Frederick William Rushbrooke (9 December 1861 - 1953) was the founder of Halfords, the United Kingdom's largest chain of cycle shops.
Career
editThe son of a miller and confectioner from Willenhall in Staffordshire, Frederick Rushbrooke initially established himself in business in 1892 as a wholesale ironmonger in Birmingham.[1] For recreation he enjoyed cycling on his pennyfarthing.[1] In 1902 he opened a branch of his business in Halford Street in Leicester and called it the Halford Cycle Shop.[1]
He bought Burcot Grange, a country house in Burcot in 1927 but ten years later decided to donate it to the Birmingham & Midland Eye Hospital as an annex to treat inflammation of the eye.[2]
He died in 1953.[3]
Family
editIn 1896 he married Lily Jenks Wilkinson[3] and they had a son and two daughters.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c And it's all thanks to a passion for a penny-farthing bicycle The Times, 30 May 2005
- ^ a b "Burcot Grange: History". Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 16 August 2009.
- ^ a b "Snelson family". Archived from the original on 14 September 2009. Retrieved 16 August 2009.
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