Holdsworth was a name to be
known, founded in 1933 by W.F. "Sandy" Holdsworth in Kent, it
rapidly expanded into a
multi-shop enterprise. By 1960's & 70's, the main stores and factory were in London.
Holdsworth bought the Claud Butler brand name in 1958. They bought the Freddie Grubb name around 1952 after Grubb had died.
Finally, the Macleans name was bought around 1963.
The Holdsworthy empire was bought up in the middle/late 80s by the same group that owned
Falcon and they became part of the big Townsend group of which the only survivor is now
Falcon with the Claud Butler brand name. The Putney shop W F Holdsworth has had nothing to
do with the original company for many, many years and their frames were branded Roy Thame.
These have not been built for at least 15 years.
In the 1970s The
British Pro team, co-sponsored by Campagnolo & Holdsworth, was dominant on the
domestic UK front...and the company was a prime agent for many important brands, both as
retailer and
wholesaler.
Thanks for additional info from Hilary
Stone |
W.F. "Sandy" Holdsworth
Catalog sheets for La Quelda
and Zephyr models
A
great dedicated web site
by Norman Kilgariff
HERE |
