Duple Coachbuilders
| Industry | Bus manufacturing |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1919 |
| Founder | Herbert White |
| Defunct | 1989 |
| Headquarters | Hornsey |
Duple was a bus bodybuilder in England from 1919 until 1989.
Duple Bodies & Motors was formed in 1919 by Herbert White in Hornsey, London. Before World War I, he had briefly built cars under the Bifort name in Fareham, Hampshire.
The name Duple is intended to convey the principle of a single vehicle being suitable for a dual role, an idea Herbert White developed. The first vehicle of this type was called the Bifort. Subsequently, former military Ford Model Ts were fitted with the newly designed dual-purpose bodywork. The bodies looked like a small touring car, but could be transformed into a van by removing the decking at the rear of the car and fitting a van top. This type of vehicle had enormous appeal to the owners of small businesses, who were able to obtain a working vehicle and private car for little extra, and soon bodywork of this type was being produced in substantial numbers. The 'convertible' body as it was known internally was built on Morris Cowley and Oxford chassis as well as the Ford T; as well as the standard van top there was a pick-up and even a version with raising sides and slide-out display shelves for use in markets, production ceasing around the end of the 1920s although Duple continued to repair and service examples for many years afterward.
In 1926 a new factory was opened in Hendon to meet growing demand.
Coachwork had been built on occasions since the inception of the company, including a six-wheeled Lancia-Barton Charabanc. but in 1928 it was decided to make an effort to increase output of this body type substantially. As a result, the order book began to grow and within ten years the number of people employed had risen to around 800.
In 1928, Walter Ernest Brown, a former partner in the Strachan & Brown bodybuilding business, joined the firm, and he had a major influence on the company's future expansion.
Major clients of this period included the Great Western Railway, who ordered a number of bodies for its expanding bus fleet, and Elliott Brothers' Royal Blue fleet.
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