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'JA Prestwich Industries Ltd', was a British engineering company named after founder John Alfred Prestwich, produced cinematographic equipment, internal combustion engines (for which the company was generally abbreviated to "J.A.P"), and other examples of precision engineering.

Contents

History

Products

Aircraft engines

Cinema

Motorcar engines

Motorcycles

References

External links

History

JA Prestwich, an engineer, founded the company in 1895, when he was in his early twenties. Prestwich came to be known as much for his creation of cinematography projectors as his engines. He worked with S.Z. de Ferranti and later the cinema pioneer William Friese-Greene.
The engines were used in many famous motorcycle marques and other devices, such as early aeroplanes ^[1], chainsaws, cultivators such as those produced by Howard Rotovators ^[2] and light rail maintenance trucks ^[3] The motorcycle engines were associated with racing success and were still used in speedway bikes well into the 1960s.
After 1945 production was taken over by Villiers Ltd and the company was completely absorbed by the Villiers Engineering Company in 1964 ^[4] just as Villiers itself was to be taken over by Manganese Bronze Bearings.

Products

Aircraft engines

Early aircraft were light and basic, and need a reliable and lightweight engine to power them - JAP motorcycle engines were ideal. JA Prestwich at first would purely deliver the same engine to the aircraft manufacturer, allowing them to make local modifications - mainly larger venturi tubes for the carburettor, to allow for greater air intake at altitude ^[5] But in the late 1920s/early 1930s JA Prestwich produced various heavier engines under license including those for the UK market for Aeronco.^[6]

Cinema

Cinematographic equipment including cameras, printers, mutoscopes, cutting and perforating machines, and projectors (eg the Bioscope projectors for the Warwick Trading Company and Charles Urban) were produced by the company in the early part of the 20th century.^[7]

Motorcar engines

In light of JAP's development of high powered but light engines for speedway, some low volume pre-war car manufacturers, including the Morgan Motor Company and Reliant, used JAP engines to power their vehicles.^[8]
This use of the JAP extended into motor racing after the Second World War, with most were used in specialist UK lightweight formulas, or more extensively in Formula 3 racing after developments by John Cooper.^[9]
In its later life, JA Prestwich also produced components for other vehicle manufacturers, including the cylinder head for the Lotus Cortina version of Ford's popular car. ^[10]

Motorcycles

From 1904 to 1908 complete motorcycles were produced ^[11] from the development of the first Overhead Valve motorcycle engine to be produced in the UK ^[12]
After that the factory concentrated on supplying its proprietary engines to other manufacturers, including Brough Superior ^[13] Triumph Motorcycles ^[14] and HRD Motorcycles, the forerunner of Vincent Motorcycles ^[15]
Latterly, JAP engines (under Villiers control) were used in motorcycle racing, and most commonly speedway or dirt track ^[16]

References

1. http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/on-line/flight/flight/jap.asp
2. http://www.donaldantiquerototillers.com/British.html
3. http://www.cybermotorcycle.com/euro/brands/jap.htm
4. http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/Museum/Engineering/Villiers/Villiers5.htm
5. http://www.auav.org/atwf/engines.htm
6. http://home.adelphia.net/~aeroengine/Aeronco.html
7. http://www.victorian-cinema.net/prestwich.htm
8. http://morgan3w.de/engines/engine.htm
9. http://www.forix.com/8w/gb55.html
10. http://www.pixelmatic.com.au/cortina/articles/lccltst.htm
11. http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/compendium/J.htm
12. http://www.ingenious.org.uk/See/Transport/Roadtransport/?target=SeeMedium&ObjectID=%7B6BD58689-6C9E-DB75-9AC8-0D93DF6C9737%7D&viewby=images
13. http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/sub_coll_leno/1302861.html?page=2&c=y
14. http://www.ianchadwick.com/motorcycles/triumph/time01.html
15. http://www.myvincent.co.uk/hrd.php
16. http://nla.gov.au/nla.cs-pa-HTTP%253A%252F%252FLIBAPP.SL.NSW.GOV.AU%252FCGI-BIN%252FSPYDUS%252FENQ%252FPM%252FFULL1%253F8407%252CI

External links

★ A brief history of JA Prestwich/JAP

★ Who's who in Victorian cinema

★ JAP Speedway engines - a history