Nicely finished in a cheerful, vibrant shade of blue with appealing blue/grey leather interior, complemented by excellent, clean headlining, carpets and attractive veneers. The colour originally specified was special order “Circassian blue”, which may or may not be similar to the current paintwork, but whether it is or not, it is refreshingly different! The car is smart, good, sound and clean throughout, running nicely and driving well, with an impressive set of correct tools in the tray under the driver's seat, as well as the large tools in their clips in the boot compartment. Desirably, it is fitted with seat belts to the front, adding to the car's practicality. Nicely useable in modern traffic, being nimble with plenty of performance, and benefitting from very suitable radial tyres, enhancing it further. Serviced and newly MoT tested, ready to go!

Chassis No. B184WH                            Reg No. CSU 741        

Snippets: Ladies Knickers & Fast Cars

Archibald Wesley Swann (1895/1980) was the son of Arthur William Swann (1869/1940) & brother of Arthur Wilfred Swann (1894/1946) who collectively were referred to as the Three Swanns!  AW Swann & Co was founded in 1918 by Arthur William Swann whose sons, after their demob from the Army joined him in the family Hosiery firm. In the 1920s they company were producing only 20 varieties of ladies’ knickers but by 1932 over 150 types were being manufactured with styles being made from knit, plain, fleecy and many other fabrics and off course in many colours and sizes.  The second owner of B184WH was Ronald Tombs Horton (1905/96) a scion of the Atkinson & Carrington Brewing families but whose main interest was cars.  He successfully raced MG Midgets and Magnettes with his neighbour being Alan & Richard Jensen who he asked to design & build bodies for his cars!  R T Horton first car was a 1912 GP Morgan – he was just 13 years old.  During his racing career he raced at Brooklands as well as competing in local and national trials before he had to take over the family brewing concern in the mid1930s.  Later owners included Dr Robert Ian Gallon Coupland whose family name of Weidner was changed by deed poll in 1935 by his guardian Robert Joseph Weidner.  The Weidner family trade was that of railways, export of coal, ship brokering as well as John Frederick Weidner being the Lord Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1912.  Dr Coupland served with the Royal Navy during WWII and was posted alongside Thomas Latimer Cleave who later published a book about the lack of fresh food supplies during wartime and the various conditions attributed to this.  In 1975 B184Wh was sold by Robbins of Putney to Martyn Nutland who had purchased the Bentley as a gift for his father; Martyn at the time a young journalist later wrote several books on Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars plus a biography of Leonard Lord (Mini). The car was used extensively for family holidays in the UK and in Martyn’s words “the R Type is a superbly elegant car and perhaps my favourite Bentley.”