1924 Rolls-Royce 20HP Park Ward Coupe

“ This is a stunning Park Ward-bodied fixed-head coupe with an exceptional history. ”
Being offered as part of our curated auction in conjunction with the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts Club Annual Rally at Kelmarsh Hall in Northamptonshire on the 26th – 28th June’26.

Background
The Great War took an irrevocable toll on a generation as well upending its very way of life. Before the war, the well healed and generously landed of the nation would probably not even consider personally taking the helm of their own Rolls-Royce. The very thought! And anyway, it would have been the behemoth Silver Ghost, at that time, with its mammoth 7.4-litre engine and complicated controls. Definitely one for “staff” to drive and other “staff” to maintain and service.

After the war, however, staff of any kind were hard to come by and even the bluest of blue bloods were invariable less comfortably off than they were before. The more chastened circumstances of the times had motivated Henry Royce to design the “Twenty” which was released in 1922 to become the first “small” Rolls-Royce and an “entry level” companion to the mighty 40/50 Silver Ghost. The radical idea was to create a Rolls-Royce that the owner could contemplate driving themselves, and one that was …….better value (cheaper not being in the Rolls-Royce lexicon)……to maintain. Quite the departure for this most auguste of marques.

Times were clearly a changing, but this was still a period when Rolls-Royce would supply just the chassis and running gear leaving customers to appoint a coachbuilder from a list of time-honoured luminaries including Barker & Co, Park Ward, Hooper & Co and H. J. Mulliner. Given that the Twenty had a 3.1-litre engine, less than half the size of that propelling its big brother, the idea was that the commissioned bodywork would be appropriately “scaled back.” Unsurprisingly, perhaps, that was seldom the case but that’s another story for another time.

Despite these first world type problems the Twenty was very well received with many owners taking up the challenge of piloting this rarified conveyance themselves. One new owner wrote to Rolls-Royce from his home in France to enthuse that “I drove my 20 H.P. here from Liverpool and am very satisfied with the running of the engine, not having to change gear between Liverpool and Versailles.” Ultimately 2,490 Twenty rolling chassis would leave Derby between 1922 and 1929.

Overview
As is sometimes the case with rare cars such as this, quite a lot is known about Rolls-Royce 20HP chassis number GH27. For instance, we know that the sale of GH27 was agreed on 29th October 1923 well before its completion on the 18th December of that year. GH27 didn’t arrive at Park Ward’s Willesden premises until the 16th January 1924 with its final test by the esteemed coachbuilder on the 19th February. It seems Park Ward arranged the legalities with the London County Council issuing the registration number of XR2983 to adorn the now four-door Saloon Landaulette configured car. The first owner and specifier of the Park Ward coachwork was one Edgar John Glaze. Glaze was a midlands-based businessman and a partner in the firm Charles George Bushell - Iron, Steel, Coal & Coke Merchants of some renown.

After three years with Glaze the Rolls-Royce was sold to A. H. Redfern who owned a metal working business in Birmingham. By the early 1930’s, GH27 was back in London and in the keep of one Reverend Holden of Wimbledon. Within a few years GH27 moved east to take up residence with Thomas Neilson who was the manager of the private T.B. Sanatorium at Mundesley in rural Norfolk. For arguably the most dramatic phase of its life, GH27’s trail goes a little cold.

At some point between the mid-1930’s and the mid-1960’s (but most likely during the war years) GH27 was converted to a pickup and led a less glamorous life as a working commercial vehicle. The Rolls-Royce was subsequently rescued from a life of drudgery and restored and reconfigured into its current and unique coupe form, complete with charming dickey seat. Accompanying paperwork confirms a spell in New Jersey, USA between 2009 and 2016 when it was reexported to the land of its birth. Despite this remarkable rollercoaster of a life story GH27 has managed to retain its original engine (number G786) and that London County Council issued registration number. What a fascinating and storied Rolls-Royce!

Estimate: £30,000 - £40,000

View The Current Bid Price HERE