Description
Kelham Hall | Newark, Nottinghamshire Viewing: Tues 22nd September 2026 from 12pm Auction: Weds 23rd September 2026 12pm Location: Kelham Hall Main Street, Newark, Nottinghamshire NG23 5QX Registration No: Unregistered Chassis No: 68521 MOT: Exempt Displayed in the Joshua White Ltd. garage from the 1950s, and part of the family’s collection ever since Pleasingly original example Desirable Two-Seater Tourer coachwork with Dickey seat Ripe for restoration or sympathetic ‘oily rag’ preservation! Introduced in 1913, the basic ‘Bullnose’ Morris design lasted until 1926, by which time its variants accounted for an impressive forty-five per cent. of new sales in Britain. Compared to domestic and foreign rivals in the 12-14hp market, the model offered notably good performance courtesy of its torquey, four-cylinder engines and light yet robust leaf-sprung chassis. Having originally sourced powerplants from the English White & Poppe outfit, William Morris switched to the cheaper American Continental Motor Manufacturing Corporation and then the French firm of Hotchkiss & Cie. The latter’s Coventry factory proved so successful at producing a reworked version of the Continental Red Seal 1. 5-litre unit that it was bought by its biggest customer, becoming Morris Engines Ltd. during 1923. That year also saw production split between the basic 1548cc ‘Cowley’ (three lamp set, minimal instrumentation) and deluxe 1802cc ‘Oxford’ (five lamp set, leather upholstery, Dynamotor). Approximately 150, 000 ‘Bullnoses’ were made from 1919 to 1926 and they remained a familiar sight on British roads until well into the 1960s. More information to follow. About the Ronald White Collection: A lifelong enthusiast, Ronald White inherited his interest in motor cars from his father, Joshua. Joshua was still an adolescent when he took over a small bicycle repair shop and grew it into a successful family-run garage as private car ownership became more commonplace after the Great War. Father and son alike caught the collecting bug, and Joshua started the collection with a Bullnose Morris, which he displayed at the garage, and it grew from there. One of the White Collection’s gems is a delivery-mileage Morris Minor, which Joshua had the foresight to preserve from new, astutely identifying it as a landmark in the post-war Morris range. Another was the Alvis, which was sold new to a local gentleman, Nevill Bond, who lived at a stately home called The Argory. Joshua bought it back after Mr Bond had suffered an assassination attempt while driving it! The Whites also developed a personal friendship with Harry Ferguson; hence, the White Collection came to feature Ferguson tractors. By the 1950s, Joshua White Ltd. was well-established as a large BMC, Ford, and Ferguson dealership. It was around that time that Ronald—known to friends as Ronnie—started competing in tests, hill-climbs and rallies with his local motor club in Northern Ireland, always displaying the proud sponsorship of Joshua White Ltd. Upon his father’s retirement, Ronald took over the business and also set up Armagh Garages to sell Fiats. Come the 1960s, his competition career blossomed and took him all over Ireland and into England and Scotland. He was successful in many events, including the Circuit of Ireland Rally. In the late 1970s, his interest turned to rallycross, again competing in Ireland and England. It was a testament to his amiable personality that many of his employees at the garage would work through the night to prepare his cars for their sporting outings, and several continued to maintain his collection after he retired from running the garage. While his father had collected significant production cars, Ronald’s particular interest was competition cars. Naturally, many of his own race and rally cars found their way into his collection, and perhaps the most significant is ’52 LPH’, one of eight Austin-Healey Sebring Sprites prepared by John Sprinzel. Ronald bought it in November, 1962, and campaigned throughout the 1960s with his sister as navigator. He never lost his enthusiasm, and even in his twilight years, he was taking his cars to venues such as Goodwood and Beaulieu to demonstrate them and share his passion with others. ** Bidding will take place live at the venue, online via our H&H website, by telephone and commission - T&Cs apply** Catalogues can be purchased for £20 (admits 2...
