Samuel Ledgard (1874–1952) was a

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

entrepreneur who became a major

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

Independent bus operator. Following his death in 1952, his executors continued to operate the Samuel Ledgard bus company until 1967, when it was acquired by the

West Yorkshire Road Car Company The West Yorkshire Road Car Company was a major bus operator operating in North and West Yorkshire between 1906 and 1987. History West Yorkshire The Harrogate Road Car Company was formed in 1906, running at first steam buses in Harrogate, then ...

History

1874–1952

Samuel Ledgard was born in

in 1874. His business empire started in 1897 when he became the licensee of the Nelson Hotel in

Armley Armley is a district in the west of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It starts less than from Leeds city centre. Like much of Leeds, Armley grew in the Industrial Revolution and had several mills, one of which now houses the Leeds Industrial ...

, Leeds. He also owned a brewery and bottling plant, located behind The Nelson and bottled bulk

Guinness Guinness () is a stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at Guinness Brewery, St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century. It is now owned by the British-based Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic bever ...

and Bass.Jenkinson,K.A. (1981). ''Ledgard Way: The History of Samuel Ledgard'', Bradford: Autobus Review Publications Ltd. () In expanding this business he provided outside catering at race meetings and local shows, and initially used a horse-and-cart to support this enterprise. This led him to further expand into the haulage business - initially with his horses, then, in 1906, with a steam lorry. In 1912, he bought a

Karrier Karrier was a British marque of motorised municipal appliances and light commercial vehicles and trolley buses manufactured at Karrier Works, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, by Clayton and Co. (Huddersfield) Limited. They began making Karrier moto ...

petrol-engined lorry, registered U1949. He then bought an interchangeable

charabanc A charabanc or "char-à-banc" (often pronounced "sharra-bang" in colloquial British English) is a type of horse-drawn vehicle or early coach (vehicle), motor coach, usually open-topped, common in UK, Britain during the early part of the 20th ...

body, manufactured by William Nicholson of

Otley Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 2011 c ...

, to be fitted to his lorry for carrying passengers at weekends, when there was little haulage work. In 1913, he took over Bridge Garage, in Leeds, to service and repair his own, and others, vehicles. His other businesses included cattle dealing and farming, quarrying and gravel extraction. He also bought property around his hotel, which eventually provided space for his bus garage. His move into bus services was in 1924, with a

Horsforth Horsforth is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, five miles north-west of Leeds city centre. Historically a village within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it had a population of 18,895 ...

to Leeds service. He expanded both organically and by taking over a number of other bus companies, from 1924 to 1943, by which time Samuel Ledgard buses were well established, operating from the main depot in Armley, and from other depots in Otley, Yeadon,

Ilkley Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, in Northern England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within ...

and

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

. The Ledgard fleet was predominantly Leyland and the last buses ordered by Samuel Ledgard were three Leyland Titan PD2/12s. These entered service a mere month before he died in April 1952.

1952–1967

Samuel Ledgard's estate totalled £129,491. As the company was still owned by him, it formed part of his personal assets. The then, punitive death duties amounted to £29,883, which threatened the continuance of the business and meant that, when looking to update the fleet, the executors had to look to the second-hand market. This strategy resulted a wide range of vehicles from various manufacturers entering service, including buses from: AEC,

Albion Albion is an alternative name for Great Britain. The oldest attestation of the toponym comes from the Greek language. It is sometimes used poetically and generally to refer to the island, but is less common than "Britain" today. The name for Scot ...

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, Daimler and Leyland. A significant influx was 23 ex

London Transport Executive The London Transport Executive was the organisation responsible for public transport in Greater London, England between 1948 and 1962. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and operational brand o ...

'austerity' Daimler CWA6's with

Park Royal Park Royal is an area in North West London, England, divided between the London Borough of Ealing and the London Borough of Brent. It is the site of the largest business park in London, but despite intensive existing use, the area is, togethe ...

bodywork in 1953/54, 22 of which went into service unmodified, save for platform doors being fitted. They gave stirling service until the last one was withdrawn in 1962. However, one notable exception to the second-hand purchases, was six new

AEC Regent V The AEC Regent V was a front-engined double-decker bus built by the Associated Equipment Company between 1954 and 1969. It was the last AEC Regent series double-decker model, and was the successor to the AEC Regent III (not to be confused with ...

buses with

Roe Roe, ( ) or hard roe, is the fully ripe internal egg masses in the ovaries, or the released external egg masses, of fish and certain marine animals such as shrimp, scallop, sea urchins and squid. As a seafood, roe is used both as a cooking, c ...

bodywork which were delivered in 1957. One of these buses was registered 1949U - a reversal of the registration on Samuel's first petrol lorry, in 1912. In an attempt to standardise such a diverse fleet, 1963 saw the first of many ex-London Transport RT-type AEC Regent III buses being purchased. Over the next four and a half years, 34 of these vehicles entered the Ledgard fleet. In August 1967, it was announced that

would acquire the Ledgard business. The date for this was set to be midnight on 14 October 1967. Whilst Ledgard's staff were offered employment with West Yorkshire, only 14 of over 100 Ledgard vehicles acquired by West Yorkshire entered service, ten

s and two Daimler CVG6s, plus two Duple bodied Ford coaches. By 1970, even these vehicles had been sold.

The present day

An active enthusiasts society (the Samuel Ledgard Society was formed in 1998. The society holds an annual reunion, social events and publishes a quarterly magazine: ''The Ledgard Chat''. The magazine is now published three times per year, in April, August and December, from the beginning of 2020. The building which was the Nelson Hotel survives, and bears a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...

in Samuel Ledgard's memory. In August 1979, a road in Leeds was named Ledgard Way.Pioneer honoured
''Commercial Motor'' 31 August 1979 The Otley depot building is still in existence and is now used by a tyre-fitting company.

References

External links