets and general bric-a-brac was
held in the garage, with a good response from the
public. Amongst mementos sold were parts from the AEC
Monocoach No. 52, which was dismantled by Laycocks. The
fateful Friday arrived and a large crowd gathered as the
departure time for the last bus drew near. The vehicle
chosen to perform this duty was Leyland Leopard number
93 and, as it drew into the depot, the last passenger
disembarked and the last photograph taken, an era drew
to a close.
In the later years of operation, even this friendly
service suffered a loss of some of the familiarity that
existed in former years. However, the drivers and
conductors were always willing to share a chuckle and a
"chinwag" with their passengers. Amusing incidents never
ceased to happen, one of the most audacious occurring at
West Marton. Here Marton Lane makes a long detour around
Marton Hall Farm, whilst a track through the farmyard is
perfectly straight. One day a driver, seeing that the
gates at either end were open, decided to save time and
diesel oil by taking the short cut.
The new operator altered the Skipton-Barnoldswick route
considerably, diverting it to include Carleton, whilst
Saturday frequencies were reduced. Only the four new
coaches in the Laycock fleet were retained and painted
in Pennine's attractive amber and black livery, which
was modified to include a green fleet name and some
white relief. The double-deckers were sold soon after
the take-over, the AEC Regent V passing to Wild Bros. of
Barnoldswick. The Bristol LSSGs, after spending several
weeks out of service parked outside the garage, were
sold to operators in Lancashire, Scotland and Wales. The
school services are now operated by Terry's Taxis, whose
twotone blue AECs, bought from Halifax, now make regular
appearances in Skipton and Barnoldswick. Thus,
Barnoldswick Depot has become a dormy shed for the two
1971 Leyland Leopard service buses used on the route to
Skipton. The paint shop was sold, becoming a private
garage, whilst Border Tours (Kellet) coaches are often
parked in the depot yard and two preserved Leyland Royal
Tigers are housed inside.
Fares had increased considerably since those halcyon
days of 1908 when Laycock and Stephenson purchased 1,000
gallons of petrol at 7d (3p) per gallon, delivered free
of charge, from London. Even in 1929, when taxes were
levied, it only cost Is 42d (7p) per gallon, falling to
9d (4p) two years later - a sobering thought in the days
of the impending £1 gallon. During the later years, the
Skipton-Barnoldswick service was operated at a
considerable loss, having to be cross-subsidised from
other areas of the business, despite Government aid in
tax rebates and grants. Amongst the smaller services
performed by the company was the daily carriage of the
local evening papers to Barnoldswick, for delivery to
the townsfolk. Thus, it is gratifying to note the
letters of thanks from his former customers that Mr
Laycock received upon his retirement from the business.
It is ironic that plans were being made by the company
for many years into the future. More second-hand
Bristols were to be bought when those in service became
redundant, whilst the double-deck fleet was to be
equipped with 70-seaters, which were being withdrawn by
large operators at the time. However, the green buses
are now a fading memory, with the exception of Leyland
double-decker number 74, which was saved for
preservation by some Blackburn enthusiasts. When
withdrawn from service, it was 25 years years old,
making it one of the oldest working Public Service
Vehicles in Yorkshire. Although it now carries the
livery of Ribble Motor Services, the appearance of
BCK437 at rallies throughout the country will serve as a
living reminder of Ezra Laycock.
With the sale of the business, Roy Laycock, his wife and
daughters, who acted as secretaries to the Company, are
now able to devote their entire energies to their farm
in Barnoldswick. Some long-serving employees retired,
whilst five now work for Pennine.
John Laycock died a few years before the take-over. He
was known throughout the Craven area as a character, in
the best sense of the word. A stalwart Conservative, he
served as president of the Barnoldswick Club for many
years and was a regular visitor to the time of his
death, always enjoying a friendly game of cards or
dominoes. Amongst his greatest loves was motoring. He
possessed a large collection of badges which proudly
decorated the front of his car. His knowledgeable
enthusiasm for motor transport combined with this
extrovert nature made conversation with him a pleasure.
The motor era and his own business developed as
contemporaries from their infancy to modernity in Mr
Laycock's life time.
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