Birch Brothers was a bus and coach operator in south east England.

History

William Birch started running horse-drawn cabs in London in 1837. After his death in 1846 his widow, Elizabeth, took over the business and in 1847 extended it to include the running of omnibuses, operating a service between

Pimlico Pimlico () is a district in Central London, in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by Lon ...

and Mansion House. The company was divided between her two sons on her death in 1874. Four years later the two sons parted company and ran separate businesses, John Manley operating buses and mail vans (having obtained a substantial contract with the

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

), and William Samuel operating buses and cabs. In 1885 William Samuel's son, William Henry, joined his father, but thirteen years later started his own omnibus business. In 1887, John Manley inaugurated the London–

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

horse drawn night parcel mail and in 1891 the London–

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

mail which was operated until 1908. In 1889 the two brothers again joined forces and formed the private company of Birch Bros., Limited. By 1907 the company was operating 16 motor omnibuses, but a series of problems led to the company's withdrawal from the venture. As a result of fierce competition by motor buses, horse bus operation ceased in 1912. In 1919 Birch commenced operating coaches on "See Britain" tours and in 1925 re-entered the London omnibus business. This continued until 1933, when the London Passenger Transport Act was passed, resulting in the compulsory acquisition of the company's 30 buses by the

London Passenger Transport Board The London Passenger Transport Board was the organisation responsible for local public transport in London and its environs from 1933 to 1948. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and brand was Londo ...

. Birch launched a service between London,

Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district of Hertfordshire, England. The town dates from at least the 7th century. It lies in the valley of the River Hiz at the north-eastern end of the Chiltern Hills ...

and

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

in 1928, extending to

Rushden Rushden is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the North Northamptonshire district, in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, around east of Northampton. The parish is on the border with Bedfordshire, north of B ...

in 1929. The company built a garage and bus station at Rushden in 1937. In 1938 the company purchased a number of existing operators running services in Bedford,

Henlow Henlow is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of the county of Bedfordshire, England, about south-east of the county town of Bedford. The name Henlow is believed to derive from the old Eng ...

, Hitchin and

Luton Luton () is a town and borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census. Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settleme ...

, with another garage at Henlow Camp built in the same year. In 1952 the company pioneered the operation of the first diesel-engined taxicab, converting all of its vehicles to diesel engines within a year; by 1956, the Company had converted over 1,250 cabs owned by other London operators. On 2 November 1959, the company operated the first regular service journey from London on the new

M1 Motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) motorway, A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the count ...

. The new route, numbered 203M, linked the city with Bedford and Rushden. The two remaining coach routes were given up to

United Counties Omnibus United Counties OmnibusCompanies House extract company no 176586

in September 1969. The coach hire business was retained until 1971, when it was sold to George Ewer Ltd., and Birch Brothers closed down.Oxford & Chiltern Bus Page - Issue 280
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Routes

References

External links

by Peter Gould
Green Line: the history of London’s country bus services
by Albert William McCall

by Peter Roberts

by Jacky Lawrence, Rushden & District History Society Research Group

by Nigel Hall

Bibliography and further reading

* British Bus Fleets No. 11: London Coach Operators; Ian Allan, 1962 * Buses Illustrated No. 11 (July 1952) by John Manley Birch * Buses Illustrated No. 12 (October 1952) by John Manley Birch * PSV Circle Fleet History PN3 (1980) {{Defunct British Bus Companies Defunct bus manufacturers of the United Kingdom Former London bus operators Former bus operators in Northamptonshire Former bus operators in Bedfordshire Former bus operators in Hertfordshire