REFERENCE ONLY ( NOW SOLD ) -Abbott of Farnham - original vintage 1950s torpedo keyring

Sorry this keyring has now been sold but we have left the listing on view so that anyone interested in Abbott Coachbuilders may still see it.

An original keyring which will have been produced in the 1950s.

When it has been sold this listing will be cancelled.

This is the only keyring we have ever seen for Abbott Coachbuilders of Farnham.

Hardly any can ever have been made and very few can remain.59/98

It will date from the late 1950s and would most probably have been issued with a newly bodied Bentley coupe – Abbott coachbuilders were famous for their Bentley bodies and also for the Healey Abbott saloon car built for Donald Healey.

This keyring would be superb for using with an Abbott bodied Bentley coupe.

The keyring is in excellent condition and will have been made by Castles Unit Developments of Church Gate, Leicester – they were the only firm making these torpedo keyrings at that time.

Edward Dixon Abbott was originally a designer for Wolseley but joined coachbuilders Page & Hunt at Farnham in the 1920s.

When Page & Hunt’s business failed in 1929 Abbott took the business over under his own name.

Up until WW2 Abbotts had major contracts with Lagonda and also built Frazer Nash coachwork onto imported BMW chassis.

After WW2 they had production runs of coupes for Sunbeam Talbot and Healey as well as making special bodies for Jowett, Bentley & Lanchester.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s they had large orders from Ford Motor Co. for estate car versions of the Consul & Zephyr models.

Coachbuilding declined through the 1960s with manufacturers standardising on models and not offering bespoke coachwork anymore.

Sadly Abbotts finally closed in 1972 and are best remembered for the their Bentley coupes.

The keyring in the photos is the actual one which you will receive.

When it has been sold this listing will cancel and we very much doubt if we will ever see one again – a sad little memento of a once great British craft business.