A New Gallery for the Bremer
From 29 August 2002 the Bremer Car of 1892, the first British-made internal combustion engine to run on British roads, has been parked in a new home at the Vestry House Museum, Walthamstow. For the first time it will be having a whole gallery dedicated to its inventor, why, how and when it was built, and how it works. The display also celebrates its triumph in the Brighton Run of 1965. The new gallery is part of a Heritage Lottery and Council funded extension to the Museum.
Frederick William Bremer was born in 1872 in Stepney, East London, the second youngest of at least 14 children. By 1888, when Fred was 16, the widowed Mrs Bremer and her family had moved to 1 Connaught Road, Walthamstow. Fred built his car in a workshop at the back of this house.
When Fred was 12 his sister Louisa married Herbert Dowsing, who appears to have nurtured Fred's early genius. Dowsing was a man of many talents who was a pioneer in the electrical, mechanical and scientific industries. In 1896 Dowsing and Fred collaborated and took out two patents, for the 'New or Improved Driving Gear for Motor Carriages', and for electric lighting for a car.
 Inspiration for the construction of the Bremer car was drawn from articles that had appeared in the magazine 'Engineering' between 1885 and 1890. Fred's genius lay in being able to visualise and adapt, and in many cases simplify things that had been described for stationary gas engines, particularly the work of the Priestman Engine. Between 1860 and 1889 there were nearly 700 patents filed for improvements to the stationary gas engine. However, what was unique was using one to power a car.
The information surrounding claims to be the earliest British car usually rely on the constructor's own memories. On this basis, Fred's car appears to be the first. When Fred was asked in 1939 when his first car ran on the road, he said it was in the year of the Electrical Exhibition at Crystal Palace. This ran between January and July 1892.
It is believed that Bremer built the car just to prove to himself that he could. Having done so, he moved onto other things, including a 4-cylinder engine car in 1894, which has not survived.
After building the car Fred ran a series of small businesses, including engineering and bicycle and motor manufacture. In 1916, when he was 45, Fred married Annie Garner.
The car was first exhibited in 1912 at the new Motor Museum in Oxford Street. The Museum was relocated to Crystal Palace in early 1914 but was forced to close when war broke out. At the end of the first World War the cars were returned to their owners or sent to the Science Museum and the Bremer Car was returned to Fred.
In 1929 Fred heard of proposals for a museum in Walthamstow and he offered his car for display. He delivered it to Vestry House in 1933 and was obviously very proud of it being on show. As his neighbour, Ray Estell, noted: 'Fred used to dress up in his butterfly collar and trilby each week and go to see the car'. Fred died in 1941 and is buried at St. Mary's Church, Walthamstow, along with his wife.
The car remained on display until 1961, when two local car enthusiasts made observations about its deteriorating condition to the Curator. After a number of meetings, John Trott and Tim Boorer were invited to undertake the conservation and restoration work needed.
During 1962 the car was restored using the principle that nothing was replaced unless missing or unusable. All metal parts were cleaned, primed and carefully repainted using materials available in 1892. Study of paint flakes revealed that the original bodywork had been Brunswick Green.
The side chains were worn out and so replaced. The tyres had gone, so replacement solid rubber tyres were fitted. A photo was used to provide an exact match for the upholstery. The copper fuel tank was missing and a replica fuel tank of much thicker bronze was created instead, to make driving safer. To start the car, a mixture of low power spirits with paraffin and toluene was used. Starting proved difficult and tiring but eventually, by pulling over the flywheel, the restorers succeeded.
In 1963 the car was entered into the Brighton Run. However, problems came in licensing the car. Fred had not applied for a license originally and the car could not comply with the constraints of modern licensing law, such as the windscreen, lighting and dual braking. The car was withdrawn in 1963 whilst amendments to the regulations were requested that would permit it to grace the roads again.
It was entered into the 1964 Run and took pride of place as number 1. It covered 17 miles before the crankshaft broke and so it completed the journey on a low loader. The following November it finally completed the Run in a time of 7 hours 55 minutes, using 3 gallons of petrol, 12 gallons of water and half a gallon of oil over the 54 miles.
The car isn't a smooth ride because of its simple springs and solid tyres. The steering is by tiller, and unless this is held firmly in the straight position, the car will try to veer off and turn over. Without instruments it is difficult to be accurate about speed. However, a London to Brighton Run driver, John Trott, noted that: 'the car runs very well at around 7 to 8 miles per hour, at higher speeds it became more difficult to control due to the very small wheelbase and tiller steering'. The spoon brakes are very inefficient.
The original fuel, paraffin, means that a modern carburettor would not work. Fred used a vaporiser that had a wick, much like a paraffin lamp. This was heated by hot water from the engine to improve efficiency. There is no clutch, but Fred obtained the same effect by using a leather belt to gradually engage and disengage power. There is no gearbox, but the car is designed for two speeds using two pulleys of different sizes. There is no reverse gear. The car is fitted with a plug much like a modern car but the induction coil gave a stream of sparks for each stroke. There is advance and retard for the spark and this is mostly used for controlling the engine. There are also very basic throttle and mixture controls.
For further details:
Write: Vestry House Museum
Vestry Road
Walthamstow
London, E17 9NH
Phone: 0208 509 1917
e-mail: linda.Weston@al.lbwf.gov.uk
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