Power About Humber
Humber was a British automobile marque which could date its beginnings to Thomas Humber's bicycle company founded in 1868. In 1931 it was taken over by the Rootes brothers to become part of the Rootes Group. The range focused on luxury models, such as the Humber Super Snipe.
Thomas Humber went to school in Hull, which lies on the River Humber. However, this is the only connection between the Humber car and the City of Hull.
History
The first car was produced in 1898 and was a three-wheeled tricar with the first conventional four-wheeled car appearing in 1901. The company had factories in Beeston near Nottingham and Coventry. The Beeston factory produced a more expensive range known as Beeston-Humbers but the factory closed in 1908 after financial problems. Before the First World War a wide range of models were produced from the 600 cc Humberette to several 6 cylinder 6 litre models. In 1913 Humber was the second largest manufacturer of cars in the United Kingdom.
In 1925 Humber moved into the production of commercial vehicles with the purchase of Commer. In 1928 Hillman was added but independence ended in 1931 when the Rootes Brothers bought a majority shareholding.
During World War II, several armoured cars were produced under the Humber name, along with heavy-duty "staff" cars.
