• Ownership history back to 1947

• Well-preserved older restoration with amazingly original interior

• Many luxury features including occasional seats, interior blinds and speaker system to chauffeur

• Very low mileage for an 86-year-old car

Although Herbert Austin was not a man who particularly cared for frivolity in his cars – an outlook epitomised in the crude but enormously successful Austin Seven – he nevertheless had a businessman’s instinct to sell as many cars as possible, and had to if he was to keep up with his arch-rival William Morris. 

So it was, then, that Austin marketed no fewer than five different six-cylinder models in the 1930s, and the larger of these could be ordered to a very luxurious specification.

Introduced in mid-1934, the 18hp Austin was built on the same chassis as the 16hp and was available with an identical range of bodies. Austin had an attractive fashion at the time for naming its bodies after pleasant parts of England, and so the 16 and 18 range included the Westminster four-light saloon, Hertford six-light saloon, York long-wheelbase saloon and Chalfont partitioned limousine. 

Besides the 20hp Mayfair, the 18 Chalfont represented the best of the Austin line, and attractive equipment such as interior blinds, occasional seats and a Burovox system for communicating with the chauffeur ensured that it appealed to distinguished clients.

Along with the rest of the Austin range, the 18hp’s styling was revised along lines which were necessarily modern but still safely conservative. Of course, such luxury did not come cheap and, at well over £300, the 18hps were well beyond the reach of the average 1935 family. 

Accordingly, only a small handful were ever sold to private clients, while others went to private-hire companies to serve at weddings, funerals and such like, and survivors today are naturally extremely scarce.

This Chalfont was supplied new by the Ridge Mount Motor Co. of London Road, Sunningdale, Berkshire. Its ownership history is only known as far back as 1947, but it comes with a story that says it was used in 1944 for the evacuation of children from London to Scotland. A new logbook was issued in 1947 which confirms that it was owned then by a Mrs. Patti King George of Styles, a splendid 1920s Arts & Crafts house which was famously constructed for Agatha Christie, taking its name from her earlier novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles. 

When Mrs. Christie advertised Styles for sale in 1928, she made a point of its ‘Excellent garage accommodation with chauffeur’s room’. It is not improbable that Mrs. King George bought the car new, and it would be likely that she allowed the authorities to have use of it during the war.

In 1949, ownership was transferred to David Douglas Creed, who lived on the well-known Goldhawk Road thoroughfare in Shepherd’s Bush, but he retained the car for less than a year before selling it to Arthur Hamer of the Black Lion public house, far away in Rhayader in Wales. Perhaps it was too expensive to run on a landlord’s income, or it needed work doing, as he only had it for two months before selling it March, 1950, to Montague A. Morgan of The Garage in Llanidloes, Montgomeryshire.

It was to stay in the Morgan family for many years. They licensed it for private-hire work until withdrawing it from service in 1968, when they placed it on display in their High Street premises, which is where it remained until 1984. At this point, the Morgans moved their business to Victoria Road, where they operated as Hafren Motors, and this prompted them to treat the Austin to what was described as a full restoration, although it is obvious that much originality has been preserved. The restoration was conducted in situ by the proprietor of the garage, Graham Morgan, and his staff.

Post-restoration, the Austin was sold into the hands of private individuals and passed through a succession of owners in Wales before it migrated to Shropshire and then to the present owner. A plaque confirms its attendance at the 2005 Austin Centenary rally at Cofton Park, Longbridge. The vendor has owned an extensive assortment of Veteran, Vintage and classic cars over his life but for health reasons is reducing his collection to one car.

The Austin comes with a sizeable paperwork file which includes the current logbook and a virtually comprehensive ownership history from 1947 onwards. Perhaps the most important document is the 1947 buff logbook. There is also a document produced by Hafren Motors which details the car’s life under the Morgan family’s stewardship.

