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The business expaned and the blacksmiths were kept busy designing and making pieces of ironwork used on implements and wagons as well as shoeing horses. Similarly there was plenty of work for the wheelwrights, building and repairing carts and wagons,…
John Gibbs had three sons, Arthur, Joseph and Charles. All three sons joined the gold rush in Australia; Joseph returned to England when his father suffered a stroke and he became the second generation to run the family business.
From right to left; Sydney, Reginald and Murray Gibbs, the fourth generation to run the family firm.
John Gibbs lived with his family in The Spinney with the wheelwright and blacksmith workshop attached. Originally there were two cottages which we…
When John Gibbs began the business, the horse was an essential form of transport and vital for most agricultural work. As Bedfont was in the middle of a busy farming area, there was plenty of work for the new firm, making and mending both horse dra…
Many types of agricultural carts and wagons were built by Gibbs and in particular, there was a steady trade in dung carts. Dung was an essential commodity for any farmer in an age before artificial fertiliser, for without it, his land would soon bec…
The Bedfont area was surrounded by a vast number of fields for cultivation which can be seen in these pictures, taken in the 1930’s. The crops in the fields and orchards are laid out in rows. All of this land is now Heathrow Airport.
Herbert realised the need for different types of transport required by the farmers and market gardners in and around the Bedfont area. He produced a pattern book in which he drew his designs for carts and wagons. The customer would choose which veh…
An order for 73 David Brown tractors for the Greater London Council in the yard at Gibbs, Bedfont in the 1970’s. This was the largest order for tractors ever handled by the firm.
A presentation by the director of David Brown to Donald Gibbs in 1976 in recognition of the long association of the two businesses. The tractor model can be seen in the display case at the Rural Life Centre.
During World War II, much more land was brought into cultivation in order to feed the population when imported food became almost impossible to get. The firm was kept busy, often working into the evening, with everyone from craftsmen to office girls…
Presentation of a plaque to Reginald Gibbs in recognition of the company’s long association with the Austin Motor Company. This plaque is displayed in the Gibbs display at the Rural Life Centre.
1959 newspaper article celebrating the arrival of the new the Austin 7, soon to be renamed the Mini.
Austin merged with Morris in 1952 to become BMC and later with Leyland (1968) to form British Leyland. Throughout this period, Gibbs was given incr…
Gibbs association with the Austin Motor Company began in 1923, when they started selling Austin cars. Models such as the Austin 7 and the Austin 12 were available at this early stage.
Gibbs supplied local farmers with vehicles and they developed close links with many of the farming families in the area, so their customers were often also good friends.
