Cleveland, Independent Motors, Prior Park Road, Bath, c.1969
The great view of Widcombe Crescent behind is hidden a bit today by trees, but this is still (perhaps even more so today) a very attractive location for a garage, on the road out to Prior Park: goo.gl/maps/N4vmrVw8upw6yhKP9 — I will admit to spending quite a while looking at the backs of various crescents in Bath on Streetview to work out where this was, since it looked very Bath-like but there were no details with the photo.
Here in about 1969 Independent Motors were selling Fiat, Volvo, and Citroën, with a Volvo Amazon estate and Citroën DS (or perhaps ID) on the forecourt along with a Humber Sceptre (or maybe Singer Vogue) for £520 or £570. We can see a Duckhams Q sign, and what's probably a Gilbarco pump under the canopy, but it's the superbly chaotic multi-arm Citroën / Volvo / Fiat sign protruding from the top of the canopy stanchion that's the star of the show, making the Cleveland pole sign look quite dull in comparison.
There is a 1964 drawing of the profile of a Venetian window and Victorian balustrade on one of the buildings here but I think it must be on the garage building which we can just see, rather than the grander house behind, since that's actually across a small close behind the garage.
In 1968, the year before this photo, Independent Motors' owner John Tallis had driven (with co-driver Paul Coltelloni) 10,000 miles in a Volvo Amazon 123 GT saloon, in the Daily Express-sponsored London to Sydney Marathon. Looking at some other old news stories and adverts: i 1960 Independent Motors were offering Lotus cars and Downton Conversions, and self-drive hire; In 1967 the premises had been broken into and a safe and £500 stolen; by the 1970s they were also dealing in outboard motors and inflatables; by 1982 a Daihatsu franchise had been added. They remained Citroën dealers until at least the early 1990s; I don't know when petrol sales ended but presumably the garage would have switched to Esso from Cleveland by the mid-70s.
Looking on Streetview, the site seems to have been vacant (but very well maintained) for a few years before a new dealership, Bath Honda, moved in in 2012, now also Bath MG and dealing with Mitsubishi and Great Wall.
Cleveland, Independent Motors, Prior Park Road, Bath, c.1969
The great view of Widcombe Crescent behind is hidden a bit today by trees, but this is still (perhaps even more so today) a very attractive location for a garage, on the road out to Prior Park: goo.gl/maps/N4vmrVw8upw6yhKP9 — I will admit to spending quite a while looking at the backs of various crescents in Bath on Streetview to work out where this was, since it looked very Bath-like but there were no details with the photo.
Here in about 1969 Independent Motors were selling Fiat, Volvo, and Citroën, with a Volvo Amazon estate and Citroën DS (or perhaps ID) on the forecourt along with a Humber Sceptre (or maybe Singer Vogue) for £520 or £570. We can see a Duckhams Q sign, and what's probably a Gilbarco pump under the canopy, but it's the superbly chaotic multi-arm Citroën / Volvo / Fiat sign protruding from the top of the canopy stanchion that's the star of the show, making the Cleveland pole sign look quite dull in comparison.
There is a 1964 drawing of the profile of a Venetian window and Victorian balustrade on one of the buildings here but I think it must be on the garage building which we can just see, rather than the grander house behind, since that's actually across a small close behind the garage.
In 1968, the year before this photo, Independent Motors' owner John Tallis had driven (with co-driver Paul Coltelloni) 10,000 miles in a Volvo Amazon 123 GT saloon, in the Daily Express-sponsored London to Sydney Marathon. Looking at some other old news stories and adverts: i 1960 Independent Motors were offering Lotus cars and Downton Conversions, and self-drive hire; In 1967 the premises had been broken into and a safe and £500 stolen; by the 1970s they were also dealing in outboard motors and inflatables; by 1982 a Daihatsu franchise had been added. They remained Citroën dealers until at least the early 1990s; I don't know when petrol sales ended but presumably the garage would have switched to Esso from Cleveland by the mid-70s.
Looking on Streetview, the site seems to have been vacant (but very well maintained) for a few years before a new dealership, Bath Honda, moved in in 2012, now also Bath MG and dealing with Mitsubishi and Great Wall.