A small collection of five MoTs issued between 1992 and 2010 is included, and various invoices for parts and services issued in 1999, 2004, 2005, 2018 and 2019.

Three historic photographs are supplied. One shows the car next to another 1930s saloon in what appears to be a museum setting, which may show a corner of the Llanidloes garage. The other two are date from 1999 and show the Austin at some classic car rallies.

Also of great importance are the three period handbooks: Handbook of the Austin Sixteen with 16 h.p. or 18 h.p. Engine, Handbook of the Austin Twenty Six-Cylinder and Austin Sixteen and Eighteen H.P. List of Spare Parts.

This Chalfont is in fantastic condition externally, obviously having led a nice, easy life since its 1980s renovation, which included a repaint in its original colours of blue and black. The two colours are a very handsome combination, especially with the light blue coach line setting them off. 

Today, close inspection reveals some very minor blemishes in the paint, but it has hardly deteriorated at all in the 30-plus years since it was applied. The auxiliary flashing indicators were most likely added during the restoration.

All the chrome is exceptional, with some parts just sporting a nice, light patina, and the glass is excellent, too. The wheels and tyres are as good as the rest of the car, and the appearance of the car is really enhanced on account of the wheels being solid steel discs, as opposed to the more common wire wheels. 

Smooth wheels, suggestive of streamlining, were very much the fashion for a brief period in the mid-to-late ’30s, but they were only seen on the more high-end cars. The chrome hubcaps and rim embellishers are the perfect finishing touch. We believe this particular style of wheel may be unique on a Chalfont.

Stepping inside the car takes us from the excellent to the sublime. Where the outside is simply a well-done older restoration, the interior is truly a step back in time as it remains so original and wonderfully correct. Although the Hafren Motors document alludes to some work being done to the upholstery and headlining, we don’t believe anything was done to the leather upholstery save for some liberal application of leather conditioner and possibly some restitching. 

The leather strikes us as being totally original and supremely well preserved; it has matured beautifully, with little besides a general patina to show that it is 86 years old. It is not quite perfect – there is some very minor damage in one or two places – but it is certainly much better than anyone could reasonably expect. Unfortunately, the front seat cushions did reach the point where they had to be reupholstered, but they will mellow over time.

The interior woodwork is all very good, and has been polished to a nice gloss. Unfortunately, we did notice that one door has fallen prey at some point to woodworm, but it did not progress far before further damage was prevented. The dash is painted metal and appears to have been repainted with the rest of the car. 

The carpets, headlining and steering wheel all present exceptionally well, although probably the best feature of all is the beautiful Bakelite Burovox speaker system, surely an extremely rare item, which is in immaculate condition. And that’s not all – there’s even an original Bakelite tax disc holder!

The car starts readily, runs well and pulls away obligingly, although we are unable to comment on its performance on the road. Since its last MoT expired 10 years ago, we can make no guarantees about it, but as there were no advisory points then and it has only been used very sparingly, we suspect that nothing alarming would come to light if presented for an MoT again.

Prudence dictates that the buyer should give the car a thorough check before taking to the road, and if any fettling is required it should not amount to anything more than an extremely straightforward winter project.

If you weren’t quite in the market for a coachbuilt Rolls-Royce, an Austin 16 or 18 Chalfont wouldn’t have been a bad compromise. Essentially, the Chalfont offers all the comfort and luxury that one might want from a Rolls-Royce 20/25, just without the accompanying status of a Rolls-Royce badge or the opportunity to request a bespoke body. Nevertheless, it remains a mightily impressive vehicle to behold, with a statesmanlike dignity and a real presence on the road.

It will be a heavy car to drive and may not be ideal for urban traffic, but it will be a delight to take it out for runs into the country on Sunday. You could visit a transport rally and be sure to draw an admiring crowd, or just make a grand entrance at a rural inn, where you ought to receive a reception fit for the Lord or Lady of the manor. This is an extremely special car, and one for the enthusiast who really appreciates rarity, history and originality.