The automobile is very slowly making its way in England', it was reported in a local newspaper in 1899.

At that time prices for 'a decent motor car' ranged from £110 to £150.

The purchasers of cars were men with money in search of a new interest.

There was great satisfaction with their new motors - it was said that 'a distance of eighty miles a day could be covered on country roads without fatigue or inconvenience:

Those who preferred to walk or travel by trap and pony were not quite so enthusiastic. They were concerned at the speed that cars were travelling at. For example, an eyewitness claimed that cars were regularly to be seen testing their speed and their brakes on Trinity Hill, 'a short road with a very step gradient ... with no footpaths:

Gutter

One of the first motor car accidents in Sutton took place on Lichfield Road in August 1904.

George Lytheer, who was employed by Wolseley Motor Company to test their cars, was fined £5 and costs by the magistrates for driving at between 35 and 40mph. He ran over and killed a dog, and a cart carrying mineral water had to pull into the gutter to avoid a collision. Lytheer claimed he was travelling no faster than 10-12 mph.

Two more employees test driving cars for Wolseley were involved in an accident in December 1908. Travelling down Jockey Hill into Sutton, their car 'suddenly swerved from its course: At the corner of Holland Road the car knocked down a street light and struck the kerb. Fortunately the two men were uninjured, but the car was 'smashed to pieces:

William Wilkins, a farm labourer from Reddicap Heath, was one of the first Suttonians to be killed by a car. He had already been run over by a car two years earlier, but did not survive an accident in Sutton Road in August 1910. It seems he stepped in front of the car, which was reported to be travelling at no more than 8mph. The verdict was one of accidental death.

One June day in 1912 William Kitchen parked his car outside Sutton railway station. The car disappeared. He is a likely candidate for the first Suttonian to have his car stolen.

• Glimpses into Sutton's Past Part III 1886-1914 by Stephen Roberts is available from Amazon, £5.49.

Associate Professor
Stephen Roberts