Graiseley Hill Works

Beginnings

A.J.S. motorcycles were successful right from the beginning. Orders poured in, and the company soon became a well known and successful motorcycle manufacturer, whose reputation was greatly enhanced by its yearly participation in the Isle of Man T.T. races and other sporting events. In order to keep up with demand, production had to be increased. There was no more room in the cramped Retreat Street premises, and so a new public company was formed with a nominal share capital of £50,000, to raise the capital needed for a new factory. The company was called A. J. Stevens & Company (1914) Limited, and the directors were H. Stevens, G. Stevens, J. Stevens (Junior), A. J. Stevens, E. E. Lamb and E. L. Morcom. The registered offices were at Retreat Street. The new company soon started to look around for larger premises so that production could be stepped-up.

The New Factory

Near to Retreat Street, on the corner of Graiseley Hill and the Penn Road was Graiseley House, which had a large piece of land attached. It was owned by Richard Evans Willoughby Berrington, a civil engineer who decided to emigrate to Australia. As a result he put the house and grounds up for sale. 
This large piece of land was just what the company needed, as it was ideally situated, and close to the existing factory. A.J.S. soon purchased the house and grounds, and work began on a new 260ft x 80ft factory building.

The building was completed in 1915, and production soon moved to Graiseley Hill. The Retreat Street premises were initially used as the company office and repair department.

The directors planned to greatly extend the new factory, but further work was put on hold because of the war. On 5th November, 1917 the office was transferred into Graiseley House and the repair department moved to the new works.

The Retreat Street buildings were then handed-over to Joe Stevens (senior), who ran the Stevens Screw Company.

After the war, work on enlarging the new factory soon began. Early in 1919 work started on constructing three new buildings, each of which was 260ft long and 80ft wide, the same size as the first building. By the end of 1919 the works covered 109,600sq. ft.

The buildings were laid out to give a smooth flow of material from the goods receiving department at the north side of the site, to the despatch department at the southern end. The original building became the machine shop, with the machines operated from overhead line shafting. Building work continued, and by the autumn of 1922 the factory covered almost 167,000sq. ft., growing to almost 230,000sq. ft. by 1924.


The factory from Graiseley Hill. Courtesy of Ray Jones.

The following brief description of a visit to the factory is from "The Book of the A.J.S." by W. C. Haycraft, published in 1927:

A visit to the works of A. J. Stevens & Company Limited at Wolverhampton, leaves a very vivid and lasting impression on the memory, and a very pleasing one. Mass production is in evidence everywhere, and the ingenuity displayed to secure the same is something to marvel at.

Firstly, one enters the machine shops, alive with the incessant hum of overhead shafting and lathes. The thousand and one parts that go to make up a motorcycle are here being shaped to precision by hundreds of skilled mechanics.

In a well-lighted and spacious shop adjoining, the engine components are being assembled and trued up, and rows of engines are beginning to take shape. Right in front of all these are scores of finished engines waiting patiently to emit their terrifying screams on the dynamometer. In another shop the bicycle parts are under erection, engine plates being fitted ready to receive the motors as soon as they leave the test bench.

In sudden contrast to all these places, a visit is now paid to the sandblasting room, where certain metal work receives a special finish. At the entrance is pinned a warning notice, "DO NOT LEAVE THIS DOOR OPEN". Slightly opening the door and peering in, an amazing sight, almost uncanny, confronts the eyes. The interior is almost void of light, caused by dense whirling steam and sand blocking out all natural illumination. Amidst this ghastly atmosphere a weird phantom-like figure, clothed in what looks like a diving suit, is bending over and attending to something that one cannot define in the intense gloom. Indeed, this room reminds one of nothing so much as a place in the next world, whither some of us are expected to go. Some of the modern applications of science are extraordinary, and grimly fascinating to watch.

The last of these shops contains hundreds of finished motorcycles, which in rotation are tried out and tuned on the road by crack riders at Wolverhampton before being finally handed over to the Sales Department, whence they are distributed throughout the world.


An artist's impression of the works from an A.J.S. catalogue

Sadly sales fell in the late 1920s due to the recession, and the company went into voluntary liquidation on 2nd October 1931.

The buildings were put up for sale, and sold in two lots.
The Southern part of the site was sold to the Star Aluminium Company Limited, late in 1933. The northern end was sold to Wolverhampton Die Castings on 17th February 1934. The buildings were sold very cheaply. The total amount raised from the sale came to £14,328.7s.6d.

The following section is a pictorial tour of the factory in ten parts. It contains a large number of photographs and so may be slow to download.

I would like to thank the late Geoff Stevens for allowing us to use the old photographs, which are from his collection.
The end of a hard day. Some of the A.J.S. workforce.
 
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