B&D Hughes,Liverpool

Hi to you all out there.
As the topic title is headed has anyone got one of these rather rare hand built frames or indeed a complete bike.
The were made by Betty & Dicky Hughes,County Road,Walton,Liverpool 4.
There workshop/retail shop was directly opposite Arnott Street School.
Due entirely to a very very tragic accident the business was closed down - as I recall in the late 60's/very early 70's.
They go back to the early/mid 60's during the heyday of Harry Quinn and Walvale Cycles.

There was a listing on E'bay a couple of years back for a complete bike - it was listed as being in Southport,Merseyside.

the45rooster":3kniqkju said:

Hi to you all out there.
As the topic title is headed has anyone got one of these rather rare hand built frames or indeed a complete bike.
The were made by Betty & Dicky Hughes,County Road,Walton,Liverpool 4.
There workshop/retail shop was directly opposite Arnott Street School.
Due entirely to a very very tragic accident the business was closed down - as I recall in the late 60's/very early 70's.
They go back to the early/mid 60's during the heyday of Harry Quinn and Walvale Cycles.

There was a listing on E'bay a couple of years back for a complete bike - it was listed as being in Southport,Merseyside.

Click to expand...

I remember the brand very well and always wondered why it disappeared so suddenly. I seem to think that there might have been a connection with Harry Quinn? Possibly son-in-law or something like that? Not many of them around even at the time but I did see several ridden by local riders BITD. The name was in the 'usual' inimitable C&G Finishes hand painted script, beloved by generations of Liverpool cyclists.

Old Ned":388kvqu5 said:

the45rooster":388kvqu5 said:

Hi to you all out there.
As the topic title is headed has anyone got one of these rather rare hand built frames or indeed a complete bike.
The were made by Betty & Dicky Hughes,County Road,Walton,Liverpool 4.
There workshop/retail shop was directly opposite Arnott Street School.
Due entirely to a very very tragic accident the business was closed down - as I recall in the late 60's/very early 70's.
They go back to the early/mid 60's during the heyday of Harry Quinn and Walvale Cycles.

There was a listing on E'bay a couple of years back for a complete bike - it was listed as being in Southport,Merseyside.

Click to expand...

I remember the brand very well and always wondered why it disappeared so suddenly. I seem to think that there might have been a connection with Harry Quinn? Possibly son-in-law or something like that? Not many of them around even at the time but I did see several ridden by local riders BITD. The name was in the 'usual' inimitable C&G Finishes hand painted script, beloved by generations of Liverpool cyclists.

Click to expand...

Hi Old Ned. Did you live in Liverpool or somewhere on/in Merseyside or have you always been a Yorkshire lad ?
Betty was the sister of Harry & Jimmy Quinn when they joined forces and Harry moved from Walton Road (H&J Quinn at Rice Lane,Aintree was formed) Betty alledgedly wanted to make frames in her own name but was bloked by the family (brothers) and a little later produced frames under the name of B&D Hughes.
As I believe/understand Betty would go to the business after Dicky had opened-up but one morning she hadn't appeared and it was reported that she had met with a rather serious and sad accident at home (said to have been electrocuted because of a leak on the washing machine.
My cycling mate Tony West (now in New Zealand) had one of their frames/fully built bikes but it was later stolen by some light fingered pleb from a garage in the Old Road,Aintree whilst visiting a young lady.
I do believe that it was that bike that I saw many many years later listed on E'bay.

Re:

C&G finishes - that is bringing back some memories!

Can't help with any bikes I'm afraid, but I wonder aside if there was also a connection with WalVale Cycles?

Maybe not - I might be badly remembering what I was told by C&G during our many chats 15-20 years ago - but it rings a slight bell...

Have you any pics of B&D frames?

Re:

Apologies - I just re-read your initial post with less haste, and see you already mentioned WalVale Cycles.

The connection I suggested is probably therefore a mis-memory...


Good luck with your search, and please keep us posted on any progress as I'd love to see any you might find.

Cheers,
BB.

Hi BB. I don't know whether you are aware but Norman Roberts (Walvale Cycles) passed away last year. I was getting over a rather unwanted but necessary stay in hospital and therefore not only found out rather late but also missed his funeral - I am reliably informed that it was very very well attended by cyclists from far and wide.
Unfortunately I do not have any images of any B&D Hughes bikes/frames but as I recall they were of a rather nice build with quite fine lines and good geometry - very much in the style of Harry Quinn/H&J Quinn/Eddies Soens/Jimmy (Jim) Soens and several other excellent frame makers in the area and mostly Stove Enamelled at the original Back Faulkner Street premises of C&G Finishes.
A few years ago I rescued a rather sad and badly bodged genuine 52cm Benotto Modelo 850 (Columbus tubing) and had it refinished by C&G - what a lovely frame that was to ride and as a result I bought another rescue in Columbus tubing - a 50cm Steve Goff;again refinished by C&G but in a fabulous Polychromatic Blue.
Both the Benotto and the Steve Goff remind me so-much of the B&D Hughes that my mate Tony had before it was nicked.

the45rooster":3bd3isg5 said:

Old Ned":3bd3isg5 said:

the45rooster":3bd3isg5 said:

Hi to you all out there.
As the topic title is headed has anyone got one of these rather rare hand built frames or indeed a complete bike.
The were made by Betty & Dicky Hughes,County Road,Walton,Liverpool 4.
There workshop/retail shop was directly opposite Arnott Street School.
Due entirely to a very very tragic accident the business was closed down - as I recall in the late 60's/very early 70's.
They go back to the early/mid 60's during the heyday of Harry Quinn and Walvale Cycles.

There was a listing on E'bay a couple of years back for a complete bike - it was listed as being in Southport,Merseyside.

Click to expand...

I remember the brand very well and always wondered why it disappeared so suddenly. I seem to think that there might have been a connection with Harry Quinn? Possibly son-in-law or something like that? Not many of them around even at the time but I did see several ridden by local riders BITD. The name was in the 'usual' inimitable C&G Finishes hand painted script, beloved by generations of Liverpool cyclists.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

"Hi Old Ned. Did you live in Liverpool or somewhere on/in Merseyside or have you always been a Yorkshire lad ?"quote]

No, only for the past 46 years that's all

I was almost a Merseysider - I come from Wrexham and the Wrexham RC originally - but most of my racing etc. was done in the local events and I got to know a lot of the Merseyside riders in the 60's. The bike in my avatar is a HQ and I did most of my best rides on it but stupidly I replaced it with a Bob Jackson in '69 which never felt quite 'right'. Were you in a local club BITD?

Hi Old Ned. Hi Old Ned. No,sadly I never actually joined a club as a member but I would often ride out with or behind them. My work often prevented me from doing anything on a regular basis.
I was one of eight lads that would ride together whenever the opportunity allowed albeit I would often end-up riding solo and tagging onto the back of a returning group.
I started after I left Technical High School with a pre-owned 1937 Hetchins Curly (Vibrant Triangle) track bike that I had converted to road drop-outs by the late Norman Roberts at Walvale Cycles.
I rode a 5spd Regina and a double Stronglight and then the Hetchins was stolen and stripped including the double crown forks. I later found out that the frame was at Liverpool Cycle Exchange which rather surprised me as it was so distictive and only a 19.5" frame -they were not exactly ten-a-penny.
I later rebuilt it and ran it but with chrome forks for several years before foolishly selling it to Harry Hall Cycles in Manchester because I had no room to store it after getting married.
I have lost count of how many times I have asked myself - if only.