A streamlined Stude for shooting

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We like a good shooting brake here at PreWarCar.com. Firstly, we like the idea of a pre-war car which is specifically designed for transporting lots of people in comfort, plus a dog or two and whatever provisions might be required. Secondly, we greatly admire the look and the craftsmanship of the beautiful wooden bodies.

We don't see any exposed wood on this car, though. Indeed, it's not really like any other pre-war brake we've seen. With its smooth sides, low roofline and subtle taper of the rear window, it looks to be a thoroughly modern shooting brake built for a client who knew what they wanted and wasn't afraid to break with tradition.

It's a 1937 Studebaker, which was a very attractive car in the first place with its streamlined Art Déco styling cues. If anyone was going to turn it into a brake, it would only be right for them to try to continue the dynamic styling all the way through to the rear doors, and we'd say the builders of this one got it spot-on.

It seems to be the work of Lawton-Goodman Ltd. of Cricklewood, north-west London, a specialist in light commercial vehicle bodies. The company history is particularly interesting because it ties in with an obscure early car called the Whitlock. Indeed, Georgano tells us that Whitlocks were built from 1903 to 1906 and c.1914 to 1932, first by the Whitlock Automobile Co. and then by Lawton-Goodman Ltd.

A varied career in cars and commercials

The original London-based company, of Holland Gate in Kensington, was an offshoot of the old-established coachbuilding firm of Henry Whitlock & Co., but production only lasted for three years. The marque was resurrected just before the war when the Liverpool branch of Henry Whitlock was taken over by J. A. Lawton-Goodman. The cars were launched under the Lawton name, but were renamed Whitlock for 1914.

From 1922, all production took place at Lawton-Goodman's Cricklewood premises, while Lawton-Goodman also constructed bodies on other chassis. Production of Whitlocks ended in the early 1930s, which is probably when Lawton-Goodman changed its specialism to commercial bodies. Post-war, at least, it seems to have concentrated on two particular fields. A quick rummage through our magazine library found an advertisement in a 1957 edition of The Autocar advertising ambulance and mobile food van bodies by Lawton-Goodman.

We don't know exactly when Lawton-Goodman stopped trading, but it sounds like it had a very varied and interesting life, and this Studebaker stands out as a particular nice example of the small coachbuilder's art.

We wonder if there are any other Lawton-Goodman-bodied cars surviving? What about Whitlocks?

Words: Zack Stiling; photograph: Stiling Collection
 

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