Sale MAR11A Lot 691

A rare Hutchings Concord Romany -style Caravan She's known affectionately as Rosie and since 1919, this now rare Hutchings Concord Romany-style caravan has brought pleasure to generations of holiday-makers.

Rosie comes from a caring home and is steeped in history. Her present owner purchased her in 2002 and gave her an extensive facelift to put her back into roadworthy condition. Once back on the road,she was seen regularly in the lanes around her home and at caravan rallies across the south of England. It is believed she is the second oldest caravan of her type still in roadworthy condition.

Rosie was built by caravanning pioneer Bertram Hutchings of 5 Elm Road, Winchester, founder of the Winchester Caravan Company, who started making caravans in the early 1900s. Intitially, they were Showman's vans whose massive construction required a team of horses or a steam-powered traction engine to pull them. Hutchings subsequently designed the lightweight Concord capable of being pulled by one small horse, paving the way to leisure touring.

The idea of taking a holiday in a horse-drawn caravan became popular in Edwardian England and was the inspiration behind the formation of the Caravan Club in 1907.Hutchings launched a holiday hire business in the New Forest but the First World War intervened.

Recognising that the days of the horse-drawn van were numbered, Hutchings started to consider the options. Because of the lightweight nature of the original Concord design, he realised there would be a demand for a similar vehicle to be towed by a motor vehicle. An archive photograph exists which shows a two-compartment "Concord" van on a four-wheel trailer with wheels shod with pneumatic tyres. It is probable that "Rosie", is one of only two of these vans to be produced with pneumatic tyres and spring ratings, which would enable it to be towed successfully by a car, making Rosie the second oldest caravan of her type still in roadworthy condition.

Said its owner. "Rosie is a delight to tow being very stable and light and is guaranteed to excite comment at the campsite or rally field.

PROVENANCE; Removed from More Place, Wonham Lane, Betchworth, Surrey for convenience of sale.


Estimate £ 10,000-15,000

Sold for £9000