Weybridge's other attraction: the motley motors of R. J. Shanks

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Our non-English readers might not have heard of the Surrey commuter town of Weybridge, but all our readers, no matter their location, will know about its most famous attraction, the Brooklands circuit. As is common knowledge, it was opened in 1907 as Britain's first purpose-built motor-racing circuit and continued to host races until war forced its closure in 1939, in the meantime functioning as one of the main venues for automotive development in England.

The majority of people in Weybridge were not racing drivers, though. They were ordinary men and women needing ordinary cars to go about their business, so in addition to the workshops of Malcolm Campbell, Robin Jackson, Victor Derrington et al. down at the track, the town had plenty of other garages which better catered for their needs.

One such garage was R. J. Shanks on Baker Street, in the centre of town. Perhaps the local association with Brooklands enhanced its prestige, because it seemed to handle more exciting stock than just second-hand Austins and Morrises, and it became quite well-known for it. Indeed, much has been written about R. J. Shanks in the past and finding information hasn't been too difficult.

To begin with, we can see from the photograph that it was established in 1897, when it was probably just a general engineering shop with a sideline in cycle sales and repairs. Most likely, it branched into motor repairs very shortly after, but the earliest evidence we have seen of it advertising itself as a garage was in 1911. By the mid-1920s, it was 'Sole District Agents for Humber, Hillman, Lagonda, Gwynne.' The Humber and Hillman connection seems to have led to Shanks eventually becoming a Rootes garage, as it was by the late 1940s. Notably, in the late '40s its managing director was Frank Kennington, who was a keen racer of MGs and a Cisitalia D46, and was also involved around the same time with the running of Weybridge Motors, an entirely separate garage. We've not found out when R. J. Shanks ceased trading, but it was still going into the 1960s.

For all that, perhaps the highlight of its long and illustrious life was handling a certain Alfa Romeo, as reported by Bill Boddy in the March, 1952, edition of Motor Sport: "But now Brooklands is no more and Weybridge merely a place of sad memories. On the occasion of the visit in question, however, these were appeased by the truly exciting car we found at R. J. Shanks & Co., in Baker Street. It was none other than the 2.9-litre P3 Tipo B Alfa-Romeo raced pre-war by the late Richard Shuttleworth. Converting really-potent G.P. cars for road use has been something of a hobby of rich Englishmen for some time, and such cars as Rodney Clark’s 3.3 Bugatti, Crampton’s 2.9 Maserati, etc., come to mind. But a two seater sports version of the monoposto Alfa-Romeo...!"

Our pictures seem to show the dealership circa 1930, and Humbers and Hillmans are certainly in evidence. At any rate, we can see that in the row of five forward-facing cars, there's a little Humber 9/20 on the far left and second from right is, we think, a Hillman 14 all-weather coupé. The car in the centre is most interesting, though. It rather looks like a Hispano-Suiza—could it really be one? As for the other cars, we'll have to ask you to guve us some help.

Words: Zack Stiling; photograph: Stiling Collection
 

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