The Cooper Works, later The Traffic Police Garage In Surbiton

[mab01UK]

Many thanks to Mk1 Mini Forum member (coop12g295) for sharing the photos below of yesterdays unveiling ceremony of the Red Wheel Plaque at the old Cooper Works in Surbiton.
Latest word is that Porsche maybe taking over the site which would be better than a development of flats.....if they retain the oriiginal garage building.

[mab01UK]

A moment frozen in time as Cooper Car Co turn clock back to 1955 at Goodwood Revival:-
https://grrc.goodwood.com/goodwood-r...4j7kse8rfD1.97

[mab01UK]

Another Cooper Garage site in Surbiton, Surrey is under threat of re-development:-
http://m.thisislocallondon.co.uk/new...d/?ref=mr&lp=9

Quote:
Protesters against a planned Sainsbury’s store in Berrylands, Surbiton claim a piece of the borough’s racing car history will be lost if the building goes ahead.
A planning application for the shop and five flats on the site of the petrol garage at 118 Raeburn Avenue has been submitted to Kingston Council.
But campaigners claimed the building should be protected because of its connection to the famous Cooper racing garage.
Car making legend John Cooper rented the garage in the late 1940s and started to build his racing empire there, before moving on to the famed Mini Cooper garage in Hollyfield Road.
Raeburn Avenue resident Peter Bell said: “The cars were tested up and down the road. These were not the Mini Cooper cars. These were big racing cars.
“Stirling Moss was spotted a few times testing the cars. “The building has a great history and it would be a real shame to lose it and see it demolished.”
The old Cooper garage in Hollyfield Road, often referred to as the birthplace of the Mini Cooper, is also up for sale.
Teenager Kyle Stanger received support from across the world when he started the Save the home of the Cooper campaign in May and urged the council to list the property as a community interest site.
A commemorative plaque was fixed to the Hollyfield Road building last month. The application by Kent-based company Kal-max Properties shows plans for a three storey building with a supermarket on the ground floor with provisions for car access, parking, and landscaping.
Agent Barry Kitcherside said: “All the information about the building and planning history is available on the [council] website.
“Residents can make comments about the application there.”
Comments on the proposal closed on October 16.
Visit kingston.gov.uk for more information.

[mab01UK]

The Cooper Works Race Mini's lined up at Surbiton 1968 (Photo: Mike Cooper)



More photos here:-
https://www.facebook.com/coopercarcompany/

[mab01UK]

Note: The curved roof line in the scanned photo below confirms the inside photo in post above was also at Canada Rd, Byfleet and not Surbiton as first thought.

"Six of the best outside the Cooper establishment" from the book Mini by Rob Golding

[mab01UK]

(Update: Building now occupied by a Porsche Garage)

Former Cooper Cars Company workshop and showroom - List Entry Summary
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Name: Former Cooper Cars Company workshop and showroom
List entry Number: 1429242
Location
Hollyfield Road, Surbiton, Surrey, KT5 9AL
Grade: II
Date first listed: 24-Sep-2015

Summary of Building
Sports car workshop and showroom. Built c1958 for Charles Cooper to the designs of Richard Maddock on the site of his earlier garage. Second-storey draughtsman’s office added c1960. From 1965 used as a police car depot/forensics laboratory.
Reasons for Designation
The former Cooper Car Company workshop and showroom, Hollyfield Road, Surbiton, built c1958 for Charles Cooper for the construction of Formula 1 racing cars, is recommended for listing at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * Historical interest: for the role played by the Cooper Car Company in the development of the modern Formula 1 racing car, and the important role that it played in the history of British motor sport;
It would appear that all the cars from the Cooper 500 onward were built at the Hollyfield Road workshop, although a secondary site at Langley Road, Surbiton was purchased in the late 1950s. From 1961 John Cooper, in association with Alec Issigonis, designer of the British Motor Corporation (BMC) Mini, designed a series of sports versions of the car, the Mini Cooper. These were large scale production models and were built by BMC at Longbridge, Birmingham but their design is popularly associated with Hollyfield Road.
* Architectural interest: for the early use of double-height, aluminium-framed glazing utilised in a dramatic curved frontage; * Rarity: very few purpose-built motor car workshops or showrooms survive from this period.

History
The site on Hollyfield Road was purchased by Charles Cooper in the 1920s. The plot was populated with a series of sheds which he used for his garage business; these are shown on the 1934 Ordnance Survey (OS) map. In the late-1930s a parade of shops was built along Ewell Road where the end shop (No 243) was leased by Charles Cooper as a showroom, with his family living in the flat above. By the time of the 1955 OS map the sheds had been cleared and a new garage built on the site. It is shown in a 1946 Pathé newsreel as a series of single-storey, pitched roofed workshops, stretching to the road in the north-west corner, with a yard to the south-west with three petrol pumps. The current building was designed by the architect Richard Maddock, father of Owen Maddock (1925-2000) who was the Cooper Car Company’s chief designer from the late 1950s until 1963. Richard Maddock had been employed by the practice of Sir Herbert Baker and worked on the rebuilding of the Bank of England (1925-39). The current building is shown in a photograph of 1958/9 around the time that it was built. Another photograph, dated 1963, shows the addition of a draughtsman’s office on the flat roof of the main two-storey range. In 1965 Cooper Cars relocated to Byfleet in Surrey and the garage was leased to the Metropolitan Police as a police car depot and subsequently as a forensics site. Some internal re-ordering was carried out, particularly on the ground floor of the office block. The police vacated the site in 2014.

Lots more detail on the site and building in the Historic England listing here:-
https://historicengland.org.uk/listi...-entry/1429242

[mab01UK]

New documentary on Cooper:-

MINI | Genius and Works:
"Visionary Formula One car maker John Cooper saw motorsport victory in the classic Mini before anyone else could. With an unrivalled underdog story, he proved that the faith of the few can change the minds of many. Watch the heritage of MINI John Cooper Works unfold."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgM7azM_dIE

[MagnetON]

Large chunks of the original post including images etc. appear to be taken from here: http://www.tdv.org.uk/

Our thanks go to Andy Lambert for the original information.

[275 GTB-4]

Originally Posted by mab01UK

Thanks for posting the Grand Prix film information.
No access inside the building yet but hopefully sometime soon if the Cooper shop/museum plan happens.

The building is now a Porsche etc dealership...

[mab01UK]

COOPER CAR COMPANY
Blue Plaque erected August 16th 2018 by English Heritage at Hollyfield Road, Surbiton, London KT5 9AL, Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/v...er-car-company

[275 GTB-4]

Brilliant!

[mab01UK]

[mab01UK]

[mab01UK]

[mab01UK]

"Unique ultra low mileage 1986 Austin Mini 1275 John Cooper Prototype. It is in truly outstanding condition throughout and has only travelled just over 2800 MILES from new £39,950.
https://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-...rce=ios_social

[mab01UK]

Alec Issigonis & John Cooper 1962 - Exhibition Centre, Longbridge.

[mab01UK]

The "John Cooper" interview filmed in 1992

Starting with his small racing car as a child onto a full-blown racing team.
This was a TV pilot that has never been seen before :-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRdttdLv_04

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by mab01UK

The "John Cooper" interview filmed in 1992

Starting with his small racing car as a child onto a full-blown racing team.
This was a TV pilot that has never been seen before :-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRdttdLv_04

An interesting watch/listen that made my lunch hour seem very short. Thanks for posting the link.

[mab01UK]

Bruce McLaren test drive in Surbiton....
https://www.facebook.com/thesporting...type=3&theater

[chrisklein90]

Originally Posted by mab01UK

Bruce McLaren test drive in Surbiton....
https://www.facebook.com/thesporting...type=3&theater

History one can even imagine it happening in this day and age.

[davidbuckden]

Originally Posted by mab01UK

Note: The curved roof line in the scanned photo below confirms the inside photo in post above was also at Canada Rd, Byfleet and not Surbiton as first thought.

"Six of the best outside the Cooper establishment" from the book Mini by Rob Golding

I'm sure that's the Canada Road (Oyster Lane) premises. I was working there when we, (BMW Concessionaires GB Ltd), moved in to use it as a new car preparation centre for the Park Lane and Langley Motors sites operated under subsidiary company, BMW Distributors (London) Ltd. It was a good premises to work in and I can picture the inside very clearly, even though we're now 50 years on! At the far end, 2 large radial BMW radial engines lurked, awaited restoration.

[mab01UK]

The Cooper Garage in Surbiton recreated at the 2021 Goodwood Revival, celebrating 60 years of the Mini Cooper.

[mab01UK]

"Mike and Charlie Cooper share some of their best moments celebrating 60 years of the Mini Cooper."
Mini and Cooper:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez-uLR2b6B0

[mab01UK]

(The Sporting Minis)
https://www.facebook.com/thesportingminis/

[mab01UK]